Lucas Coenen’s third consecutive Grand Prix win was arguably the most significant for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing premier class rookie as he became the first Belgian to triumph on home turf in almost ten years. Coenen went 2-1 in the motos with his KTM 450 SX-F at a sunny and sandy Lommel to follow up victories in Finland and Czech Republic. Round 15 of 20 in the current world championship campaign was a positive meeting for the Coenen family as Lucas’ twin Sacha ranked P3 overall in MX2. Lommel will live in the memory of Italian Nicolo Alvisi as the youngster secured a European title for the factory.
Lucas Coenen eases to a strong second moto win for his twelfth checkered flag of 2025 and his fifth overall success of a maiden MXGP term. The 18-year-old is only 9 points from the red plate
Sacha Coenen recovers from a crashy first moto to be runner-up in the second and confirm P3 for his seventh podium appearance of the season and from the last nine rounds
Jeffrey Herlings makes a late call to enter the Belgian Grand Prix and aces a second moto holeshot but slips in each race means P8 in MXGP for the day
MX2 title contenders Andrea Adamo & Simon Laengenfelder finish P4 and P5 at Lommel to give Red Bull KTM three runners in the final top five. The pair tied on points and are separated by 49 in the standings
Nicolo Alvisi is the 2025 EMX125 European Champion. The teenage Italian finished 4th overall in Lommel after a tense decider, and lifted the #1 plate with the KTM 125 SX
Uddevalla will stage the Grand Prix of Sweden in a fortnight and kickstarts the final stint of the year that involves trips to The Netherlands, Turkey, China and Australia
Sand, sunshine and a packed attendance at Lommel marked the 2025 Grand Prix of Flanders and the second race of another doubleheader on the current MXGP calendar. After stormy showers on Saturday, the dark, deep and rough Belgian terrain was its usual fiendish test for both man and machine.
Lucas Coenen excelled in front of his home crowd by accelerating through the bumps and a top five start on Saturday to win the MXGP qualification heat for the sixth time, and the fourth occasion from the last seven Grands Prix. Jeffrey Herlings was back in the gate for the first time in a month and after recovering from his broken right collarbone. The Dutchman rode conservatively to P9. In MX2 Andrea Adamo took P2, Simon Laengenfelder was P4 and Sacha Coenen was further back in P7.
Sunday’s summery climate cooked the 30-minute and 2 lap motos for each class. In MXGP Lucas Coenen charged up to the rear wheel of Romain Febvre and briefly took 1st place in the first moto but then had to ease his pursuit and accepted P2. Herlings was running top three but a small tip-off cost him positions and he crossed the line in P8. Coenen again chased Febvre in the second moto but a more effective flow meant he was able to pass his title rival and pull clear to the flag. Belgium had not seen home success in the premier class since 2016 at Lommel. Lucas headed the pack after Herlings had earlier tumbled out of the lead: the Dutchman had grabbed an excellent holeshot but felt the full demands of the Lommel sand against his lack of recent race time. Jeffrey made it to the line in P8 for 8th overall.
Coenen has slimmed the gap to Romain Febvre to nine points after Lommel with five rounds and a maximum of 300 still to fight for. Lucas has been on the MXGP podium for ten meetings in a row.
Sacha Coenen turned a hectic first MX2 moto (two crashes but decent speed for P4) into a podium celebration with a controlled sprint to P2 in the second race. Feeding from the home support, Coenen rode his KTM 250 SX-F to a seventh top-three from the last nine rounds and consolidate 4th in the championship table. Adamo was 4th overall and tied on points at Lommel with Laengenfelder in 5th. The Italian scored a decent P3 in the first moto and then had to blast back from a blameless first corner crash to salvage 8th. The German classified 7th on track, after a small fall cost him time. He was then a distant but resilient 4th at the second time of asking.
Laengenfelder has a 38-point cushion at the top of the MX2 contest. Adamo is 3rd but still very much in the hunt and Coenen is almost 100 points away from the top three.
The 2025 EMX125 European Championship reached a conclusion at Lommel with the twelfth and final round of the series. The KTM Racestore Factory Rookies crew have been major players with Nicolo Alvisi and Aron Katona both winning races and leading the standings. Alvisi dueled for the title in Belgium, and after the first race on Saturday the difference was just one point. The Italian then weathered the pressure Sunday morning to secure P2 and seal the gold plate by 11 points. Alvisi claimed 8 moto wins of 24 (a total of 12 top three finishes) and Katona earned 4 (with 7 top threes) before a knee injury curtailed his season. The Hungarian placed 11th in the final table.
MXGP travels to another northern region of the continent for the Grand Prix of Sweden. Uddevalla will host round 16 in two weeks.
Lucas Coenen, 2nd and 1st for 1st overall in MXGP: “We had a good fight in moto one. Romain was riding really well and we managed the gap. I tried to overtake a few occasions but couldn’t manage it. Moto two I just put my heart out there and went full-send. I enjoyed that last lap so much. I could cruise, roll and enjoy every moment. It’s the best victory I’ve had.”
Jeffrey Herlings, 8th and 8th for 8th overall in MXGP: “The speed was there and could be seen in practice, first moto and the second…but I haven’t done anything for four weeks and I’m lacking some arm muscle and power. Fitness-wise I was quite OK, I think I could have gone 3-3 today thanks to that but my shoulder wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t hold on that well and started crashing. Overall, I’m quite happy about my riding but I was on the deck too much. Onto Sweden, and I’m hopeful with three-four weeks back on the bike I’ll be competitive again for the final three GPs.”
Sacha Coenen, 4th and 2nd for 3rd overall in MX2: “A difficult weekend. I made a lot of mistakes in the first moto but the second one was much better and I didn’t make any stupid crashes. We had good speed, good starts and we are looking forward to the next races already.”
Andrea Adamo, 3rd and 8th for 4th overall in MX2: “I was pleased with how I was in the sand; when a sandy GP is coming up in the calendar I’m usually pretty nervous about it! In the end I made good starts, good riding and good motos. I was quite smooth and saved energy. P2 in Quali and P3 in the first moto and then it was a bummer in the second moto when I was pushed wide and another rider fell on me. I was not in a good spot, and it is bad to start a second moto in Lommel completely last! I think I did OK to come back. It could have been better…but it was not too bad. I’m happy with the speed and gave all I had on the track. Sweden next. We move on and we will fight hard.”
Simon Laengenfelder, 7th and 4th for 5th overall in MX2: “Difficult weekend. I really needed to push hard in that second moto to secure the 4th place because there was quite a lot of pressure from riders behind me. I lost some points today but I would say on a bad weekend we learned the most. We’ll make the most of the free weekend to look ahead to Sweden, which is an awesome track.”
Results MXGP Belgium 2025
- Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-1
- Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 1-2
- Calvin Vlaanderen (NED), Yamaha, 3-5
- Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), Fantic, 5-4
- Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA), Fantic 9-3
Standings MXGP 2025 after 15 of 20 rounds
- Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 734 points
- Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 725
- Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), Fantic, 534
- Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 487
- Calvin Vlaanderen (NED), Yamaha, 436
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 353
Results MX2 Belgium 2025
- Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 1-1
- Camden McLellan (RSA), Triumph, 2-3
- Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 4-2
- Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 3-8
- Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 7-4
Standings MX2 2025 after 15 of 20 rounds
- Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 704 points
- Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 666
- Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 655
- Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 559
- Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 464
Photocredits – Juan Pablo Acevedo
