05.07.2026
MXGP 2026, Round 11 of 19, Terra Topia, South Africa
Lucas Coenen won for the fifth time on his KTM 450 SX-F in the 2026 MXGP FIM Motocross World Championship at Terra Topia and a long overdue return for the series to South African soil. Red Bull KTM also celebrated more trophies in MX2 (their tenth podium appearance in eleven rounds) thanks to Simon Laengenfelder’s 2nd position.
Highlights and key moments from Terra Topia:
- Lucas Coenen goes 1-1-1 for the third time in 2026 to push his career stats to 21 Grand Prix wins and extend his lead in the world championship to 68 points (more than one round)
- Andrea Adamo bags another top ten in MXGP with P8 in Terra Topia as KTM now head the Manufacturers standings in the premier class
- Simon Laengenfelder ranks 2nd overall in MX2 with the KTM 250 SX-F for his fifth podium of the season. Sacha Coenen finishes 4th and narrowly misses a fifth consecutive MX2 trophy
- After Grands Prix in Italy, Portugal and South Africa in successive weeks, the world championship now enters a one-week break before another triple in Great Britain, Czechia and Belgium
Terra Topia, close to Johannesburg, made its debut in MXGP for the first South African Grand Prix since 2008. The paddock discovered an elevated, long, fast, wide, rough and rippled hardpacked course with decent line choice and hefty jumps. The weather was hot and sunny and the dipping sunset made visibility in sections tricky on Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday Red Bull KTM aced both MXGP and MX2 Qualification heats for the fourth time from eleven Grands Prix in 2026. Lucas Coenen and Simon Laengenfelder owned their respective classes for a maximum Saturday points haul as well as first picks in the gate for Sunday.
Lucas marked his seventh holeshot of the season in the first moto. The Belgian then built a small advantage and controlled the rest of the race. In the second moto he rushed into the lead on lap one and repeated his escape act. The 19-year-old was flawless and managed the 30 minute and 2 lap distance to again sweep the race order. Lucas’s success means an 11-point gain in the championship for a margin of 68 over Jeffrey Herlings.
Andrea Adamo placed 8th overall. The Italian posted scores of 9-7 in the two motos. He made a bright start to run top three in the second outing and then established his pace for a worthy top seven finish. The former MX2 world champ is solidly accumulating points and sits 6th in the standings for his rookie MXGP term. KTM have now moved to P1 in the MXGP Manufacturers table.
The MX2 World Champion returned to a podium ceremony for the first time since round four in Sardinia. Simon Laengenfelder rode to 3rd place in the first moto and then almost had the holeshot in the second. He completed a lonely race in a safe 2nd to confirm 3-2 on the day and P2 on the rostrum. The result delivered Simon’s fifth trophy of the campaign and keeps him firmly in contention to defend his title: he’s 3rd in the standings, 52 points from Sacha Coenen’s red plate. The Belgian was 4th in South Africa. He took a decent 2nd in the first moto but ran off track into the first corner of the second race and then also crashed on the opening lap and had to work his way back to P6. He missed the box by just one point but still leads the championship by 14 over the next nearest pursuer.
More milestones for MXGP in two weeks: the first British Grand Prix to take place at Foxhill circuit since 2000 will form round 12 of the 2026 campaign on July 18-19.
Lucas Coenen, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MXGP: “Tracks like these are really nice to ride but the starts are key: if you almost make the holeshot then you are nearly home. I still had to fight to keep the gaps but I won all three motos so I’m happy with that. I could control any pressure. You can’t do better than 1-1-1, so a perfect weekend. We executed well and I’m pumped right now. We’ll go to the U.S. and enjoy a weekend off in the sand and then we’ll try again in England.”
Andrea Adamo, 9th and 7th for 8th overall in MXGP: “A so-so weekend. Some positive things but we need to be better, especially on the first laps because this track was pretty nice but also quite easy. It never got really rough so everybody was very fast and then it was tough to overtake. The motos were pretty much done on the first laps, so I need to be better and smarter there because I had a great start in the second moto but I was P7 by the end of the first lap and that’s where I finished! A few things to improve but we keep learning and keep building. We didn’t reach the top five this weekend…but we’ll fight back in the next races.”
Simon Laengenfelder, 3rd and 2nd for 2nd overall in MX2: “It’s good to bring that intensity and fire back this weekend. I’ve made some changes around me and they seem to be working out. I’m happy about that. The UK next and I’m a bit sad we’re not going to Matterley [Basin] anymore, but I’ve seen some photos of Foxhill and it looks pretty good – pretty steep in some places – so we’ll find out when we’re there.”
Sacha Coenen, 2nd and 6th for 4th overall in MX2: “Not the easiest weekend, let’s say. I didn’t start well in the first race on Saturday but could make my way back to 2nd and then we made some changes for Sunday and I was already feeling better for moto one. I had good speed all the way through and was on the back wheel of the leader but couldn’t make the pass. 2nd was OK. Second moto, I don’t have a lot to say. I’m feeling good and I’m ready to fight each weekend; this is important, and we’ll keep trying to have fun every race.”
Download photos from the Grand Prix of South Africa HERE
Results MXGP South Africa 2026
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-1
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 2-2
3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 3-3
8. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 9-7
Standings MXGP 2026 after 11 of 19 rounds
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 566 points
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Honda, 498
3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 443
6. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 343
9. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 273
Results MX2 South Africa 2026
1. Guillem Farres (ESP), Triumph, 1-1
2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 3-2
3. Janis Reisulis (LAT), Yamaha, 4-3
4. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-6
6. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 6-5
Standings MX2 2026 after 11 of 19 rounds
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 518 points
2. Guillem Farres (ESP), Triumph, 504
3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 467
5. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna, 433
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