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MXGP unbeaten streak continues for Red Bull KTM with Portuguese Grand Prix supremacy

Lucas Coenen and Andrea Adamo ruled proceedings for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing at a muddy Agueda for the Portuguese Grand Prix and the seventh round of 2025 MXGP. The Belgian and Italian won their Qualification Heats and the difficult and demanding motos in MXGP and MX2 for an ‘orange wash’ with KTM SX-F technology.

  • Lucas Coenen continues to head the MXGP class in his rookie season and goes 1-1 for the second meeting in a row to move into title contention
  • Jeffrey Herlings runs to 9th after another two weeks of recovery and domestic race mileage but takes a heavy hit on Saturday in Portugal. The Grand Prix wins record holder was 10-7 on Sunday
  • Andrea Adamo goes 1-1 for the first time this season in MX2 and with three overall wins is the most prolific racer in the category so far. #80 also won the Saturday Qualification Heat for the GP ‘triple’
  • Simon Laengenfelder appears on the podium for the second Grand Prix in a row with a hard-fought 3rd place and is close to the top of the championship standings
  • Sacha Coenen leads both MX2 motos but counts the costs of mistakes in the first race to go 19-2 on the day for P7 in the rankings
  • MXGP makes the short hop north for the Grand Prix of Lugo and round eight next weekend

The team rolled into Agueda fresh from their double victory success two weeks previously in Switzerland where Lucas Coenen and Simon Laengenfelder triumphed in their respective categories for the first time this season. The crew were slightly apprehensive of another grim weather forecast and a repeat of the mudder from 2024. The showers poured on Saturday for the Qualification Heats. Andrea Adamo emerged from the slick mud with his second MX2 Pole Position, with Sacha Coenen in P2 and Laengenfelder obtaining points for P5. Lucas Coenen profited from his decent start to ease to another Saturday victory (his second of 2025). Jeffrey Herlings was 2nd until a last lap slip and was then clipped by another rider and was lucky to escape injury, aside from a painful torso that affected his Sunday speed.

Sunday was stormy and changeable. Heavy rain in the morning flooded the track and forced a delay to the MX2 and MXGP program. Sunshine appeared in the afternoon and helped to improve the conditions but the track was still very rutted and boggy, applying a slice of fortune to the final results sheets.

Lucas Coenen threaded his way through the red ooze for the holeshot and an early lead in the first MXGP race and then withheld pressure from Romain Febvre to grasp his fifth consecutive checkered flag, third GP moto win in succession and fourth of the campaign. In a drier second outing (later hit by another shower) the Belgian starlet again edged the holeshot with his KTM 450 SX-F and again led Febvre to go 1-1-1. Two weeks after becoming the youngest winner ever in the premier class, Coenen now has three podiums and is P3 in the championship, 43 points adrift of P1.

Herlings fought his way to 10th and then registered a 7th in the second moto for 9th overall and more progress considering the lack of an off-season.

Andrea Adamo won a very tough first MX2 moto with Agueda in its worst and most treacherous state. Sacha Coenen led for the first three laps but then a pair of crashes put him down to 19th. Adamo crafted a margin ahead of Kay De Wolf and Simon Laengenfelder, who tussled with the Dutchman for P2. Even through the German had to ditch his goggles with ten minutes he was still able to confirm the runner-up spot nearly 13 seconds behind Adamo. The Italian holeshotted the second moto and then carefully stalked Coenen until making the pass for the lead at mid-race distance. The teammates took a 1-2 with Laengenfelder making it to the line in 4th after recovering from a first lap spill. Adamo celebrated his third victory and his fourth podium appearance from the last five events – closing to just 10 points from the peak of the MX2 table - while Laengenfelder also lifted his fourth trophy of 2025 and is only 4 points from the red plate. Coenen was 7th overall and is 6th in the standings.

Another meeting for the European Championship and the EMX125 and EMX250 categories meant a further weekend of competition and learning for both the Racestore KTM Factory Rookies Team (EMX125 with the KTM 125 SX) and Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors squad (EMX250 with the KTM 250 SX-F). Nicolo Alvisi and Aron Katona scored an impressive 1-2 in the first EMX125 moto on Saturday but the deluge of rain made the surface worse to deal with on Sunday. Alvisi was 7th for the second step of the podium while Katona DNF-ed (taking 11th overall) but still leads the championship by 26 points. Gyan Doensen raced to a 7-17 for 10th in EMX250.

After a successful inauguration in 2024 with the Grand Prix of Galicia, the tight circuit in Lugo will now host the Spanish GP next weekend. EMX250 will also travel with the FIM world championship classes while EMX125 next comes to the gate in France for round nine of MXGP.

Lucas Coenen, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MXGP: “A really good weekend. 1-1 again and the three motos! The rain made the track so sketchy and I was all over the place but it was a positive first moto; good start and I tried to ride smart. It was hard to handle all those edges in the ruts with the 450 but we made it happen. In the second moto I managed the pressure from Romain and I was a bit nervous at times but I’m so happy to win again. Let’s go again in Lugo.”

Jeffrey Herlings, 10th and 7th for 9th overall in MXGP: “Yesterday we were quite hopeful until the crash in the Heat when I was thinking about pushing for the lead. I was hit by another rider and bruised my ribs and had a sore elbow. I was struggling with the ribs today and I could feel every bump. It was annoying! We could finish 10-7 and that’s not what we wanted from this GP but after Saturday I think it was OK. I’ll definitely be 100% for the next race and I hope to be closer to that top five.”

Andrea Adamo, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MX2: “I rode well, really well. No mistakes and good starts, especially yesterday, and that put me in a good position for today, which was really important with the weather. In the first moto the conditions were crazy but the second moto was not too bad. 1-1-1: it’s the first time for me, so I’m super-happy.”

Simon Laengenfelder, 2nd and 4th for 3rd overall in MX2: “So much mud! It was really hard to pass in the first moto, there was a lot of water and even though they worked on the track there was only one line. It was difficult but I could get Kay for 2nd. I folded the front on the first lap of the second moto and had to come from last. I had a good feeling on the bike though and unfortunately I ran out of tear-offs which made overtaking a challenge. A decent second race but a bit unlucky. Today could have been much better.”

Sacha Coenen, 19th and 2nd for 7th overall: “Better than the last GP. We made quite a lot of changes to the set-up of the bike in the last two weeks and I was feeling good on Saturday. I had a comfortable lead in the first moto but just jumped a little off track and got stuck in a mud pile. Anyway, we had good speed. The second moto was OK, Andrea was a bit faster today but P2 is more of what we need.”

Joel Smets, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “I’m really, really proud of this win and career milestone for Andrea. When he came into the team we could see that he has a lot of heart and is a hard worker and after winning the championship then having a difficult year and to come back and do well in this season I cannot be prouder. He deserves it. In MXGP we know that these conditions can see Jeffrey Herlings in ‘beast mode’ but we have to understand that he is not there yet to ride at his full potential. I am confident that we are not far away and we will be fighting for podiums soon.”

 

Results MXGP Portugal 2025

 

1. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-1

2. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 2-2

3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 3-3

4. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA), Fantic, 6-5

5. Pauls Jonass (LAT), Kawasaki, 4-8

9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 10-7

 

Standings MXGP 2025 after 7 of 20 rounds

 

1. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 330 points

2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 305

3. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 287

4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), Fantic, 250

5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 223

16. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 94

 

Results MX2 Portugal 2025

 

1. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-1

2. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 3-3

3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-4

4. Mathis Valin (FRA), Kawasaki, 6-5

5. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA), KTM, 5-10

7. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 19-2

18. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna, 11-0

 

Standings MX2 2025 after 7 of 20 rounds

 

1. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 328 points

2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 324

3. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 318

4. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 269

5. Thibault Benistant (FRA), Yamaha 225

6. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 222

KTM NEWS

TOM VIALLE AND RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING FINISH SECOND IN 250SMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tom Vialle has finished runner-up in the 250SMX Class of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) following the final round at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Vialle qualified fifth on the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and put himself in good position during Moto 1, taking the checkered flag in third position. The two-time MX2 World Champion and this year's AMA Supercross 250SX East Champion was challenging for the lead in the final encounter when he went down, managing to remount for a P8 result. Those finishes positioned the Frenchman fifth overall for the round, which in turn saw him captured second in the 250SMX World Championship for season 2024. Tom Vialle: "I'm pretty happy, the result was good this year, and we were strong across each series. I had a bad start in the first moto and then the second one was better, but I was really frustrated after the second moto because I was feeling really good before the crash. It was a little bit up and down this season, so now I look forward to the Nations and that will be a lot of fun next." Las Vegas started strongly for rookie teammate Julien Beaumer in qualifying second on the combined timesheets, but he was affected by poor track position across the two motos. After completing Lap 1 on 17th, he climbed to 11th in Moto 1, and then finished Moto 2 in ninth for P9 overall. He was seventh in the final 250SMX standings. Julien Beaumer: "Tough night! My riding was really good, I just didn't execute the starts, and on a track like this you need that track position early because it's hard to pass. It's been a good year, we made some big steps as a rookie, and the plan is to be up front next year." Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Aaron Plessinger was a picture of consistency tonight in the 450SMX class. After qualifying his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in P9, The Cowboy went 4-4 for fourth overall in Las Vegas, which also placed him P4 in the SuperMotocross World Championship for 2024. Aaron Plessinger: "Vegas was a really good. I was comfortable on the bike from the start and I had a really good start in the first one, ended up getting fourth in that, so I was pumped. Second moto, I rode really good again, and went fourth again, so after the last two weeks I will take that, for sure. We also moved to fourth in the points, so it was a good way to end the season like that." After entering the SMX Final in contention for the 450SMX title, reigning AMA Pro Motocross 450MX Champion Chase Sexton's chances unfortunately ended prematurely on the opening lap of Moto 1 tonight. The Red Bull KTM rider came together with another rider and injured his right hand, which ruled him out for the remainder of the evening. After finishing third in the AMA Supercross 450SX Championship and dominating the outdoors, Chase was placed seventh in the final SMX standings. An update on the extent of his injury will be made available after he undergoes further medical evaluations. Results 450SMX Class – SMX Final 1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda 2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda 3. Eli Tomac (USA), Yamaha 4. Aaron Plessinger (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 8. Justin Barcia (USA), GASGAS 22. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna 23. Christian Craig (USA), Husqvarna 24. Chase Sexton (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Standings 450SMX Class 2024 after 3 of 3 rounds 1. Jett Lawrence, 156 points 2. Hunter Lawrence, 156 3. Eli Tomac, 129 4. Aaron Plessinger, 116 7. Chase Sexton, 89 9. Justin Barcia, 75 17. Malcolm Stewart, 48 20. Christian Craig, 34 Results 250SMX Class – SMX Final 1. Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS 2. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha 3. Jordon Smith (USA), Yamaha 5. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 9. Julien Beaumer (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 11. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS Standings 250SMX Class 2024 after 3 of 3 rounds 1. Haiden Deegan, 166 points 2. Tom Vialle, 132 3. Pierce Brown, 131 7. Julien Beaumer, 108 11. Ryder DiFrancesco, 72 16. RJ Hampshire, 36 28. Casey Cochran, 4

CHASE SEXTON AND TOM VIALLE IN SMX TITLE CONTENTION AFTER TEXAS PLAYOFF 2 PODIUMS

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Chase Sexton won the second 450SMX moto and claimed P2 overall in Playoff 2 of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) post-season at Texas Motor Speedway, as teammate Tom Vialle finished second in the 250SMX Class. Both are in title contention entering next weekend's SMX Final. After setting the pace in Free Practice on Friday, Sexton qualified his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION fourth in Fort Worth. Moto 1 saw the reigning Pro Motocross Champion sprint to P4, but he was saving his best until last when he took a commanding second moto victory with a winning margin of 9.897s. That placed him second on the podium, and with triple points on offer in Las Vegas, Sexton sits one point outside of the series lead in what will be a winner-takes-all scenario next Saturday night. Chase Sexton: "Getting a start is one of the key factors, but we actually made a change right before Moto 1 and I felt like I rode pretty well, but was just way back. In Moto 2, I got a good start and was able to ride my own laps – I felt like I did back in Pro Motocross. It was a good race, we ended up second overall, so we will try to keep building and come out swinging for Vegas!" Still managing the effects of his crash from Charlotte one week ago, 450SMX teammate Aaron Plessinger was eighth in combined qualifying, and then went on to record 9-7 scores for seventh overall in a gritty performance from 'The Cowboy'. Plessinger is currently ranked fifth in the premier class title race with one round to go, motivated to finish on a strong note at the SMX Final. Aaron Plessinger: "Second playoff of SMX went okay – I rode my outdoor suspension on this one and it was a little soft. I got off to a pretty bad start in the first one, was working my way up, and jumped off the track, so finished ninth. In the second one, I got a really good start, was running up front and my shoulder started feeling it, and I ended up dropping back to seventh. Not where we want to be, but we will try to improve a little bit for Vegas and the final round." Texas saw current 250SX East Champion Tom Vialle rebound for his first 250SMX podium of the year in second overall onboard the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION. After qualifying in position six – within a second of the fastest lap time – Vialle finished third in Moto 1, then charged to a confidence-inspiring second as the checkered flag flew in the final encounter. He is now P2 in the standings, 19 points outside of the lead entering Las Vegas. Tom Vialle: "We are happy with the result today. The track was not easy – the same for everyone, of course – but I kept pushing until the very end. In the final moto, I was catching Haiden [Deegan] a little bit, but came up short. It was nice to be in the fight and it was a good race to get us ready for next weekend." Last weekend saw rookie Julien Beaumer earn a first-career podium and he backed that up with P5 this weekend at SMX Playoff 2. While not entirely satisfied with his result, it was another promising performance from the teenager, as consistent 5-6 results placed him inside the top five overall. Beaumer is also positioned fifth in the championship tally, eager to finish strongly at next weekend's decider. Julien Beaumer: "It was a tough day for me. I never really had the feeling I was looking for on this track, but P5 was a good result. We got a little bit better in that second moto, so not my best day, but fifth on a weekend that I didn't feel too good, we will take that and be ready to fight going into Vegas." Next Race: September 21 – Las Vegas, Nevada (SMX Final) Results 450SMX Class – SMX Playoff 2 1. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda 2. Chase Sexton (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 3. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda 7. Aaron Plessinger (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 12. Justin Barcia (USA), GASGAS 13. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna 14. Christian Craig (USA), Husqvarna Standings 450SMX Class 2024 after 2 of 3 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 90 points 2. Chase Sexton, 89 3. Jett Lawrence, 81 5. Aaron Plessinger, 62 9. Malcolm Stewart, 48 12. Christian Craig, 34 14. Justin Barcia, 33 Results 250SMX Class – SMX Playoff 2 1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha 2. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 3. Jo Shimoda (JPN), Honda 5. Julien Beaumer (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 7. Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS 13. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS 15. RJ Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna Standings 250SMX Class 2024 after 2 of 3 rounds 1. Haiden Deegan, 100 points 2. Tom Vialle, 81 3. Levi Kitchen, 78 5. Julien Beaumer, 69 7. Pierce Brown, 56 12. Ryder DiFrancesco, 39 13. RJ Hampshire, 36 26. Casey Cochran, 4