The eighth round of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship took place in the sands of Latvia’s famous Kegums circuit. After days of wet weather leading into the weekend, sunny skies greeted riders for race day at the Motocenter Zelta Zirgs facility. The event marked a historic day for the Coenen family, as Lucas and Sacha Coenen became the first pair of brothers to win a Grand Prix on the same day. Lucas further extended his advantage in the MXGP championship, while Sacha continued his recent surge in the MX2 division.
MXGP
Lucas Coenen delivered another commanding performance for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, sweeping the qualifying race and winning both motos. The Belgian teenager grabbed the holeshot in race one and led every lap despite dealing with a fading clutch late in the race. In race two, Coenen quickly took over the lead on lap one and never looked back. This victory marked his 20th career Grand Prix win and his fourth overall victory of the season. More importantly, a mechanical failure for Jeffrey Herlings in the second moto allowed Coenen to stretch his championship lead to 62 points as the series heads into the midseason break. Lucas is also set to make his US debut next weekend at round three of the Pro Motocross Championship.
“It’s just amazing, I can’t describe it better,” Coenen said. “To see me and my brother win all the races together on the same weekend is just so amazing. Thanks to the team a lot, because they worked really hard after what happened in race one, they put me in really good conditions to go out in the second race, and then I just tried to control it and not make any mistakes, because the track was really tricky.”
Kay de Wolf continued his transition into the MXGP class with a career-best second overall finish for the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team. We knew the Dutchman would be good in the sand and he proved to be a factor in both motos, charging from fourth to second in race one before overcoming a difficult start in race two. De Wolf worked his way forward and eventually passed Tim Gajser to secure third in the moto, which earned runner-up honors in the overall rankings. This result continues an upward trend for the former MX2 World Champion, who has improved his overall result in each of the last four rounds.
“We aimed for going 3-3 on the weekend, ended up going 2-3, so we’re really happy,” De Wolf said. “We achieved another goal going second overall. The second race was a bit tougher, I got pushed wide with the start which put me in around ninth, and it didn’t flow as well as the first one. The first race I had a way better flow and could ride way easier, so it’s tough to come through the pack. Tim [Gajser] put up a good fight and I made a few big mistakes actually which should not happen, but we’re still learning and we keep achieving new goals so I’m really happy.”
Romain Febvre completed the podium with a consistent 4-2 scores. The reigning MXGP world champion spent much of the opening moto battling Jeffrey Herlings and De Wolf before settling for fourth. In race two, Febvre led early on and stayed in the hunt for a podium position. A mechanical for Herlings late in the race bumped Febvre up a spot and put him on the box for the day. While he was unable to challenge for the overall victory, the podium result gave Febvre a solid points haul in the championship battle.
“It’s a good weekend, just consistent 4-2 on Sunday,” Febvre said. “In the first race I was maybe 20 minutes in second place, but behind me they were pushing, finding other lines, and every time I made a small mistake they came close, so I held on, held on, held on, and then at some point physically I was a little bit not strong, so I decided just to keep it for fourth. In the second race I didn’t change anything but I was feeling much better physically. I took the holeshot but Lucas and Jeffrey passed me straight away on the first lap, so I was a little bit shocked. I lost two positions in one lap. But I stayed with them, one or two seconds all the way, and then I guess Jeffrey had an issue with the bike and I was behind Lucas. I came close to him with two laps to go, but I was thinking too much about being on the podium because the last few weeks I missed it so many times and was not consistent. Either way, it’s definitely good to be on the podium, and with what happened to Jeffrey in the second race, we take good points for the championship!”
Jeffrey Herlings looked to challenge for the overall win after finishing second in the first moto and running near the front in race two. However, a mechanical issue ended his day early for the second consecutive weekend, resulting in 10th overall and a major setback in the championship standings.
“Not much to say really,” Herlings said. “Hard to take when this happens but at least my riding was good and I was challenging for the win. Just got to try and do the best we can from here on in.”
Tim Gajser took fourth overall with local favorite Pauls Jonass giving Latvian fans plenty to cheer about in fifth overall.
MX2
Sacha Coenen continued his recent dominance in the MX2 division, claiming his third consecutive Grand Prix victory. The Red Bull KTM rider won the qualifying race and captured both holeshots before leading every lap during both of Sunday’s motos. Other riders tried to make a run at Coenen but he was too far gone in each race, winning by 23 seconds in moto one and six seconds in race two. His perfect weekend increased his championship advantage to 37 points and further established him as the rider to beat as the series heads into the second half of the season. The Coenen brothers made history by both sweeping the weekend and carry that momentum as they head to the USA for their debut ride in the Pro Motocross Championship.
“It’s amazing, I have no words,” Coenen said. “It’s really nice to win all the races at the same time as my brother on the same weekend.. It’s really special! Especially on this track where I won my first GP, and now I’ve won here three times in a row, so it’s quite special. I’m really happy. I just like this track, it kind of suits me. I like everything about it, it’s a bit sketchy in some places and you need to be really careful. I’m not really thinking about the championship, I’m just trying to go race by race and do my best every weekend. I’m still having fun on the bike, just keeping myself at the front every race and making the most points possible.”
Camden McLellan finished second overall for Triumph Racing Factory Team despite once again fighting through the pack after less-than-ideal starts. The South African rider was among the fastest riders on the track all weekend but a big crash in race one limited him to a third at the line. He fired back in race two and put a dramatic last-lap pass on local favorite Karlis Reisulis to secure second and second overall. This result moved McLellan into fourth in the championship standings and continued his strong midseason form.
“All in all, pretty good from my seat this weekend, a lot of sand flying in my face, but for the rest it was pretty good,” McLellan said. “I think if I could get out of the gate I could run with Sacha, but there are ifs, buts and maybes every weekend, so I really need to polish that and figure out why I’m not getting starts…The issue is Sacha is really good at sprinting in those first two or three laps and can build ten seconds before you blink. I think it’s mental, to be honest; I’m very calculated in terms of risk and reward, and I’m not willing to push over the limit when there’s no real reward.”
“It wasn’t easy this weekend,” Valin said. “I wasn’t feeling that great with the track, but I managed a good first race. I didn’t have the best first corner but I had to fight to come back, and Camden [McLellan] made a mistake at the end so I could finish second, which was a good one. I gave everything in the first race so I was a bit tired in the second. Overall it was good; four podiums in a row, so I have the consistency now.”
The biggest championship story behind Coenen’s victory was the difficult weekend for defending champion Simon Laengenfelder. The German struggled throughout both motos and crashed hard in race two before retiring entirely. This allowed Coenen to significantly increase his championship lead, while Guillem Farres moved to within three points of Laengenfelder for second in the standings. Latvian rider Karlis Reisulis narrowly missed the podium in front of his home crowd after running second for much of race two before being passed by McLellan on the final lap.
RESULTS
MXGP
- Lucas Coenen (KTM) 1-1
- Kay De Wolf (Hus) 2-3
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 4-2
- Tim Gajser (Yam) 5-4
- Pauls Jonass (Kaw) 7-5
MX2
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 1-1
- Camden McLellan (Tri) 3-2
- Mathis Valin (Kaw) 2-6
- Guillem Farres (Tri) 4-4
- Karlis Reisulis (Yam) 6-3
