Blue skies and sunshine made it hard to believe that the MXGP of South Africa was being held in the height of the Southern Hemisphere winter as the 11th round of the 2026 FIM World Motocross Championships set the Terra Topia MX track alight on the northern edge of Johannesburg, July 3-5. With superb track preparation to combat the bright sunshine and mild breeze that were drying the circuit, the venue, located at nearly 5000 feet elevation, was in perfect condition for the first MXGP in South Africa in 18 years.
MXGP
After finishing second overall in each of the last two GPs, Lucas Coenen completed a perfect weekend for himself and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, sweeping both races after strong starts and hitting the front early each time.
Jeffrey Herlings did all he could to chase down the talented teenager and wasn’t far behind in either race, taking second overall for Honda HRC Petronas, while Romain Febvre claimed two third places to take that spot overall. They are also the top three in the Championship as we head into a week’s break.
“On [this] type of track, it’s really nice to ride, but the start is the key,” said Coenen. “If you get the holeshot, you’re almost safe. Still had to fight to keep the gaps a little bit, but overall, I won all three races, so I’m happy with that. When Jeffrey is coming, you can hear him coming. It was good; when I heard him, I was back to reality. I knew he was going to push. Yesterday [in qualifying] with Romain he was on my toe from beginning to end, and today with Jeffrey I managed a little gap and then he came back. Overall, a decent weekend.”
“If I would have taken two holeshots,” Herlings said, and he [Coenen] came twice from P5, we would have had the result the opposite way, because our speeds were more or less the same. Just his starts were better all weekend.”
Herlings had a fall in the first moto. “I landed, and the rear just slid and I kind of highsided, then it just slid. That was my luck, to not have the highside.”
Herlings had a big scare in the second moto. “I had a gnarly one just after passing Romain,” Herlings said. “I scrubbed it so hard I had my foot back on the ground. I saw Jesus coming, man. How I saved it I really have no idea, but I made it without crashing.”
Febvre talked about his day: “I felt pretty good all weekend, my speed was there, my starts were there, too. It’s not in one week that you turn things upside down. Last week they were much faster than us; this week I could keep up with them. Even in the second race, I held onto Jeffrey for maybe 20 minutes or so. Step by step I’m getting there. The last few weeks I’ve been working on the speed just on one lap, two laps, three laps, because I felt in the race, I could hold the pace but the speed wasn’t there.”
Coenen enjoys a comfortable 64-point lead over Herlings in the MXGP Championship. Febvre is third, another 55 points back.
MX2
The MX2 World Championship is tightening at the top as Triumph Racing Factory Team rider Guillem Farres scored a perfect Sunday for the second straight weekend.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s reigning World Champion Simon Laengenfelder ended his podium drought with a solid second overall, strengthening his hold on third in the Championship, while star rookie Janis Reisulis took his second straight podium for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 with third overall.
“It was a good weekend,” Farres said. “I had a good feeling from free practice, and we carried the momentum from Portugal into this weekend. In the first moto, I was third after the start, made a couple of quick passes on the opening lap, and put myself into the lead. From there, the guys behind kept the pressure on, so I had to work hard for the win.
“The second moto was, let’s say, a little easier. I pushed hard on the opening laps to build a good gap, and from there I just managed the lead until the end. I’m happy with the weekend, the team, and the bike. We’ll keep working hard and getting closer to our goal.”
Laengenfelder, who won Saturday’s qualifying race, said, “We made a few changes, a few new people in the team [Marc de Reuver as coach], and that helped bring back the intensity, the fire, that I’d been struggling with the past few races, especially in the second race. It was there again, so I’m super happy about that qualifying-race win, about three good starts, and about that weekend.
“You need to come to the races, be best friends with the people around you, work perfectly together, with everybody pushing hard and wanting the best for each other. That’s just so important, and [De Reuver] a great guy in the team.”
Reisulis passed Camden McLellan in the second moto to secure third overall with 4-3 scores. “The intensity this weekend was on point, especially the end of race two, since I knew I had to pass Camden back for the podium,” Reisulis said. “He’s one of the strongest guys in the MX2 class, so I kind of just went with the mentality it’s either pass him or crash, and it worked out.
“I just think I’m getting into this class, and I’ve been feeling really calm lately. Even if someone is on my back in the race, I take it easy, fight back as much as I can. I think that’s a big step in the right direction for me.”
McLellan was fifth overall with 5-4 finishes.
Sacha Coenen still leads the MX2 Championship over Farres, 518-504. Langenfelder is third on 467 points.CN
2026 FIM MXGP Round 11 Results
MXGP (Top 5)
- Lucas Coenen (KTM) 1-1
- Jeffrey Herlings (Hon) 2-2
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 3-3
- Calvin Vlaanderen (Duc) 8-4
- Tim Gajser (Yam) 6-5
MX2 (Top 5)
- Guillem Farres (Tri) 1-1
- Simon Laengenfelder (KTM) 3-2
- Janis Reisulis (Yam) 4-3
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 2-6
- Camden McLellan (Tri) 5-4
