Lucas Coenen and Simon Laengenfelder ran out winners at the Grand Prix of Sardinia: round four of 2026 and the latest episode of back-to-back events in the current campaign. Red Bull KTM owned both MXGP and MX2 in the sand of Riola Sardo and lead both world championship categories with KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F machinery.
Highlights and key moments from Riola Sardo:
The first of an Italian-based Grand Prix ‘double’ took place in overcast and windy but warm conditions in western Sardinia and across the sapping sand of Riola Sardo. The track has become a stable testing and training location in recent years and has also hosted world championship events each season since 2021, therefore the fierce sandy ripples are well known to the MXGP and MX2 teams and racers.
Lucas Coenen recovered from a tip-off during the Qualification Heat on Saturday to ride back to 5th place and the same pick in the gate for Sunday. The Belgian accordingly made a top-five start but then experimented with some new lines to make time and surged to the front of the pack for his fourth checkered flag. In the second outing Lucas repeated his getaway, and only a late fall created a closer climax than expected. Despite the pressure, the 19-year-old was able to consolidate his speed and go 1-1.
Andrea Adamo tackled Riola for the first time with the KTM 450 SX-F. A steady performance in the first moto produced a top six classification but Andrea rued a mistake in the second race than dropped him to P18, meaning 11th overall.
MX2 belonged to red plate holder and defending world champion Simon Laengenfelder. The German initially played second fiddle to Sacha; he was a comfortable P2 on Saturday and then also in the first MX2 moto. When Coenen slipped on the opening lap of the second race, Laengenfelder then forged ahead to secure his fourth flag of the term. He walked the top step of the rostrum courtesy of the second moto success.
Sacha ruled proceedings on Saturday for the fourth time in 2026 and then grabbed his second holeshot of the season to escape and win the opening moto on Sunday. He holeshotted again later in the afternoon but crashed while leading on the first lap and had to recover from the depths of the top ten to P2. Coenen’s speed means he has now risen to 2nd behind Laengenfelder in the championship standings.
Round three of the EMX250 European Championship at Riola was notable for rookie Aron Katona reaching the podium for the first time with his KTM 250 SX-F. The young Hungarian was 3rd overall with 7-2 scores; the second race represented his maiden top three in the category. KTM also owned the first two positions of the EMX125 dispute: Austrian Max Ernecker and Switzerland’s Emil Ziemer going 1-2 on the day with their KTM 125 SXs.
MXGP will hustle to the Italian mainland this week for the Grand Prix of Trentino at Pietramurata in Arco di Trento and for a compact, hard-packed layout in just a few days.
Lucas Coenen, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MXGP: “I made a gap in the second moto but it grabs you so quick! I went on my ear, and it took a lot of energy out of me. I said to myself ‘I cannot lose this one…’. I’m so pumped and we worked so good with the team. I’m really happy with the double race win.”
Andrea Adamo, 6th and 18th for 11th overall in MXGP: “Pretty happy about the weekend. P6 in the Quali race and P6 in the first moto. I made some passes and the results weren’t bad. Second moto I had a bad start and couldn’t find the flow in the first laps but then got a rhythm and again came through. I was passing for P7 with five laps to go but unfortunately I had a crash and hit the ground pretty hard. It was tough to recover after that. A so-so second moto but I’m happy about the speed, riding and everything in general. We have some positives from this GP, so we will work on the negatives. This is my learning year but I still want to do good and I’m looking forward to Arco now. I’m motivated to get there and go again.”
Simon Laengenfelder, 2nd and 1st for 1st overall in MX2: “I must say I’m really proud of what I could do today and the team also. We put in some serious hours to get my bike figured out for the sand and it seemed like it worked. I’m super-happy to win back-to-back. I could ride very freely. I was able to jump the bumps and the suspension worked really nicely. I had a lot of trust in the bike.”
Sacha Coenen, 1st and 2nd for 2nd overall in MX2: “The weekend started good on a challenging track, and the first moto was good also. I don’t know what happened at the start of the second it was quite a high-speed crash so I was lucky not to hurt anything. I was pleased with how I could come back then…so, not such a bad weekend after all. I was having fun out there.”
Results MXGP Sardegna 2026
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-1
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 2-2
3. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 4-3
11. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 15-3
Standings MXGP 2026 after 4 of 19 rounds
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 192 points
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 178
3. Tom Vialle (FRA), Honda, 162
8. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 107
9. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna,105
Results MX2 Sardegna 2026
1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2-1
2. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-2
3. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 3-4
Standings MX2 2026 after 4 of 19 rounds
1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 204 points
2. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 181
3. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna, 166