Twin brothers Lucas and Sacha Coenen are expected to be the next big thing in motocross (following in the footsteps of Australian duo Jett and Hunter Lawrence). Well, there was an expectation they might come over to the U.S. to race in 2025, but that is not the case. Lucas Coenen finished second in the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship behind his Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Kay de Wolf, with Sacha finishing eighth despite missing the final three rounds completely with a leg injury. Altogether, the brothers tallied a ton of holeshots and 11 total overall wins (nine for Lucas and two for Sacha). Now, the two are teammates for 2025, but with one big difference: Lucas Coenen will make the jump to the premier MXGP class and race a KTM 450 SX-F. Lucas Coenen was supposed to race a Husqvarna FC 450 for Team Belgium at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations but the team was shuffled around a few times and he ended up racing his 250 he competed on all year long. Lucas and Sacha will turn 18 in November. So, could this 2025 season be the Coenen brothers’ final year in MXGP? Only time will tell. For now, here is the full release from KTM.
And note that the De Carli Racing team was running the factory GasGas effort the last few years and was re-upped in a “multi-year contract” back in November 2023, although the Pierer Mobility group (which oversees the KTM trio alongside GasGas and Husqvarna) has seen some changes over the last few months both overseas and here in the U.S. Starting in 2025, the De Carli Racing team is back in charge of the Red Bull KTM team, which it ran for over a decade from 2010 through 2021.
The following press release is from KTM:
2025 Red Bull KTM MXGP and MX2 targets set for Lucas & Sacha Coenen
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing are thrilled to announce that exciting Grand Prix-winning Belgian twins Lucas and Sacha Coenen will steer KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F machinery respectively in the 2025 MXGP and MX2 FIM World Championship.
The brothers will form part of the victorious 2023 and 2024 premier class championship structure helmed by Davide De Carli next season. 2025 represents Sacha’s third term on the KTM 250 SX-F and after a decent ’24 campaign in which he grabbed his first MX2 GP wins and finished 8th in the standings. Lucas, who came within 20 points of the 2024 crown and stood atop the MX2 podium nine times from 20 rounds, makes a sensational leap into the MXGP category.
The 17-year-olds have both demonstrated fantastic progress since their world championship debut in 2023. Sacha Coenen’s starting prowess is unmatched and he logged the most holeshots in 2024. Lucas’s racecraft and speed led to 13 podium results as he headed the charts for most Saturday RAM Qualification heat wins, moto wins, Grand Prix wins and laps led.
Lucas Coenen:
“It’s official! Red Bull KTM Factory Racing next year and I’m really looking forward to it. The team have so many titles. It’s a dream come true, and also to be in the same team as my brother. I’ll be working my butt off to have the best year possible. I’ll be racing the KTM 450 SX-F and it’s a new chapter with the big boys! Everybody is fast in that class and it will be interesting to see how much margin there is because the times are so tight. I want to learn as much as possible and get the most experience. I have support for what I want to do, and the people around me believe in this choice and this project. It will be really nice. I know the team will help me a lot. Right now I just need to get fit again after the operation to fix my left collarbone, which went fine, and then we can start work for next year.”
Sacha Coenen:
“I’m really happy to continue in Red Bull KTM and to work with Davide and his crew next year. I’ve been learning a lot about the bike and the MX2 class these last two seasons and also my speed from the first laps of the moto until the end. We still have some work to do but we have made steps and I am ready to progress again. I’m really motivated and really looking forward to 2025, as well from having Lucas next to me! We’ll do the best we can.”
Davide De Carli, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager:
“I am very happy to have the talents of Lucas and Sacha onboard for next year. I have always admired their potential since they were racing in the EMX125 European Championship and clearly the results have started to come in the world championship. I cannot wait to start working with them! This winter they will arrive in Rome and we will start preparing for 2025. It is the first time that a team at our level has had twins under the same tent. A great challenge is about to begin.”