I don’t think anyone was surprised by the performances of the dynamic duo of Lucas and Sasha Coenen yesterday. Both huge talents and while they both looked a little wild at times, it is clear, those two twin brothers are pretty much the batman and robin of the sport. Two superhero's who make us all want to watch them, no matter what.

The question will be, can these two teenagers fight off the likes of Herlings, Gajser, Febvre, Vialle, de Wolf, Langenfelder, Adamo, Everts and many others and make their seasons what hollywood movies are made of.

The technical skills of both are so nice to watch and that pass by Lucas on Tim Gajser and Andrea Adamo to take the lead in one of the 450 motos was superstar stuff. Both Lucas and Sasha are pure racers, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a pre-season race, or a GP, they give it their all.

“I mean,” Coenen said of the pass. “The pass was big and you need to show who is the boss and I showed him I put in some intensity. It was difficult with the lap riders, one hit me and the track was difficult. It was a good test.”

I don’t think too many people would bet against Lucas to be the world MXGP champion come September in Australia and after his performances in 2025, a better version is sure to arrive in Argentina next month.

The fact the Coenen brothers went 1-1-1-1, Lucas beating names like Gajser and Adamo, and Sasha beating world MX2 champion, Simon Langenfelder goes to show their early season form is good. I cannot wait to see these two arrive in Argentina and see what their championship speed is like.

Of course, apart from Lucas Coenen, it was the performance of Tim Gajser that made people wonder who close he will be to his best when we arrive for round one of the MXGP championship. He didn’t look comfortable, but it was a circuit that would make things a bit tough on a new machine.

“The first race I was a bit tight,” Gajser said. “I had a bad start. Also got some arm pump, but I was happy, the second one I was okay, riding with the guys at the front. Still, some work to do, but we are going the right way.”

No doubt, this weekend in Mantova, he will be better and with a pretty small field of MXGP contenders, he shouldn’t have too much pressure to perform. No Coenen, no Febvre, no Renaux and no De Wolf means it will only be Herlings, Vialle and Adamo who should give him a hard time.

I for one cannot wait for Mantova, as the debut of Herlings on the HRC machine could be special. A sand specialist around the Italian circuit will be the highlight, unless of course he suffers the same disappointment of Gajser in Sardinia.

What about the diminutive Sasha, always on the gas, always putting everything into his riding. He might have made an error at the start of the first MX2 moto but quickly recovered and worked his way through the pack. At times making world MX2 champion, Simon Langenfelder look slow.

There is no doubt, if the little Belgian can stay on the bike, he is without question a serious contender for the 2026 MX2 world title and seeing as he won 1-1 around a very difficult circuit, he must now enter the championship in Argentina with some confidence.

KTM image