Sacha Coenen back on top with comprehensive Swedish MX2 Grand Prix victory

MXGP rushed into another back-to-back series of fixtures in Sweden and the Netherlands. The championship is entering the final stretch of races and will bounce from Scandinavia back to central Europe before the three-week swing to Turkey, China and Australia. Uddevalla came first and the compact, stony hardpack was rutty, dry and bumpy for the annual trip to the site north of Gothenburg.

The spectators flocked to Uddevalla as most of Europe continues to enjoy a persistent summer and high temperatures. The circuit has entertained MXGP almost every year since the last century and retains a rich motocross history and heritage, even if the narrow trajectory is tight for line choice and passing opportunities. Red Bull KTM were without Lucas Coenen as the 19-year-old is still not full fit and pain free from his left hip problem; Lucas has missed points in Great Britain, Czech Republic and Belgium, and Sweden arrived too soon for the five-time Grand Prix winner this year.

Simon Laengenfelder was the king of Saturday’s Qualification Heat program. The German banked points and Pole Position in MX2 for the fourth time in 2026 and from the past five events. Sacha Coenen was 5th and in MXGP Andrea Adamo managed 8th.

Adamo, on a new spec of the KTM 450 SX-F, started well in the first moto with the holeshot and held 4th position for much of the duration. He waged a close fight with Romain Febvre in the final laps and registered a decent 5th. The rookie was then lodged deep into the top ten at the start of the second moto and persevered to take 7th, providing a result of 7th overall on the day. Andrea is joint-5th in the MXGP championship.

In MX2 Sacha Coenen grasped his first moto win since round eight in Latvia with the KTM 250 SX-F. #19 confirmed his twelfth holeshot of the campaign and then controlled the opening race. Despite some distant pressure from Liam Everts, he was able to pass the checkered flag in P1 for his second dose of 25 points this season. Simon Laengenfelder made a top ten start but struggled to move through the order and finished 5th.

In the second moto Coenen repeated the formula: out front from the start he had a lead of almost three seconds by the midway point of 30 minutes and 2-laps distance. He defended the advantage from Everts again and achieved his third 1-1 of the term. Sacha now has eight podiums and the joint-highest overall GP win tally of the class. Laengenfelder lingered in the top five and again found his overtaking chances limited. 5th for a second time meant 6th overall. Simon is only 61 points from the red plate.

KTM’s Ricardo Bauer rode to a perfect 1-1 scorecard with his KTM 125 SX. The results were enough for the Austrian to put his stamp on the EMX125 European Championship. Ricardo has a 62-point advantage over countryman Moritz Ernecker and the gap was sufficient to wrap the title with just one round remaining in Turkey.

The loose sand of the Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden in Arnhem will stage the Grand Prix of the Netherlands next week for round sixteen.

Andrea Adamo, 5th and 7th for 7th overall in MXGP: “Not the best, not the worst. For sure it could have been better. I made a good start in the first moto and was 4th all the way until a small mistake meant Romain got me. I know he was fast but there was only one-and-a-half laps to go and I could have been a bit smarter with some decisions. 5th was OK. Second moto I started really good again but I went a bit too wide and lost some positions. I found my way back to 7th and couldn’t do much more. This track could be much better…but it was hard for everybody. We need to improve in a couple of spots but we’ll get there. Arnhem coming up. I’m feeling good in the sand lately so let’s look forward.”

Sacha Coenen, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MX2: “I’m back where I belong. I’m really happy. It’s a great feeling to come back from injury and to win again. We put in a lot of hard work to get here. Really happy with the riding and dealt with the pressure. I don’t have many more words right now.”

Simon Laengenfelder, 5th and 5th for 6th overall in MX2: “Difficult weekend. I had a really good Quali race, great start, and won it. I was quite methodical and had good line choice. Sunday was different. Both starts were not the best and I just tried to find my way to the front and do something. I lacked speed although I enjoyed the track and thought I rode well; but the lap-times said differently. 5-5 is not what I am aiming for. We’ll continue working and try to do our best in the sand.”

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 1-1
2. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 4-2
3. Tom Vialle (FRA), Honda, 3-4
7. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 5-7
8. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 10-6

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 735 points
2. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 619
3. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 575
4. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 566
6. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 483
9. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 375

2. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 2-2
3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA), Triumph, 3-3
6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 5-5

1. Guillem Farres (ESP), Triumph, 701 points
2. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 677
3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA), Triumph, 656
4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 640
5. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna, 595