Andrea Adamo claimed the fifth Grand Prix victory of his career in Agueda. While he had previously gone 1-1 in Finland in 2023, the Italian rider had never completed a perfect weekend sweep—until now. Winning the qualifying race on Saturday and both motos on Sunday, the Red Bull KTM rider scored a full 60 points at the seventh round of the MX2 World Championship. In comparison, Kay de Wolf earned 47 points and Simon Längenfelder 46. The top three in the MX2 standings are now separated by just 10 points heading into Lugo this weekend—a track where Adamo picked up his second (and most recent) moto win of the 2024 season.
“I’m really happy with my weekend,” admitted Andrea after the Portuguese GP. “After timed practice on Saturday, I was a little less happy. I wouldn’t say I was struggling, but I was definitely slower than the other guys. I tried to study their lines, but I was still off the pace. I found the track quite tricky in practice, so I didn’t push too hard—I just rode my laps as if it were a race but without sprinting, and that wasn’t enough. The others were faster and I ended up 13th in timed practice, just one second off fourth place. It was really tight.”
Despite a difficult start to the weekend—his worst qualifying performance so far this season—Adamo managed to turn things around in Saturday’s qualifying race. Getting the holeshot, he led from start to finish to take the win, collect the 10 points awarded to the victor, and secure a prime gate pick for Sunday’s motos.
“The start of the weekend was a bit tricky, but after the qualifying race, I was in a really good position,” Andrea said about his time in Portugal. “In these kinds of conditions, getting the first gate pick is exactly what you want. From there, I put together two strong motos. In the first race, I didn’t get the best start. I shut off too late in the first turn and left the inside wide open. Liam and Kay both passed me. I stayed patient because I could see they were going flat out. I just told myself, ‘Good for them,’ and decided to settle into my rhythm. They both made mistakes. From that point on, I rode my own race—it was perfect.”
“In the second moto, it was more or less the same thing,” he continued. “I got a good start, took the holeshot, and didn’t want to take too many risks on the first downhill. Sacha came in fast and I let him through. He rode really smart, I was actually pretty surprised. I was waiting for him to make a mistake, but he didn’t. I was faster, had better lines, and passed him. From there, I controlled the race to the end. In these conditions, you always need a bit of luck. Sure, there’s the racing, but you also have to preserve the bike and make the right decisions. That’s what I did. It’s the first time I’ve ever won all three races in a weekend, so that’s perfect.”
Have we seen a return to the Andrea Adamo of old? It certainly looks that way. The Italian continues to build momentum and put behind him a difficult 2024 campaign in which he wasn’t able to defend his title. His trademark consistency is still there—and now the wins are coming too.
“I’ve never said I have to win at all costs, but I want to be able to fight for the win. This mindset helps me stay a bit more relaxed, while knowing I can still go for victories. The other guys are fast too, and when you’re in this kind of situation, you really have to score as many points as possible—and that’s exactly what I did this weekend.”
In 2023—the year he won the title—Adamo took two GP wins. Now, only a third of the way into the 2025 season, he already has three Grand Prix victories. Yet, he still doesn’t have the red plate, currently sitting third in the standings, 10 points behind Kay de Wolf. Still, his weekend in Portugal was a major boost in the championship, as he clawed back 13 points from the Dutchman.
“This win means a lot,” concluded the Red Bull KTM factory rider. “I’ve been on the podium four times this year, and three of those have been wins. I’m really happy with how my season has started. Unfortunately, I lost some points at the opener in Argentina, but I’m not focusing too much on that. I’m not the type to look back—I can’t change what happened. I prefer to look forward. In five days, we’re back on track and have another chance to perform well. I really hope it’ll be dry this time. I want to keep this muddy weekend as a good memory—but I don’t want to go through it again [laughs]. There are still 13 rounds to go, and every one of them counts for the championship.”
