MXGP 2026, Round 9 of 19, Montevarchi, Italy
More double category trophies for Red Bull KTM this season at Montevarchi and the Italian Grand Prix. Sacha Coenen won the MX2 class for the second event in a row with the KTM 250 SX-F while his twin, Lucas, was 2nd overall for his sixth MXGP podium result of the campaign with the KTM 450 SX-F. The Italian date marked the start of another 2026 MXGP triple header of fixtures with trips to Portugal and South Africa to come in the following weeks.
Highlights and key moments from Montevarchi:
Lucas Coenen produced two comeback charges to go 3-3 and stretch his streak of top-three moto results to nine outings as the Belgian holds the red plate by 56 points
Sacha Coenen celebrates his third MX2 GP victory of the season and strengthens his grasp on the red plate to 41 points
Andrea Adamo misses the MXGP podium by just 5 points and goes 7-4 on the day with a second moto holeshot
Simon Laengenfelder finishes 3rd in the first moto but a complicated second outing puts him 6th overall for the Grand Prix
Agueda and the Terra Topia MX Track take MXGP to two extreme geographical points of two continents in the next fortnight
The tight, dusty Montevarchi hardpack made a reappearance on the Grand Prix calendar for the Italian round of the series. The course south of Florence last hosted a round of MXGP exactly 20 years ago and conditions were hot and sunny for a reintroduction to the FIM World Championship spotlight.
The Coenen brothers had little time to rest after a successful debut at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado for the third round of the AMA Pro Nationals in the USA: Lucas finished on the podium in 2nd place with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION while Sacha won the second moto on the 250cc version of the same motorcycle. The twins then carried their red plates as series leaders of MXGP and MX2 respectively into action at Montevarchi.
Andrea Adamo starred on Saturday for the Qualification Heats. The Italian started well and took a top three finish for points and the same slot in the start gate for the motos. The track was hard for passing and Lucas could only cross the line in P6. In MX2 Sacha was P4 and Simon Laengenfelder was a cautious P11 after each fell in the first turn.
Moto 1 for MXGP saw Coenen pull back to the top three and Adamo also ride quite well in front of expectant home fans for P7. Moto 2 followed a similar vibe but Andrea got away well from the gate and followed his teammate across the finish line as the KTMs rode to 3-4.
In the first MX2 moto Laengenfelder made one of his best starts of recent events to take the lead from the opening corner. The world champion then kept steady for a P3 result. Sacha was P4 from the start and had to deal with some early traffic and roost before finding a rhythm good enough to pass his teammate and bag P2. In the second race Simon again holeshotted but a few critical moments of indecision cost him positions as Sacha powered to another runner-up slot for the overall P1 ranking.
The brothers will lead their respective divisions for the third Grand Prix in a row as the series moves to
Agueda, home of the Grand Prix of Portugal since the start of the century, which will host round ten next weekend.
Lucas Coenen, 3rd and 3rd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “I’m happy to be here on the box and I didn’t really expect it. It took some time to adjust to this track and I had a bad jump from the gate. I rode well to make passes and arrive to the other guys at the front and the second moto was good also…but I didn’t want to make a big mistake. The track was sketchy, so I rode smart and played the long game.”
Andrea Adamo, 7th and 4th for 4th overall in MXGP: “Definitely a good weekend I’m pretty happy with my consistency. I went a bit too quick for the start of the first moto but the others were good. We might have been able to think about the podium if the first moto hadn’t been wrecked. P4 overall is still solid though and that’s what we aim for. My home GP was amazing, even if the track was not the best. A crazy atmosphere. Now to Portugal where I have good memories of the 1-1-1 last year.”
Sacha Coenen, 2nd and 2nd for 1st overall in MX2: “A difficult weekend here and with this track. It actually changed quite a lot. We made the best out of it and I just tried to finish in the best and safest way. In the first moto I started good but made a stupid mistake in front of the pitlane. It meant I had to win back a lot of positions and had a good flow.”
Simon Laengenfelder, 3rd and 12th for 6th overall in MX2: “A tricky weekend. I came to Italy feeling good but the start crash in the Quali race set me back. Still, I could come back to 11th and the pick was not too bad for the Sunday races. The holeshots were the only positive because I needed another level to go with those guys. I made the wrong decisions. Not the best riding or feeling so hard to come out of it. I won’t stop fighting.”
Results MXGP Italy 2026
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 1-2
- Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 3-3
- Maxime Renaux (FRA), Kawasaki, 2-6
- Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 7-4
Standings MXGP 2026 after 9 of 19 rounds
- Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 449 points
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 393
- Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 347
- Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 281
- Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 273
Results MX2 Italy 2026
- Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-2
- Guillem Farres (ESP), Triumph, 1-5
- Camden McLellan (RSA), Triumph, 7-1
- Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 4-3
- Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 3-12
Standings MX2 2026 after 9 of 19 rounds
- Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 431 points
- Guillem Farres (ESP), Triumph, 390
- Camden McLellan (RSA), Triumph, 373
- Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 372
- Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna, 354
