The run continues: Red Bull KTM own both classes at MXGP Grand Prix of Latvia

Jeffrey Herlings and Sacha Coenen will reflect fondly on the 2025 Grand Prix of Latvia as the pair ruled MXGP and MX2 through the rough sandy Kegums soil. The eleventh round of the season was played out in sunny weather and the Dutchman and Belgian were accompanied by Lucas Coenen and Simon Laengenfelder for spoils as Red Bull KTM logged 1st and 2nd in both categories and claimed three of the four motos. From 11 Grands Prix this year the team have won four in MXGP and seven in MX2.

  • Jeffrey Herlings goes 1-1-1 with the KTM 450 SX-F for his second victory in the space of a week
  • Lucas Coenen notches six podiums in a row and closes the gap to the top of the MXGP standings
  • A first MX2 overall win of the season for Sacha Coenen with 1-2 results and the fourth trip to the podium this term for the 18-year-old
  • Simon Laengenfelder finishes P2 but ascends to the top of the MX2 championship again as Andrea Adamo suffers with back pain and picks up points for 10th overall
  • MXGP finally breathes after the triple header and will reconvene at Matterley Basin for the British Grand Prix in two weeks

MXGP changed country, track and surface for the first Grand Prix to open the second half of the 2025 campaign. The series travelled from Germany to Latvia, from the tight and undulating confines of Talkessel to the more open and flatter layout of Kegums and from rutted hardpack to loose, sandy and bumpy terrain. The climate continued to vary for the FIM Motocross World Championship in the wake of the German sunshine/showers and Kegums was largely bright and warm on Saturday for the MXGP and MX2 classes, graced with another full European program.

On Saturday Jeffrey Herlings and Lucas Coenen left the MXGP Qualification Heat with a 1-2. The Dutchman collected his first Saturday win of 2025 and therefore 10 points and Pole Position. Coenen was close behind in 2nd. In MX2 Simon Laengenfelder controlled proceedings for his second victory of the year while Andrea Adamo and Sacha Coenen had to pick up from a multi-rider crash and recover to P11 and P13 respectively.

The skies remained largely blue on Sunday while the race action were mostly orange. Herlings and Coenen made decent starts in the first moto and Herlings checked out from the first lap, controlled the distance and eventually led the young Belgian to the line by less than two seconds (but almost a minute in front of everyone else). The second moto was a replay: Coenen holeshotted (for the ninth time; triple the quantity of any other rider) but Herlings grabbed P1 and then built his cushion to record a first 1-1 of the season, his second GP win in a row and the 109th of his career. The accumulation of 60 points pushes him to 9th in the standings. Coenen, with a 2-2, now has seven trophies for the year and is just 26 points from the red plate.

Sacha Coenen holeshotted and won the first MX2 race despite late pressure from Laengenfelder who finished 2nd. Coenen took the flag for the second time in 2025. Adamo, with back pain from Saturday, fought back from a crash to take 11th (his lowest classification so far). In the second race Simon and Sacha swapped roles as the German earned P1 out of the first corner. Again, the KTM 250 SX-Fs marked the difference at the front of the field. Laengenfelder seemed to be cruising to a sixth moto win until he made a mistake on the final lap and dropped to 3rd. Kay de Wolf inherited the lead from Coenen but the 1-2 by the Belgian gave him a first overall GP win of the year. Laengenfelder walked the second step of the box; still his sixth top three appearance of the term and establishing a championship standings margin of 27 points over Adamo. The Italian jumped across the line in 9th for 10th overall after a challenging day.

The Grand Prix also opened round 9 of 12 in the 2025 EMX125 European Championship and the latest chapter of a bright story for the KTM Racestore Factory Rookies squad. Nicolo Alvisi won another moto and picked up more silverware last week in Germany and was 2nd overall at Kegums on the KTM 125 SX with a 1-2 card. The Italian is 28 points ahead of the rest in the series. Following the EMX125 outings were the two motos for EMX250 and the SS24 Gabriel KTM team for round 8 of 13. Gyan Doensen rode the KTM 250 SX-F to a 3-3 for his second podium result of the year. The talented Dutch youngster has risen to 4th in the standings.

France, Germany and now Latvia: MXGP has earned a break and will cool engines before the British Grand Prix at Matterly Basin in England on June 21-22.

Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MXGP: “Really good! Let’s repeat this nine more times! I’m really thankful. Lucas and Romain [Febvre] were pushing hard so I have to give it up to them. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but it’s great to win again – I got a 1-1 last year and to have another; I’m pleased for that. Let’s keep this ball rolling. I know it won’t be easy but we’ll do what we can.”

Lucas Coenen, 2nd and 2nd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “A good weekend but I was hoping for better in the second moto. I ran a bit wide at the start and then I made some mistakes and didn’t really find the flow. It was tricky on track. Positive and negatives today and I know what we have to work on. Another podium though and that’s a positive.”

Sacha Coenen, 1st and 2nd for 1st overall: “Very happy. Two good starts, and two solid motos after a crash on Saturday and we are getting back some of the consistency. We cannot complain! The goal is to keep going like this and keep at the front.”

Simon Laengenfelder, 2nd and 3rd for 2nd overall in MX2: “We came here without the red plate and we leave quite a few points in front so we have to say it was a good weekend. It’s a pity about the mistake on the last lap when I cross-rutted. I couldn’t get the bike started fast enough to stay up front. Those mistakes happen sometimes. I was perhaps cruising a bit because of the last lap and wasn’t fully focused. I’ll have to try and make sure that doesn’t happen again. There are a lot of fast guys in this class and going for the championship…but I feel quite confident about what we are doing right now.”

Andrea Adamo, 11th and 9th for 10th overall in MX2: “The crash on Saturday compromised everything. I was in a bit of pain because Sacha’s wheel hit my back. It was the base of my problems today: I had bad starts and could not find my way up to the front group. I also had two crashes! It’s the way it is. The only positive thing was my speed when I could get going. A tough weekend but in 20 GPs we cannot always win or be on the podium. I tried the maximum and we still have nine races to go.”

 

Results MXGP Latvia 2025

 

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1-1

2. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-2

3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 6-3

4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), Fantic, 3-7

5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 4-6

 

Standings MXGP 2025 after 11 of 20 rounds

 

1. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 530 points

2. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 504

3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), Fantic, 362

4. Maxime Renaux (FRA), Yamaha, 347

5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 338

9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 279

 

Results MX2 Latvia 2025

 

1. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-2

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

3. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 8-1

4. Liam Everts (BEL) Husqvarna, 3-5

5. Thibault Benistant (FRA), Yamaha, 7-4

9. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 11-9

 

Standings MX2 2025 after 11 of 20 rounds

 

1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 515 points

2. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 488

3. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 478

4. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 419

5. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 389

KTM NEWS

TOM VIALLE SIDELINED FOR WASHOUGAL ROUND OF PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Tom Vialle has been sidelined ahead of Saturday's Pro Motocross Championship round at Washougal, unable to ride this week following a hard impact at the Spring Creek National that left him with soreness in his knee and shoulder. Equipped with the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, Vialle raced to a sixth-place finish in the first 250MX moto at Millville, before an unfortunate fall entering the sand whoops on the opening lap of Moto 2 saw the current 250SX East title-holder retire from the race. As a result, Vialle together with the full support of his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, has made the decision to withdraw from this weekend's race in Washington, before taking advantage of the two-week break that is scheduled prior to Round 9 at Ironman Raceway on August 9th. Ian Harrison, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: "It’s definitely unfortunate to announce that Tom Vialle will be sitting out this weekend’s race. It’s a long and demanding season for our riders, and we’ve been extremely fortunate up to this point to have had a full roster through the majority of Supercross and Pro Motocross. Of course, we love seeing our entire team out on the track representing the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing program, but our riders’ health and safety always come first. We fully support Tom’s decision to take the weekend off so he can focus on finishing the season strong and continuing to fight for podiums." Vialle is currently positioned fifth in this year’s 250MX standings following 7 of 11 rounds, with a pair of P2 overall results at both High Point and Southwick marking his best results of the outdoor season to date. He is also currently positioned third in the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) points.

RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING'S AARON PLESSINGER RULED OUT OF WASHOUGAL NATIONAL

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Aaron Plessinger has been ruled out of this weekend's Washougal round of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship to further address ongoing health issues that have affected him at the RedBud and Spring Creek Nationals in recent weeks. Plessinger will be sidelined for Round 8 of the season in order to seek further medical advice while prioritizing his health and fitness, before aiming to return to racing onboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION for the final three races of the outdoors. Ian Harrison, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: "The whole Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team is fully behind Aaron Plessinger, everyone’s favorite Cowboy. Our priority right now is making sure he receives the best medical advice and care possible. Aaron came into RedBud not at 100 percent, but he gave it his all and continued to push through to line up at Millville. Unfortunately, he felt the effects of his illness early on and, despite fighting hard in the first moto, was completely depleted and unable to recover for the second. By sitting out Washougal and heading into the break, it gives him a few weeks to focus on figuring out exactly what’s going on with his health. Most importantly, it allows him time to gain peace of mind and make the best decision on when he’s ready to return to racing." Plessinger opened his Pro Motocross campaign with two podiums across the opening three rounds, with a season-high result of second overall coming in Round 2 at Hangtown. Illness forced him to withdraw from Moto 2 at RedBud and then, despite attempting to push through, he also was forced out of Millville during Moto 1 when it became clear that he wasn't fully recovered. With two weekends off between Washougal and Round 9 at Ironman Raceway on August 9th, both Plessinger and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team will work together to ensure he is in position to regain 100 percent fitness for the final stages of Pro Motocross and the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) post-season. He is currently ranked third in the SMX standings.