COENEN – CHAMPIONSHIP CHARGE

Red Bull KTM factory rider, Lucas Coenen has without question really put on a charge in this years MXGP championship. After one round of this years MXGP championship, he was 20 points behind Kawasaki factory rider, Romain Febvre and it was 31 points after two rounds.

The crisis continued after a poor round four in Sardinia, and he was suddenly 40 points behind Febvre in the championship and 74 behind series leader, Tim Gajser. After round five in Trentino, he was 98 points behind Gajser. When Gajser exited the championship in Switzerland and all eyes moved to Febvre, the Belgian was 51 points behind the Frenchman in the championship points.

In Portugal though, Coenen started his charge, scoring 1-1-1 and 60 points and closing the gap slightly. From that moment on, he has closed the gap in nearly every single round, and it is now down to just 15 points. It is clear who has all the momentum at the moment, and it isn’t Febvre.

Last weekend in Finland, and in the sand, the Belgian teenager picked up yet another 1-1-1 and since that win in Portugal, his Sunday moto results have been sensational, going 4-1-1-2-1-2-2-2-2-3-1-1. On the Saturday, he has finished with 4-1-1-2-5-1.

On the Saturday in Finland, it was obvious he was really feeling good, but he also knew that there was more to come on the Sunday. With that points gap now just 15 points, you just know his confidence is building and with sand tracks coming in Lommel and Arnhem, he might even grab the red plate at his home GP in Belgium.

“I was feeling good. I got a bit hot, but a good moto. Took the holeshot and a good day. On the Sunday, we have two motos and we try and get on the grind. I don't like to change the bike, but we had high speed in practice, and I didn't find a flow. We want to get in front and just play.”

The win in Finland came in good time, as he was starting to get a bit frustrated with not winning a GP, but more importantly. Having pulled back that huge points deficit, and with his young exuberance, these final seven rounds might see some fireworks.

“I was a bit angry after being 2nd so many times in recent GPs,” Coenen said. “Even if I was consistent. I switched off during the summer break and now I’m on the grind. I made life a bit difficult in the second moto with a tip-off and I also damaged the clutch, but I kept sending-it and was really happy to win. The first race was great even if the lapped riders were quite hard to deal with and I also had some arm-pump but that’s part of it. We are back on top baby. Today I turned it on and made some improvements. We’ll keep building.”

Now, onto the hard pack of Loket, a circuit that has cost many riders their championship challenge, but the talented Belgian will be looking to stay safe, then set another attack in Lommel and Arnhem, before the MXGP series heads to places like Turkiye, China and Australia.

Photo credit: KTM