Lucas Coenen (born 9 November 2006) is a Belgian professional

Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

racer. Coenen has competed in the

Motocross World Championship The FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps ...

since 2022 in the MX2 class and from 2025 will compete in the MXGP class. After a season-long battle with his teammate Kay de Wolf, Coenen finished second in the MX2 class of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship. He won nine overall Grand Prix in the 2024 season, the highest of any rider in the MX2 class. Coenen has represented his country at the

Motocross des Nations The Motocross of Nations (MXON), also known by its original French name (''MXDN'') is an annual team motocross race, where riders representing their country meet at what is billed as the " Olympics of Motocross". The event has been staged since ...

on two occasions in the MX2 class. Coenen is the twin brother of Sacha Coenen, who is also a World Championship-level motocross racer.

Career

Junior career

Coenen made his debut in the

European Motocross Championship European Motocross Championship is the European championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM Europe, from 1988. Categories Since 2014 the 65cc, 85cc, 125cc, 150cc, 250cc, 300cc and Open class ...

in 2016 within the 65cc class where he scored a point in the first race. He returned to this class the following season, with a sixth in race once giving him thirteenth overall. By 2019, Coenen, along with his brother, had progressed to the 85 class. He scored points in both the

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

and World Championships for his class that season. For the 2021 European Motocross Championship, Coenen made his full time move to the EMX125 class after being signed by BUD Racing Kawasaki. Despite his young age, Coenen was able to rapidly adapt to the class. By round three he was able to finish on the podium for the first time, repeating this at the following round in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He would go on to win two of the final three rounds of the season and finish an eventual third in the championship. In addition to this, Coenen was crowned champion in the Junior class of the French Elite Motocross Championship.

250 Career

Following his strong performance in 2021, Coenen was signed up by the Jumbo Husqvarna BT Racing Team to move straight up to the EMX250 class. Coenen was again able to make an instant impact on the class, finishing second overall at round two. As the season wore on, Coenen became a dominant force in the class, winning three of the last four rounds and seven out of the eight races within that. Coupled with these results, Coenen made his MX2 World Championship debut in the

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, scoring points in the second race. Coenen was signed by the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing Team for the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship season in the MX2 class. He made an immediate impact on the class, recording multiple top-tens in the opening rounds. By round seven, he was able to take his first world championship-level race win at the French Grand Prix. Three rounds later, in

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, Coenen would win both races to take his first overall Grand Prix win. Two more overall podiums followed, including a race win in

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and despite not starting either races in

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, he finished fifth in the final standings in his debut season. Following this, he made his debut at the

, helping Belgium to fifth overall and picking up the Ricky Carmichael Youngest Rider award individually. The 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship saw Coenen battle throughout the season with his teammate Kay de Wolf for the title in the MX2 class. The factory Husqvarna riders dominated the season, with Coenen taking nine overall Grand Prix wins, two more than de Wolf. However, greater consistency from de Wolf meant that Coenen finished runner-up in the class by twenty points. Following this, Coenen represented Belgium at the 2024 Motocross des Nations, his second appearance at the event. There was some controversy in the lead up to the event, as Coenen wanted to ride on a 450 in the MXGP class despite finishing runner-up in the MX2 class of the World Championship. With other riders being drafted into the remaining two spots due to injuries, Coenen was asked to ride in the MX2 class which he initially refused to do, causing the team to briefly withdraw from the event. This later changed and he rode in the MX2 class, where he finished second in his qualifying race. In the first main race, Coenen was the leading MX2 rider, battling with many of the MXGP class riders in the top-ten until he crashed and broke his collarbone.

450 Career

Despite still being 17 years old, after the 2024 Motocross des Nations it was announced that Coenen would move up to the MXGP class for the 2025 season for the Red Bull KTM Factory team.

Honours

* Ricky Carmichael Motocross of Nations Youngest Rider Award:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

FIM Motocross World Championship The FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps ...

* MX2:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* EMX250:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* EMX125:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

French Elite Motocross Championship * Junior:

MXGP Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coenen, Lucas Living people 2006 births Belgian motorcycle racers Belgian motocross riders 21st-century Belgian sportsmen