Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1545507
Herlings, Coenen Capture Wins At MXGP Of Italy T he ninth round of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Champion- ship took place at Italy's historic Crossdromo Miravalle circuit in Montevarchi, June 21 and had some of the closest racing of the season. The event saw another victory for Jeffrey Herlings as he rebounded after two disastrous rounds, while Sacha Coenen earned top honors in the MX2 division. MXGP Herlings returned to the top step of the podium with a 1-2 finish aboard his Honda HRC Petronas machine. The Dutchman grabbed the holeshot in race one and held the lead despite con- stant pressure from both Maxime Renaux and Lucas Coenen. In race two, Herlings charged from outside the top five on the open- ing lap and eventually moved into second behind Tim Gajser. Although he couldn't find a way past the Slovenian, Herlings' 1-2 results secured his 116th career Grand Prix victory and his 20th overall win on Italian soil. More importantly, Herlings gained crucial ground on championship leader Lucas Coenen, reducing the points deficit to 56 as the series heads to Portugal next weekend. Lucas Coenen secured a pair of thirds that put him second overall. The Red Bull KTM rider had to work through traffic in race one after a midpack start, slicing his way into podium position as the race wore on. He eventually slotted into third and finished just behind Herlings and Renaux. In race two, Lucas again battled inside the top five and climbed to third after a close battle with Herlings and Gajser. Lucas leaves Italy with his championship lead firmly intact, with a comfortable advantage over Herlings. Maxime Renaux secured his second podium finish of the season in third overall for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory team. His weekend was high- lighted by a second place in the opening race after pressuring Herlings for much of the race. He followed that up with a sixth-place finish in moto two, which proved good enough for a podium result. Combined with the absence of Kay de Wolf, Renaux moved back into fifth place in the champion- ship standings and continues to build momentum after a difficult start to the season. Andrea Adamo narrowly missed the podium but still de- livered one of his strongest rides of the year in front of his home crowd. Romain Febvre completed the top five overall. Tim Gajser ended the weekend with a moto victory, but a wheel change in race one relegated him to ninth overall. MX2 Sacha Coenen continued his championship campaign by securing another overall victory, highlighted by a pair of second- WIND IN THE P60 Jeffrey Herlings rebounded to earn the overall win at the MXGP of Italy after two disappointing rounds.