Coenen. In both races, Herlings
watched the young Belgian rider
walk away to more than a 10
second lead. He tried to capital-
ize in the final laps of moto two,
which would've given him the
o
verall
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 fight
-
ing until the last turn in the sec-
ond race," Herlings said. "I just
need t
o
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 Fac
-
tory 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 crash
-
ing 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 Si
-
mon 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,
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 15 APRIL 14, 2026 P39
Simon Laengenfelder
earned his second
overall victory in back-
to-back rounds.
