It doesn’t take a genius to see that Red Bull KTM factory rider, Sasha Coenen is showing a maturity that he hasn’t shown in the early stages of his career. His victory last weekend in Trentino was his first ever 1-1-1 performance and it left him just three points off the red plate.

Juan Pablo Acevedo photos

His 1-1-1-1-1 performances on Saturdays is stunning and while he can still throw himself down the track on occasions, his Sunday results are also pretty impressive. Talking about Sunday, its been 2-DNF-7-2-2-7-1-2-1-1. Now, that DNF in Argentina was just bad luck, and nothing to do with his wild riding style.

Until now, for me, he is starting to look like the title favourite and his consistent performances are something he maybe lacked in the past. This new version of Sasha Coenen remains exciting to watch, but he is clearer in his decisions and nowhere near as erratic as he had been in the past.

Last weekend, Coenen controlled his qualification heat for the fifth time in a row this term. The Belgian then led every lap of the first moto across muddy, slick and rutted terrain. The checkered flag was his second of the season. In the second race Coenen replicated his holeshot performance and was undisturbed as he built a ten second margin at the front. Despite a late tip-off, Sacha completed his scorecard and has drawn to within 4 points of his teammate and the MX2 red plate.

“I am really happy to win the three motos this weekend. First moto I took the holeshot Mathis was on my back wheel for the whole moto. Many gaps in the middle of the race and then I just cruised and won the moto. Second moto, I had a better flow and I led all the laps, until three laps to go I made a big mistake and crashed. I didn’t like that corner at all, but I managed to win and that was fine. It is the first time I win all three motos, so I am really happy to win them all and I feel good.”

In the previous round in Sardinia, Coenen continued his Saturday excellence with a third consecutive MX2 Qualification Heat victory and Pole Position. A strong performance to take 2nd place in the first moto was offset by 7th in the second and a few mistakes that cost the young Belgian. His 36 points for the day gave him P4 for the Grand Prix.

“Up-and-down weekend but mostly positive. We made some changes on the bike on Saturday and won the qualifying moto, so a good start. Sunday brought the rain and I had a bad start in the first moto. I came back to P2 and passed a lot of people but also made mistakes. It was a hard race. Another bad start in the second moto and I got brake-checked. I couldn’t really find my flow after that and finished 7th. I didn’t really like the track but we finished the GP in a pretty decent way.”

Switzerland Coenen scored 1-2-7 results and continued to show improvement as consistency. The teenager knows where to improve and is showing signs of a much more mature rider and the big points are coming fast.

“Up-and-down weekend but mostly positive. We made some changes on the bike on Saturday and won the qualifying moto, so a good start. Sunday brought the rain and I had a bad start in the first moto. I came back to P2 and passed a lot of people but also made mistakes. It was a hard race. Another bad start in the second moto and I got brake-checked. I couldn’t really find my flow after that and finished 7th. I didn’t really like the track but we finished the GP in a pretty decent way.”

Coenen was another Saturday winner in Spain and earned his second consecutive MX2 Qualification Heat victory. On Sunday he led the first moto for three laps until a crash dropped him down to a P6 finish. The Belgian rallied to seal P2 in the second moto which was enough for 3rd on the day and his first rostrum appearance of 2026. KTM currently front the MX2 Constructors standings.

“I had a lot of arm-pump in the first moto and didn’t feel that good. I made a mistake and then couldn’t get a good flow. A good start in the second moto and then I rode my own race. It was tough to keep smooth and I couldn’t push. Anyway, 2nd place, and quite positive in a weekend where I was not at my best.”

In the opener in Argentina, Coenen won the MX2 Saturday Qualification Heat (to pocket 10 points) and recovered from a mediocre start to finish runner-up to Laengenfelder in the first moto. The Belgian collided with another rider on the first lap of the second race however and had to retire. He ranked 8th.

“A good weekend in Argentina. A good win in the Qualifying moto but then my start was bad in the first moto and I was around 12-13. I made my way back to 2nd but had some arm-pump and it was difficult to ride. In the second race two riders collided in the air in front of me on the first jump. I couldn’t avoid them. We weren’t able to continue but I am OK physically.”

Now a five week break, where Sasha and brother Lucas will no doubt have time to play some golf, enjoy family life and no doubt do a lot of work on their skills. When Sasha arrives at the French GP on May 24 and 25, you just know he will use these consistent results and that GP win in Italy last weekend as the motivation to remain cool and calm under stress and get that red plate from defending MX2 world champion, Simon Langenfelder.