It was recently confirmed that the Coenen twins will head Stateside this year to contest selected rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, adding even more travel and racing demands to what is already an incredibly intense season schedule.
The Belgian sensations will race three rounds of the American outdoor series — the maximum amount possible due to clashes with the MXGP World Championship calendar. While the announcement generated excitement on both sides of the Atlantic, a closer look at their schedule between now and the end of the season shows just how demanding their year is set to become.
The twins will race across five different continents before the season comes to a close. It perhaps also explains why they opted not to contest any races during the short MXGP break between Arco di Trento and Lacapelle-Marival choosing instead to recover and prepare for the relentless run ahead.
Their first AMA Pro Motocross appearance will come at Thunder Valley on the 13th of June. Logistically, that round is relatively manageable as it falls between the Latvian and Italian Grands Prix, allowing the twins to slot the American trip into their MXGP commitments without too much disruption.
However, things become far more demanding in July. The iconic Southwick National on the 11th of July will come immediately after the South African Grand Prix and just one week before the British GP. That means the twins will race on three different continents in three consecutive weekends. Even though Southwick will be a new track for them, both riders are expected to feel comfortable in the sandy conditions having grown up racing in sand.
Their final AMA Pro Motocross outing will come at Ironman Raceway, which is positioned between the Dutch and Turkish GPs on the MXGP calendar. Unlike Thunder Valley and Southwick, Ironman is a circuit the twins already know well after racing the Motocross of Nations there last year, meaning they will at least arrive with valuable track knowledge.
When looking at the calendar as a whole, genuine downtime will be extremely limited. In fact, before the MXGP finale in Australia, they only have one weekend off — and that break comes immediately after the notoriously brutal Lommel Grand Prix. Considering Lommel is widely regarded as one of the toughest races on the entire calendar, the timing of that short rest period may prove crucial. Although, the Keiheuvel Balen International does take place that weekend – don’t be that surprised to see them lining up there either!
The schedule underlines just how physically and mentally demanding the remainder of the season will be for the Coenen twins, assuming they stay injury free throughout the campaign. Fortunately for them, youth is on their side — and they certainly do not appear to mind the travelling lifestyle that comes with chasing success on the world stage.
Following the MXGP finale in Australia, the twins will then get one final weekend off before wrapping up their season at the Motocross of Nations at Ernée – provided they get selected for team Belgium.
The Coenen’s schedule from now until the end of the season is as follows:
24th of May – French GP
31st of May – German GP
7th June – Latvian GP
13th June – Thunder Valley – AMA Pro Motocross
21st June – Italian GP
28th June – Portuguese GP
5th July – South African GP
11th July – Southwick – AMA Pro Motocross
19th July – British GP
26th July – Czech GP
2nd August – Belgian GP
9th August – Weekend off
16th August – Swedish GP
23rd August – Dutch GP
29th August – Ironman AMA Pro Motocross
6th September – Turkish GP
13th September – Chinese GP
20th September – Australian GP
27th September – Weekend off
4th October – MXoN France
