Joel Smets: Simon Längenfelder will decide for himself whether to change class

Following a strong start to the 2026 season, the prospect of defending his title has receded into the distance for Red Bull KTM factory rider Simon Längenfelder. A glance at the chart reveals the reason: it shows the points gap between Simon Längenfelder and the respective World Championship leader for each Grand Prix. Where the bars are green, Simon was leading the World Championship. The red (negative) bars show the gap behind the respective World Championship leader.

Simon Längenfelders Punktdifferenz zur WM-Spitze im Saisonverlauf 2026

Foto: Thoralf Abgarjan

The Loket Grand Prix was the decisive setback

Simon travelled to the Loket basin as the World Championship leader and lost the red plate of the championship leader there, as he was struggling with a cold and was not physically fit. This was followed by a heavy crash at Kegums, which increased his deficit to the top of the World Championship standings to 37 points. The downward trend continued until Portugal. After that, however, he reduced his deficit to the current leader (initially Sacha Coenen) by an average of 10 points per Grand Prix. Right up until the Loket Grand Prix, he was still in the title race. His retirement in the second race at Loket was the decisive setback, leaving him 71 points behind; although Simon managed to reduce this to 70 points at Lommel, that is, of course, far too little when looking at the bigger picture.

Joel Smets leaves the decision on a class change to the rider

The question of whether Simon will actually move up to MXGP in 2027 therefore seems to be up in the air again due to the changed situation. Team boss Joel Smets confirmed this in Lommel. The Belgian explained that he wants to leave this decision entirely up to his rider. Simon Längenfelder himself stated at the press conference that he has not yet made this decision.

Who will ride for KTM in MX2 in 2027?

The only rider who still has a realistic chance of winning a world title for KTM this year is Sacha Coenen in the MX2 class. But here, too, time is running out for him. He is expected to be in better shape at the next Grand Prix in Uddevalla, Sweden, with his pinned collarbone, than he was recently at Loket and Lommel, but even he would have to make up 47 points over the last five Grand Prix rounds, which is difficult enough even under normal circumstances. He faces two strong rivals from the Triumph works team going into the season finale, both of whom still have a realistic chance of winning the title.

KTM group: 3 teams, each with 2 riders

If the Coenen brothers go ahead with their plan to move to the USA at the end of the season – possibly without a World Championship title – then, from KTM’s perspective, everything would suggest that Simon would stay in the MX2 class for another year. They would then have Andrea Adamo in MXGP and Simon Längenfelder in MX2. Joel Smets explains: “It all depends on the budget. It’s not a question of whether you want something or not. We’ve recently reduced the number of riders within the KTM group from 8 to 6. This year we have 3 teams, each with 2 riders. Theoretically, we could compete again next year with 2 riders per team, but at the moment it’s still too early to talk about that.”

KTM’s dilemma

For KTM, the course of the second half of the season presents a real dilemma, as they lost the world championship title – which had seemed almost certain – in both World Championship classes. Is this mere coincidence or fate? The decisive factor, of course, was the Coenen brothers’ stint in the US. But it is precisely this extraordinary and spectacular story that has brought so much attention to the sport that, looking back, it would certainly not be right to deny the Belgian twins their American dream. In the end, they themselves paid the highest price for their American adventure. Yet in terms of publicity and corporate communications, the two Belgians’ US campaign was perhaps even more valuable than a World Championship title, because however you look at it: the Coenens have really shaken up the US scene and the global motocross community this year.