Sacha Coenen tied on points for 3rd position at the sandy Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden circuit for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands today. The Belgian ranked 4th overall and was the top Red Bull KTM rider at a busy and sunny sixteenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
Highlights and key moments from Arnhem:
- Andrea Adamo registers more decent results and points in his first MXGP campaign with the KTM 450 SX-F thanks to P6 overall
- Sacha Coenen rides to a 2-4 scorecard with the KTM 250 SX-F in MX2 and narrowly misses out on his ninth podium appearance of the campaign. Simon Laengenfelder is 6th on the day in Arnhem
- Lucas Coenen attempts the practice sessions but the issue with his left hip prevents the Belgian from participating in the Quali Heat and the rest of the Grand Prix
- The final triple header of the season takes the world championship to Turkey, China and Australia and the culmination of the campaign by the end of September
The flat, sandy and compact circuit north of Arnhem has become the home of the Dutch Grand Prix since the turn of the decade. The dark terrain is typically rough, draining and technical for man and machinery. Red Bull KTM transferred to the site, east of Amsterdam and close to the German border from Sweden last weekend with all four of their riders in the top six of the world championship standings and with Sacha Coenen -a dominant victor in Uddevalla – very much in contention for the MX2 crown.
On Saturday in bright, warm and breezy but also changeable conditions Andrea Adamo made a brilliant start in the MXGP Qualification Heat and held 2nd place for most of the distance. He eventually classified 3rd for the same pick in the gate for Sunday (his fifth top-three of 2026). In MX2 Sacha Coenen led the Quali sprint before a slip dropped him to P4 while Simon Laengenfelder took P6.
Sunday provided a similar climate, and a large 32,000 crowd (weekend figure) entered the facility. Adamo ran into traffic around the first corner of the opening moto but then performed well to come back to the top five. In the second race the Italian MXGP rookie steered his KTM 450 SX-F to 6th for the same position overall. Andrea is 5th in the championship and could catch his teammate, Lucas Coenen, who is 44 points ahead.
Sacha Coenen marked the pace of the first MX2 moto for 16 of 19 laps. The fast Belgian made a small mistake under pressure but then quickly regrouped to make sure of P2. In the second moto Sacha rode to 4th in what was a four-way battle for victory. He totaled 40 points and only missed the box due to the second moto classification.
Laengenfelder persisted through the first race to take 7th. The German followed up with a 6th in the second moto that delivered 6th overall. The MX2 standings remain tight: Coenen is P2 and just 25 behind leader Guillem Farres while Laengenfelder is P4 and 75 from the top. A maximum of 180 points is on the table from the last fixtures of the calendar.
Lucas Coenen returned to the saddle of his KTM 450 SX-F in The Netherlands. The Belgian missed last weekend’s Swedish Grand Prix to further recover from his left hip nerve trouble. Despite setting the 4th fastest time in Free Practice, Lucas then ran into more problems for feelings and comfort and had to withdraw.
MXGP now moves overseas. Afyon will stage the Grand Prix of Turkey before back-to-back trips in Shanghai and Darwin for the final rounds in China and Australia. Round seventeen will take place on September 5-6.
Andrea Adamo, 5th and 6th for 6th overall in MXGP: “I’m not too happy. I didn’t have the best feeling on the track from this morning and, honestly, I expected a bit more today, especially after the first moto I was in a pretty decent spot to play for an eventual podium. I went into the second moto confident and had a really good jump out of the gate but I got squeezed and lost some positions. The rest of the moto was a bit of a struggle. Still, 5-6 on a tricky day in the sand and with the 450 I guess is pretty decent. I know these tracks but to race them with the 450 is different and still quite new. 6th was good…but I wanted more.”
Sacha Coenen, 2nd and 4th for 4th overall in MX2: “I’m disappointed. I was 1st in the first moto until the tip off and then had a bad start in the second. I was around P5-P6 and made some good passes. I feel some riders were a bit dirty…so I think I will show them how to ride in Turkey because it was a bit dangerous. I just need to keep my head up.”
Simon Laengenfelder, 7th and 6th for 6th overall in MX2: “I was off the pace today. Maybe not risking enough or was just a bit too slow. I tried my best. I got the holeshot in the second moto and thought I could take some momentum…but the others outpaced me and I just had to settle for 6th. It was a difficult GP. I would like to turn some things around for these final few races but I also feel like I have tried every trick in the book to better my positions. You never know what will happen in these next GPs so I will keep trying to do my best.”
Results MXGP The Netherlands 2026
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 1-1
2. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 2-2
3. Tom Vialle (FRA), Honda, 4-3
6. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 5-6
Standings MXGP 2026 after 16 of 19 rounds
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 795 points
2. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 652
3. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 611
4. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 566
5. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 522
9. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 428
Results MX2 The Netherlands 2026
- Camden Mc Lellan (RSA), Triumph, 1-2
2. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 4-1
3. Guillem Farres (ESP), Triumph, 3-3
4. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-4
6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 7-6
Standings MX2 2026 after 16 of 19 rounds
1. Guillem Farres (ESP), Triumph, 749 points
2. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 724
3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA), Triumph, 712
4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 674
5. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna, 648
Photocredits – Juan Pablo Acevedo
