Round four of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship took place on April 11-12 at the Crossodromo Comunale “Le Dune” circuit in Riola Sardo on the Mediterranean island of Sardegna. This year marked the sixth time the series had visited the challenging course, and with minimal track prep throughout the weekend, all competitors had their work cut out for them. Both championship leaders emerged victorious, Red Bull KTM’s Lucas Coenen in MXGP and Simon Laengenfelder in MX2.
MXGP
Coenen was on another level this weekend. The MXGP sophomore looked like a veteran in the sand, easily navigating past several former champions in both motos. In the first moto, he opened up nearly a 20-second lead over sand specialist Jeffrey Herlings and started the day with a dominant win. Race two again saw him move to the lead early, building another double-digit margin. Coenen fell late in the race and watched his gap dwindle as Herlings closed in. The two duked it out in the waning laps, but Coenen held tough and crossed the line just over a second clear of Herlings. A 1-1 sweep of the day keeps Coenen in firm control of the championship points lead.
“Qualifying—made it difficult for myself—I hit the gate and then crashed in the first corner, so me and Kay [de Wolf] came back from last to fifth,” Coenen said. “That cost quite a lot of energy, but in race one I made some good passes and managed to win it. In the second race, it was similar. I had a small crash at the end, and with Jeffrey [Herlings] pushing, you really have to step up your pace, but overall, I managed to finish with the win, so that was decent.”
Herlings finished second overall with a pair of second places. “The Bullet” led laps in race one after passing his teammate Tom Vialle, but he was no match for Coenen. In both races, Herlings watched the young Belgian rider walk away to more than a 10 second lead. He tried to capitalize in the final laps of moto two, which would’ve given him the overall win, but his two runner-up finishes ultimately put him second on the box. Herlings sits second in the championship, 14 back from Coenen.
“I felt like I came pretty close this weekend, and we were fighting until the last turn in the second race,” Herlings said. “I just need to be honest, he [Coenen] was better this weekend, so fair play to him. I feel like I’m getting closer, and we just keep going, keep charging, and try to do our best. The level is high right now, so it’s not a shame to be second, but of course, we keep pushing.”
Kay de Wolf earned his first-ever overall podium in the MXGP class, with third place. The Factory Husqvarna rider is always a threat in the sand, so it was no surprise to see him on the box in Sardegna. After qualifying seventh, he delivered a strong ride in the opening race. De Wolf passed all the way to fourth and narrowly missed the podium after defending Romain Febvre fell in the final laps. Race two saw the Dutch rider start way back in 24th before turning up the heat and charging through the field. At the halfway point of the moto, he was battling for a top five and crossed the line in a podium position. 4-3 results landed him third overall, taking the tiebreaker with Febvre.
“It was a crazy one,” de Wolf said. “I came from last to third in the second race after crashing in the second turn, and I just put the hammer down from lap one. I think I was almost off the bike 10 times, but I just held on and gave it everything. I’m happy to be on the podium, especially because I’ve been struggling a bit all weekend with the feeling, so this result is a good one.”
Romain Febvre took fourth overall, with Ruben Fernandez rounding out the top five.
MX2
Defending MX2 champion Simon Laengenfelder is in it to win it. The Red Bull KTM rider seems to be playing the long game, as he earned another overall victory in Sardegna. Two strong starts put him up front for Sunday’s motos, and a second-place finish to start the day kept him in good standing for the overall win. Laengenfelder capitalized on a crash by his teammate, Sacha Coenen, in race two and found himself leading early. A win in the second moto gave him his second consecutive overall win, the first time in his career. It also puts Laengenfelder 24 points up in the championship.
“To be honest, in Spain I didn’t expect that much sand, and we struggled a bit. We put in some work on the suspension, and it got quite good,” Laengenfelder said. “I could ride more freely and let the bike do the work, which was positive. Sacha was fast, but his mistake helped me a bit.”
Sacha Coenen still finished second on the day. The Belgian rider claimed both holeshots and led most of the day. He put in a dominant ride in moto one, crossing 13 seconds clear of his teammate, Laengenfelder. A crash while leading the second moto set Sacha Coenen back to ninth and handed over the overall victory. He managed to charge back to second at the line and salvaged second on the day.
“I was riding well all weekend, from Saturday into both races, but I made a mistake in the first laps of the second race,” Sacha Coenen said. “I don’t know what happened. I just lost the front at high speed, so I was lucky to be okay. After that, I came back from around 12th and made my way forward, so finishing second overall is not a bad weekend.”
Liam Everts put his Nestaan Husqvarna on the overall podium in third. Everts, who is still riding with an injury, found his way to third in the opening moto. A poor start in the second race saw much more effort on the Belgian’s part, but he continued to push forward as the laps wore on. He managed to cross fourth and bumped up in the overall rankings due to a crash from Guillem Farres on the final lap. Two podium finishes in a row now moves Everts to third in the championship standings.
“I’ve always struggled here for some reason, so to be on the podium this weekend is definitely a big confidence booster,” Everts said. “At the moment, we’re just trying to get as many points as possible and make the most out of the situation, especially as I’m not riding much during the week. Every podium is a bonus right now, so I’m happy with this one.”
Camden McLellan and Janis Reisulis rounded out the overall top five. CN
RESULTS
MXGP (Top 5)
1. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 1-1
2. Jeffrey Herlings (Hon) 2-2
3. Kay de Wolf (Hus) 4-3
4. Romain Febvre (Kaw) 3-4
5. Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 5-5
MX2 (Top 5)
1. Simon Laengenfelder (KTM) 2-1
2. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 1-2
3. Liam Everts (Hus) 3-4
4. Camden McLellan (Tri) 6-3
5. Janis Reisulis (Yam) 4-9
