The Coenen brothers continued their remarkable 2026 campaign at Kegums, with both Lucas and Sacha claiming victory in Saturday’s qualifying races at the MXGP of Latvia and strengthening their holds on the red plates heading into round eight.
After two weeks of hardpack racing, the series arrived at the sandy Motocenter Zelta Zirgs circuit where changing conditions and a rapidly drying surface produced another fascinating day of racing. By the end of it, the familiar sight of the Belgian twins standing on top of the qualifying podiums had become reality once again.
MX1
Few riders have mastered the Latvian venue quite like Jeffrey Herlings, who arrived with an unprecedented nine career GP victories at Kegums and was on the gas straight away by topping both Free Practice and Time Practice for Honda HRC Petronas.
The Dutchman carried that speed into the qualifying race. Although championship leader Lucas Coenen grabbed the holeshot, Herlings wasted no time diving underneath the KTM rider through the opening turns to snatch the lead.
Behind them, MXGP rookie Kay de Wolf settled into third ahead of Romain Febvre, while local favourite Pauls Jonass enjoyed strong support from the Latvian crowd as he ran inside the top six.
Coenen refused to let Herlings escape. The pair quickly established themselves at the front before the Belgian made his move on lap three, sweeping around the outside of Herlings in a breathtaking pass that caught almost everyone by surprise.
Once in front, Coenen immediately increased the pace and began edging away.
“Honestly, the start was good, but I was running too hard on the inside and Jeffrey, like every year, turns quite good on the inside, so he got me on that one,” the 19-year-old explained.
“We were together, full pace in the beginning, but managed to take the pass over Jeffrey and just enjoy the riding out there. The track’s pretty sketchy; it’s really hard underneath, so I hope tomorrow I can make some more lines to test. But yeah, it was good.”
Herlings remained the only rider capable of matching the KTM rider’s speed for much of the race, but couldn’t find a response after surrendering the lead.
“I made a slight mistake just before, and I thought he was going to come inside, but he came outside instead,” Herlings said.
“Anyway, he was a bit faster than I was. I felt a bit slower the first 10-15 minutes but the last 10 minutes I kind of matched his speed. We just need to work a bit overnight to see where we’re losing it and keep working for tomorrow.”
While the battle for victory played out ahead, De Wolf continued another impressive performance in his rookie MXGP season. The Dutchman resisted late pressure from Febvre to secure third.
“I was feeling quite good,” De Wolf said. “I felt pretty good with the pace in the beginning, then Lucas went around Jeffrey. I tried a few laps to pass Jeffrey, but I felt like I couldn’t really go around.
“I didn’t know Romain was still behind me, so he caught me a little bit off guard the last three laps, but we made it a small sprint and managed that gap.”
Further back, Jonass delivered one of his strongest rides of the season in front of his home crowd, while Tim Gajser recovered from a poor start to finish seventh.
There was disappointment for Maxime Renaux, whose race ended dramatically when a broken front wheel launched him over the handlebars, while Andrea Bonacorsi suffered a heavy crash late in the race after catching his foot on a jump face.
The victory extends Coenen’s championship advantage over Herlings and sets up what promises to be an intense battle on Sunday, particularly at a circuit where the Dutchman has traditionally been almost unbeatable.
MX2
The MX2 qualifying race followed a similar pattern, with another Coenen victory arriving only after a hard-fought battle.
Local hero Janis Reisulis had given Latvian fans reason for optimism by running near the top in practice, but it was Valerio Lata who stunned the field in Time Practice by securing the fastest lap and first gate pick.
When the gate dropped, however, it was reigning world champion Simon Längenfelder who emerged first from turn one. His lead lasted only a matter of corners.
Approaching the daunting uphill triple jump, Längenfelder was forced to back off slightly, allowing Lata through and opening the door for championship leader Sacha Coenen to slip into second.
The leading trio quickly broke clear, while recent German GP winner Mathis Valin settled into fourth.
Further back, Camden McLellan endured a difficult start and found himself outside the top ten after the opening lap. The South African gradually worked his way forward, passing teammate Guillem Farres and then Janis Reisulis to climb into fifth by the finish.
At the front, Lata looked increasingly comfortable as he searched for his first qualifying victory of the season. Coenen shadowed him for lap after lap before finally launching his decisive attack with three laps remaining.
The move was spectacular and nearly disastrous at the same time.
Attempting to make the pass, Coenen over-jumped into the corner and came perilously close to crashing, somehow saving the bike while simultaneously taking over the lead.
“It was a good one,” Coenen laughed afterwards.
“I found the right moment, but I over-jumped completely in the corner… almost went on the ground! But overall, a good one. Had the race win and I’m really happy.”
Once clear, the Belgian held firm to the finish, with Lata claiming his best qualifying result of the season in second and Längenfelder taking third.
Valin finished fourth, while McLellan’s late charge secured fifth ahead of Liam Everts, who won a spirited final-lap battle with Janis Reisulis.
The result allows Sacha Coenen to stretch his championship advantage over Längenfelder to five points and leaves the KTM rider perfectly positioned to continue his recent dominance at Kegums, a venue where he has won the last two MX2 Grands Prix.
With both Lucas and Sacha now qualifying winners, Sunday presents another opportunity for the Belgian twins to achieve something that has seemed inevitable all season, a clean sweep of both Grand Prix victories on the same day.
| MX1 – Qualifying Moto – MXGP of Latvia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Nat | Bike | Gap |
| 1st | 5 | Lucas Coenen | BEL | KTM | +0:00.000 |
| 2nd | 84 | Jeffrey Herlings | NED | Honda | +0:03.917 |
| 3rd | 74 | Kay de Wolf | NED | Husqvarna | +0:14.861 |
| 4th | 1 | Romain Febvre | FRA | Kawasaki | +0:20.214 |
| 5th | 70 | Ruben Fernandez | ESP | Honda | +0:32.329 |
| 6th | 41 | Pauls Jonass | LAT | Kawasaki | +0:38.622 |
| 7th | 243 | Tim Gajser | SLO | Yamaha | +0:41.441 |
| 8th | 83 | Oriol Oliver | ESP | KTM | +0:48.234 |
| 9th | 80 | Andrea Adamo | ITA | KTM | +0:49.741 |
| 10th | 10 | Calvin Vlaanderen | NED | Ducati | +0:59.942 |
| 11th | 303 | Alberto Forato | ITA | Fantic | +1:10.608 |
| 12th | 55 | Maximilian Spies | GER | KTM | +1:16.825 |
| 13th | 32 | Brent Van doninck | BEL | Fantic | +1:22.351 |
| 14th | 93 | Jago Geerts | BEL | Beta | +1:23.552 |
| 15th | 4 | Rick Elzinga | NED | KTM | +1:29.321 |
| 16th | 919 | Ben Watson | GBR | Triumph | +1:30.497 |
| 17th | 253 | Jan Pancar | SLO | KTM | +1:31.657 |
| 18th | 24 | Kevin Horgmo | NOR | Honda | +1:36.982 |
| 19th | 142 | Jere Haavisto | FIN | KTM | +1:49.409 |
| 20th | 87 | Kevin Brumann | SUI | Husqvarna | +1:59.242 |
| 21st | 261 | Jorgen-Matthias Talviku | EST | Yamaha | +2:08.898 |
| 22nd | 611 | Markuss Kokins | LAT | GASGAS | +1 lap |
| 23rd | 110 | Erki Kahro | EST | KTM | +1 lap |
| 24th | 733 | Kaarel Tilk | EST | Husqvarna | +1 lap |
| 25th | 132 | Andrea Bonacorsi | ITA | Ducati | +4 laps |
| 26th | 338 | Filip Olsson | SWE | Honda | +8 laps |
| 27th | 959 | Maxime Renaux | FRA | Yamaha | +11 laps |
| MX2 – Championship Standings After Qualifying – MXGP of Latvia | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Nat | Bike | Total | Gap |
| 1st | 5 | Lucas Coenen | BEL | KTM | 354 Points | +0 |
| 2nd | 84 | Jeffrey Herlings | NED | HON | 322 Points | -32 |
| 3rd | 1 | Romain Febvre | FRA | KAW | 270 Points | -84 |
| 4th | 243 | Tim Gajser | SLO | YAM | 260 Points | -94 |
| 5th | 959 | Maxime Renaux | FRA | YAM | 251 Points | -103 |
| 6th | 74 | Kay de Wolf | NED | HUS | 231 Points | -123 |
| 7th | 70 | Ruben Fernandez | ESP | HON | 222 Points | -132 |
| 8th | 16 | Tom Vialle | FRA | HON | 219 Points | -135 |
| 9th | 80 | Andrea Adamo | ITA | KTM | 213 Points | -141 |
| 10th | 41 | Pauls Jonass | LAT | KAW | 145 Points | -209 |
| 11th | 303 | A. Forato | ITA | FAN | 142 Points | -212 |
| 12th | 10 | Calvin Vlaanderen | NED | DUC | 133 Points | -221 |
| 13th | 24 | Kevin Horgmo | NOR | HON | 108 Points | -246 |
| 14th | 83 | Oriol Oliver | ESP | KTM | 108 Points | -246 |
| 15th | 101 | Mattia Guadagnini | ITA | KTM | 69 Points | -285 |
| 16th | 32 | Brent Van doninck | BEL | FAN | 67 Points | -287 |
| 17th | 253 | Jan Pancar | SLO | KTM | 61 Points | -293 |
| 18th | 39 | R. Van De Moosdijk | NED | KTM | 50 Points | -304 |
| 19th | 93 | Jago Geerts | BEL | BET | 49 Points | -305 |
| 20th | 919 | Ben Watson | GBR | TRI | 45 Points | -309 |
| 21st | 132 | A. Bonacorsi | ITA | DUC | 41 Points | -313 |
| 22nd | 9 | Thibault Benistant | FRA | HON | 40 Points | -314 |
| 23rd | 91 | Jeremy Seewer | SUI | DUC | 34 Points | -320 |
| 24th | 226 | Tom Koch | GER | KTM | 21 Points | -333 |
| 25th | 300 | Noah Ludwig | GER | KTM | 14 Points | -340 |
| 26th | 4 | Rick Elzinga | NED | KTM | 11 Points | -343 |
| 27th | 55 | M. Spies | GER | KTM | 10 Points | -344 |
| 28th | 166 | Enzo Lopes | BRA | HON | 7 Points | -347 |
| 29th | 811 | Adam Sterry | GBR | KTM | 7 Points | -347 |
| 30th | 261 | J. Talviku | EST | YAM | 5 Points | -349 |
| 31st | 173 | Jose Butron | ESP | KTM | 5 Points | -349 |
| MX2 – Qualifying Moto – MXGP of Latvia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Nat | Bike | Gap |
| 1st | 19 | Sacha Coenen | BEL | KTM | +0:00.000 |
| 2nd | 18 | Valerio Lata | ITA | Honda | +0:06.768 |
| 3rd | 1 | Simon Längenfelder | GER | KTM | +0:08.358 |
| 4th | 317 | Mathis Valin | FRA | Kawasaki | +0:10.151 |
| 5th | 8 | Camden Mc Lellan | RSA | Triumph | +0:10.704 |
| 6th | 26 | Liam Everts | BEL | Husqvarna | +0:20.471 |
| 7th | 772 | Janis Martins Reisulis | LAT | Yamaha | +0:24.278 |
| 8th | 99 | Guillem Farres | ESP | Triumph | +0:26.369 |
| 9th | 33 | Kay Karssemakers | NED | Kawasaki | +0:45.172 |
| 10th | 48 | Jens Walvoort | NED | KTM | +0:46.519 |
| 11th | 47 | Karlis Alberts Reisulis | LAT | Yamaha | +0:48.412 |
| 12th | 73 | Ferruccio Zanchi | ITA | Ducati | +1:01.720 |
| 13th | 12 | Pelle Gundersen | NOR | Husqvarna | +1:18.814 |
| 14th | 716 | Noel Zanocz | HUN | KTM | +1:27.801 |
| 15th | 422 | Hugo Forsgren | SWE | Honda | +1:49.944 |
| 16th | 920 | Sandro Sools | SWE | KTM | +2:07.495 |
| 17th | 44 | Nike Korsbeck | SWE | Triumph | +1 lap |
| 18th | 83 | Maxime Grau | FRA | Honda | +1 lap |
| 19th | 321 | Alessandro Traversini | ITA | KTM | +1 lap |
| 20th | 938 | Rodolfo Bicalho | BRA | KTM | +2 laps |
| 21st | 420 | Andrea Rossi | ITA | KTM | +12 laps |
| MX2 – Championship Standings After Qualifying – MXGP of Latvia | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Nat | Bike | Total | Gap |
| 1st | 19 | Sacha Coenen | BEL | KTM | 330 Points | +0 |
| 2nd | 1 | Simon Längenfelder | GER | KTM | 325 Points | -5 |
| 3rd | 99 | Guillem Farres | ESP | TRI | 304 Points | -26 |
| 4th | 26 | Liam Everts | BEL | HUS | 286 Points | -44 |
| 5th | 8 | Camden Mc Lellan | RSA | TRI | 284 Points | -46 |
| 6th | 317 | Mathis Valin | FRA | KAW | 271 Points | -59 |
| 7th | 772 | Janis Martins Reisulis | LAT | YAM | 256 Points | -74 |
| 8th | 18 | Valerio Lata | ITA | HON | 198 Points | -132 |
| 9th | 47 | Karlis Alberts Reisulis | LAT | YAM | 188 Points | -142 |
| 10th | 20 | Julius Mikula | CZE | KTM | 144 Points | -186 |
| 11th | 33 | Kay Karssemakers | NED | KAW | 138 Points | -192 |
| 12th | 83 | Maxime Grau | FRA | HON | 94 Points | -236 |
| 13th | 716 | Noel Zanocz | HUN | KTM | 91 Points | -239 |
| 14th | 172 | Cas Valk | NED | TM | 87 Points | -243 |
| 15th | 48 | Jens Walvoort | NED | KTM | 69 Points | -261 |
| 16th | 408 | S. Smulders | NED | HUS | 57 Points | -273 |
| 17th | 73 | Ferruccio Zanchi | ITA | DUC | 49 Points | -281 |
| 18th | 12 | Pelle Gundersen | NOR | HUS | 45 Points | -285 |
| 19th | 420 | Andrea Rossi | ITA | KTM | 41 Points | -289 |
| 20th | 29 | F. Garcia | ESP | KAW | 25 Points | -305 |
| 21st | 456 | Ollie Colmer | GBR | KTM | 24 Points | -306 |
| 22nd | 170 | Valentin Kees | GER | KTM | 22 Points | -308 |
| 23rd | 398 | B. Garib | CHI | HON | 18 Points | -312 |
| 24th | 98 | Alessandro Gaspari | ITA | KTM | 16 Points | -314 |
| 25th | 30 | Jake Cannon | AUS | KAW | 12 Points | -318 |
| 26th | 574 | Gyan Doensen | NED | KTM | 12 Points | -318 |
| 27th | 71 | M. Bennati | ITA | TRI | 11 Points | -319 |
| 28th | 154 | C. Padilla Duran | BOL | GAS | 10 Points | -320 |
| 29th | 97 | S. Mancini | ITA | DUC | 9 Points | -321 |
| 30th | 23 | Remo Schudel | SUI | KTM | 9 Points | -321 |
