COENEN STRETCHES MXGP LEAD IN PORTUGAL

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing continued its impressive 2026 MXGP campaign at the Portuguese Grand Prix, with Lucas Coenen strengthening his grip on the MXGP World Championship and Sacha Coenen extending his run of podium finishes in MX2.

Round 10 of the championship marked the halfway point of the season and was contested on Agueda’s fast, rough, clay-based circuit, where hot, dry conditions produced deep bumps and demanding racing across both classes.

Lucas Coenen arrived in Portugal carrying the MXGP red plate and immediately stamped his authority on the weekend by winning Saturday’s Qualifying Race. The victory earned him his fourth Pole position of the season and second in the past three rounds, along with another 10 championship points.

The Belgian backed that performance up on Sunday with a dominant victory in the opening MXGP moto. After grabbing the lead early, Coenen controlled the race from the front to win by almost four seconds, recording his 11th moto victory of the season.

Moto two again saw Coenen out front early, but this time he settled for second behind Jeffrey Herlings. His 1-2 scorecard secured second overall for the weekend, extending his run to five consecutive MXGP podiums and seven overall podiums from the opening 10 rounds.

More importantly, the result increased his championship advantage to 57 points over Herlings as the series heads into the second half of the season.

“Consistency was key,” Coenen said. “I won the Qualifying Race and the first moto, so it was already a good weekend. We’ll take the positives and move on to South Africa.”

MXGP rookie Andrea Adamo continued to bank solid championship points aboard the KTM 450 SX-F. The Italian recorded 8-7 moto finishes to claim seventh overall and remains inside the championship’s top 10 as he continues his transition into the premier class.

In MX2, Sacha Coenen endured a difficult opening moto after crashing through the waves section while running near the front. The Belgian dropped to 18th before producing an impressive recovery ride to finish sixth.

He bounced back in race two with a superb second-place finish aboard the KTM 250 SX-F, securing third overall for the weekend and extending his podium streak to four consecutive rounds. The result also saw Coenen retain the MX2 red plate and increase his championship lead to 32 points.

“A mistake in the first moto messed up my weekend,” Coenen admitted. “I know exactly what happened and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again in South Africa.”

Simon Laengenfelder narrowly missed the overall podium after finishing third in the opening moto before crossing the line sixth in race two. His 3-6 results left him fifth overall, just one point shy of the podium, while maintaining third place in the MX2 championship standings.

The KTM success continued in the EMX125 Championship, where Ricardo Bauer claimed the overall victory with 2-1 moto finishes aboard his KTM 125 SX. The Austrian now sits just 19 points behind fellow KTM rider Moritz Ernecker in the championship standings.

The MXGP World Championship now leaves Europe for the first time this season, travelling to South Africa for round 11. The Terra Topia circuit near Johannesburg will host its first-ever MXGP event and marks the championship’s return to South African soil for the first time since 2008.