How Marc Marquez’s limit-pushing style inspired MXGP’s hottest young talents

If you haven't heard of the Coenen brothers by now, it's only a matter of time. The twins Lucas and Sasha, both aged 19, have taken the world of motocross by storm this year, dominated their respective categories in MXGP and proving themselves at several rounds of the AMA Pro circuit in America too. The pair are marked by their incredibly aggressive riding style which often sees them clear into the lead by 30+ seconds, but also causes them to crash fiarly regularly - often both in the same race.

Southwick was just the latest example. With a 14 second advantage over New Zealand's Cole Davies, Sasha crashed hard at one of the biggest jumps of the track, but quickly remounted his KTM and rode it to victory - claiming the overall win for the weekend in incredible fashion. It was only upon returning to the pits that the young Belgian revealed he had broken his collarbone in the process, meaning that his mechanic had to lift the winner's trophy at the podium ceremony.

Lucas, on the other hand, crashed at the opening corner of the first 450 race and then carved his way through the field to reach P4 before again suffering a concussive crash and having to retire from the weekend. However, he has dominated one of the sport's all-time greats in Jeffrey Herlings so far in 2026, and achieved a P2 finish behind Jett Lawrence in Thunder Valley too.

While Lucas certainly showed his skills in clawing back a solid fourth place in Southwick Moto 1, it was Sasha who really captured the imagination of the American audience. Pitted against Davies, a favourite for the championship this year, Sasha showed unbelievable skills to save nearly five crashes on the opening lap, and still pulled a huge lead on the rest of the field.

During the broadcast, former motocross racer Jason Thomas made the comparison between the uncompromising style of the Coenens and MotoGP's reigning world champion Marc Marquez.

"That's a philosophy which I think they've gotten from Marc Marquez on the MotoGP scene." said Thomas, "It's a philosophy which they use in their practice and qualifying sessions: try to find the limit of traction, try to see where the edge really is.

"I understand and appreciate and respect that, but if that leads to injury through crashes, then it's all for nought. So, I do think there's something to finding that limit but you cannot consistently go over the limit and hope to finish the championship."

As if reading the future, Sasha crashed just a few minutes later and due to the collar bone break, will likely have to sacrifice a portion of his MXGP title-challenging season which continues this weekend at Foxhill, UK.

In a similar vein, Marquez's career has been defined by this philosophy, and while it has certainly reaped the rewards which now make him one of the best of all time - it certainly hasn't come without consequence. This year in particular, Marquez has been very vocal about his injury troubles and his plans to retire within the next few years.

Watch Sasha's incredible start in Southwick: