Red Bull KTM Factory Racing fielded four riders representing three countries at a hot, packed and atmospheric Ironman Raceway in Indiana for the 78th edition of the Motocross of Nations. Under thick American sunshine solid results were logged by Lucas Coenen and Andrea Adamo for Teams Belgium and Italy respectively and with the KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F.
Lucas Coenen rides to 2-10 scores as the historic team race brought the curtain down on the international motocross season for 2025. Team Belgium were 4th in the contest
Andrea Adamo posts 12-12 results across a fast and wide track that was tricky for the 250cc motorcycles pitched against the 450s and ranks 4th overall in MX2
Sacha Coenen wins the MX2 Heat race on Saturday but battles adversity and an injured right wrist on Sunday to go 20-21 for 9th overall
MX2 World Champion Simon Laengenfelder crashes at the start of the first moto and is unable to assist Team Germany
The biggest and most celebrated motocross race in the world took place on American soil for the third time since 2018 and with a packed capacity crowd around the shallow hillside and winding curves of the Ironman Raceway (located west of Indianapolis and close to the town of Crawfordsville). The weekend team event pitted the three top riders of each country against each other for three motos that mixed MXGP, MX2 and MX Open classes.
Red Bull KTM aimed to add pace and power to Team Belgium, Team Germany and Team Italy. On Saturday Sacha Coenen starred for Team Belgium in the qualification heats with a comprehensive gate-to-flag win in MX2. Come Sunday and the motos thrust the best of the best together for the highest fives scores from six results and in the pursuit of the prestigious Chamberlain cup.
Lucas Coenen impressed with P2 in the first moto but was struggling to refine his race set-up throughout the day. He fell while eying the top three in the third race and classified 10th, which was enough for 5th in the MXGP division. Sacha made two mistakes in the first moto and ranked P20, picking up a sore right wrist after contact from another rider. In the second outing the 18-year-old toughed out the laps to 21st. Team Belgium missed the podium by 10 points.
Andrea Adamo suffered with his starts against the bigger bikes and had to discover every bump and ruts in order to make ground through the pack. His efforts were rewarded with two 12th positions, meaning 4th in MX2 and the basis of Team Italy’s standing of 6th for the day. Simon Laengenfelder was luckless in the first moto after opening corner contact put him on the dirt and in need of medical checks on his upper back and shoulder. The German was unable to take part in the second outing.
The ‘MXoN’ completes a sterling FIM campaign for Red Bull KTM with P1, P3 and P4 in the MX2 world championship and then P2 and P5 in the MXGP class.
Lucas Coenen, 5th in the MXGP class: “Not bad overall but we didn’t quite get the bike like we wanted for this fast track. I didn’t want to change too much from our base setting because we didn’t have too many sessions but it was probably a bit too soft and I felt a bit limited. I didn’t find the flow but the speed was still there and I was battling with the guys. I learned a lot from riders that we usually don’t race in GPs. It was a bummer what happened in the second moto but it happens and I’m happy. It’s been a good rookie year: 2nd in MXGP and I won all I could. A lot of positive things and I improved. I will work even harder to be on top.”
Andrea Adamo, 4th n the MX2 class “Two solid motos. Nothing really special but this was a tough track for the start and the 250: it was really long and really deep. I was near last place both times and made my way up near the top ten surrounded by 450s, so I’m pretty happy. The goal was to win the MX2 class overall and I made P4, so not too bad considering. I rode well and the track was nice. It was hard to catch the 450s out of the corners, I had to make up my time under braking. Anyway, happy to end the season in shape and we can now think about a break and testing.”
Sacha Coenen, 9th in the MX2 class “A bit disappointed because we could have won with Team Belgium. We had a strong team and strong riders but the races did not go as we expected. I was 4th for a long time in the first moto but then had an issue with the rear brake. I slid out and Justin Cooper jumped into me and onto the bike. I tried to ride the second moto with a painful wrist. It was difficult and I did my best for 20th. It was not the two races we hoped for. A bummer that we did not make it to the top. 2025 has been, let’s say, up and down. I’m happy and not happy. It started well, then I had some difficult moments but from the halfway point of the season I was the most consistent rider out there and made a lot of podiums as well as winning three of the last six motos. Winning the qualification moto here yesterday as well was really nice.”
Simon Laengenfelder, 20th in the MX2 class: “Not much to say. I went down on the first corner and a few guys ran over me. My shoulder was hurting a lot so we took some time to get it checked out. We need to see how it feels but it’s a shame to finish the year like this.”
Results MXoN2025 MXGP
- Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 4 points
- Eli Tomac (USA), Yamaha, 6
- Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 7
- Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 10
- Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 12
Results MXoN2025 MX2
- Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 16 points
- Justin Cooper (USA), Yamaha, 20
- Mathis Valin (FRA), Kawasaki, 23
- Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 24
- Kyle Webster (AUS), Honda, 28
- Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 41
- Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Results MXoN Teams
- Team Australia (Lawrence, Lawrence, Webster), 19 points
- Team USA (Tomac, Cooper, Hampshire), 33
- Team France (Febvre, Valin, Renaux), 33
- Team Belgium (Coenen, Coenen, Everts), 43
- Team Italy (Cairoli, Adamo, Bonacorsi), 58
- Team Germany (Roczen, Laengenfelder, Spies), 120
Photocredits – @jpacevedophoto
