Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Jeffrey Herlings gave it everything he had to try and overcome the leader, but wasn’t able to make the necessary pass in either moto, coming up just short to go two-two for second overall at the MXGP of South Africa.

The revamped Terra Topia circuit in Johannesburg hosted the first GP in the country for 18 years, and the track was definitely one of the top venues that the riders have faced so far in 2026, but due to the speed and similar abilities of the top guys, making moves was difficult and as such, despite setting the fastest lap of the race, Herlings wasn’t able to win race one. Race two was much like the first, with Herlings unable to make any headway once moving into second place. It was a shame for the Dutchman after winning the previous two GPs, but there are still eight rounds remaining of this 2026 campaign to add to his win total.

Tom Vialle had an up and down weekend, but can definitely take some positives back to Europe after taking another holeshot, and running the pace of the top three in both of the races. A crash whilst in third, meant he was unable to finish race one, while the holeshot in race two again showed his starting prowess and the power of the Honda CRF450RW, despite being at nearly 1500m altitude. He did end up in sixth place, but that is an improvement on the previous rounds and he is getting back to speed and fitness that saw him win the MXGP of Switzerland earlier in the year.

It was a bruising affair for Ruben Fernandez, who fought hard in all three races over the weekend, to go seven-eight for sixth overall. He definitely would have liked to enjoy the event more, but it was still impressive to see the Spaniard battling hard for the duration, keeping some excellent riders behind him. With a weekend off, Fernandez will use the time wisely to rest and recuperate and prepare himself as best as possible for the challenge of Foxhills which is the ‘new’ host of the MXGP of Great Britain.

For Valerio Lata, it was another tough weekend in the MX2 class, as he struggled to match the pace of the top 250cc riders. The Italian never really got to see how the front-runners attacked the track as he didn’t get good starts, and with passing at a premium he had to settle for finishes around the top 10.

After three races in a row, the team now have a weekend off to prepare for eight rounds in 10 weekends, as the 2026 World Motocross Championships really ramps up the intensity for this final third of the season.

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Adaptability and resilience. By responding to the constantly changing conditions, Honda HRC secured its fifth consecutive Suzuka 8 Hours victory today, and Honda’s 32nd triumph in one of the world’s most prestigious endurance races.

On Sunday, 5 July, a field of 50 teams lined up for the start of the 47th “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race at the iconic 5.821 km Suzuka Circuit.

The race got underway at 11:30 am local time under overcast skies, with an air temperature of 23°C and the track still wet from the morning rain, and was heavily influenced by intermittent rain and several lengthy safety car periods. Honda HRC’s race strategy gradually shifted towards completing the race with Takumi Takahashi and Jonathan Rea, both able to rely on extensive experience in similar conditions. Somkiat Chantra had shown very competitive pace throughout the dry sessions but had not had the opportunity to gain experience in these mixed and wet conditions. Making his Suzuka 8 Hours debut, the Thai rider nevertheless made an important contribution to the team’s overall effort throughout the race week.

Takumi Takahashi started from Pole Position aboard the #30 CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP. He made a good start and was passed by Naomichi Uramoto (AutoRace Ube Racing Team) at the first corner, before remaining in contention for the lead throughout the opening stages.

Honda HRC completed the first four hours with two pit stops, with Takahashi ending his first 33-lap stint in the lead before handing over to Jonathan Rea. Rea consolidated Honda HRC’s lead until the end of lap 66, when he handed the bike back to Takahashi.

Takahashi entered the pits at the end of lap 92 for Honda HRC’s third pit stop and Jonathan Rea rejoined the race still in first place with an advantage of around 22 seconds over Sylvain Guintoli (AutoRace Ube Racing Team). While the Honda HRC rider gradually extended his advantage over the French rider, Jack Miller (YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM) moved into second place on lap 105. Lapping consistently in the 2’16 to 2’18 range, Miller began to reduce the gap to the leader, but Rea responded by increasing his pace to maintain an advantage of around 28 seconds, once again demonstrating all his experience in controlling the situation in the demanding conditions.

Miller made his fourth pit stop on lap 115, while Rea continued for three more laps before handing the #30 CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP back to Takumi Takahashi at the end of lap 118. Takahashi began the sixth hour with around a 29-second advantage over Michael van der Mark (BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM). With the rain easing but the track still wet and conditions remaining very tricky, Takahashi also put all his experience and speed to good use, continuing to control Honda HRC’s advantage at the front.

Honda HRC’s fifth and penultimate pit stop came on lap 144, when Takahashi handed the bike over to Rea. Honda HRC’s advantage over second-placed Jack Miller at times dropped below 20 seconds, but Rea managed the gap, keeping it within a safe margin for Takahashi to begin the final stint.

Takahashi took over on lap 173 with 52 minutes remaining, holding an advantage of around 20 seconds over Andrea Locatelli. A few minutes later, heavy rain returned, while the fading daylight added a further challenge for the riders in the closing stages of the race. With 34 minutes remaining, the deployment of the safety car on lap 179 effectively settled the race, preserving Takahashi’s advantage over Locatelli. Honda HRC completed today’s 188 lap-race to secure its fifth consecutive Suzuka 8 Hours victory, taking the chequered flag as Suzuka’s grandstands were illuminated by thousands of multicoloured lights.

The victory marks Takumi Takahashi’s eighth Suzuka 8 Hours win, his fifth consecutive success in the event, and Jonathan Rea’s third victory at Suzuka.

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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.

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.

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Honda HRC Progressive enjoyed a standout Independence Day at the legendary RedBud Motocross National, as Hunter Lawrence and Jo Shimoda both took over the coveted red plates that signify the championship leads. For the third time this season and the second time in a row, Hunter secured a premier-class overall victory, while Jett Lawrence added another moto win and an overall-podium finish, despite experiencing an uncharacteristic challenging day. In the 250 class, Shimoda earned his first moto victory of the season to take over the championship lead, while Chance Hymas continued to build momentum with his strongest result of the season so far. 

Heavy rainfall during the previous 24 hours left the track in an extremely challenging condition for the motos, with deep ruts developing throughout much of the course.

After starting third in moto 1, Hunter overtook Jorge Prado and then caught and passed Jett for the lead in the closing laps. While Hunter was navigating one of the deepest ruts, dirt and debris became lodged in his bike’s chain guide and rear-sprocket area.

This caused the rear wheel to momentarily lock, resulting in an unfortunate tip-over that allowed Jett to regain the lead, and Hunter was forced to settle for second. In moto 2, Hunter started sixth but quickly worked his way through the riders ahead of him. With just over three laps remaining, he passed Prado for the lead and pulled away to a convincing 12-second victory, securing the overall win. Meanwhile, a pair of early tip-overs dropped Jett outside the top 10 in moto 2, but the defending champ responded with a determined charge back to fifth, securing third overall. 

After avoiding a first-turn incident in the first 250 moto, Shimoda steadily worked his way forward, putting in a signature late surge before finishing third. A stronger moto-2 start put him in immediate contention, and he methodically closed on the leaders before making the moto-winning pass on Cole Davies. Shimoda then pulled away to a convincing 12-second victory, earning the moto win and second overall. Hymas recorded an 8-6 moto tally as he builds consistency and works toward podium contention. 

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Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Jeffrey Herlings made it four GP victories in 2026 after a hard-fought pair of races at the dry and dusty Montevarchi circuit in Tuscany, Italy. The rocky terrain certainly isn’t a favourite condition for the #84, but getting a holeshot in race one made his life a lot easier, before moving through the field in race two to secure an excellent GP overall. After extremely hot weather yesterday, the track turned out to be a lot better for the two motos, especially after a shower hit the track between races. It was still rock-hard in places and very easy to make a mistake on, but if you could get out front and control the race, it meant you could pick the right lines and avoid the nasty roost. Which is exactly what Herlings managed to do, after a clever gate-pick strategy. Alongside Vialle, the pair rounded the first corner first and second, showing the power of the Honda CRF450RW. From there, Herlings controlled the pressure from behind and took a good race win, giving him a lot of confidence heading into race two, and while that start wasn’t quite as effective, he was still into the top five very quickly, settling into third place. After a few laps he moved into second and despite trying everything, he wasn’t able to pass the leader and eventually settled for second place, going one-two on the day and closing the points gap over the weekend by six points in the championship battle. Vialle can consider this a successful return to action after missing the last five GP motos, with the Frenchman going five-nine for seventh overall. Things could have been even better, except for a small tip-over near the end of race two, which dropped him a few spots. Still, it was good to see him back battling at the front of the field and he’ll looking forward to these upcoming rounds. Unfortunately a nasty crash by Ruben Fernandez yesterday, limited his chances of a good result today as he had to line up from the very outside gate. However, the Spaniard gave his best effort, going 13-12 for 13th overall, and showing a lot of determination. Next weekend is Portugal, an adopted ‘home GP’ which he is really excited about and he’ll be trying to make sure he is as prepared as possible for that event. This weekend was Valerio Lata’s home GP, but the Italian wasn’t quite about to challenge for the podium spots like he would have liked. Good starts in both races gave him the chance, but the terrain certainly wasn’t easy to navigate and he just couldn’t find a solid rhythm to stick with the lead pack.

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia has delivered a flawless performance at round five of the 2026 FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Fafe, Portugal, claiming the overall EnduroGP and Enduro1 victories on both days of competition. Teammate Andrea Verona also enjoyed a strong weekend aboard his KTM 450 EXC-F, securing an EnduroGP podium and an Enduro2 class win as the championship enters its closing stages. Saturday’s opening day proved extremely challenging, with hot, dry, and dusty conditions making visibility difficult throughout the tests. Garcia got off to the perfect start by winning the opening Extreme Test and immediately taking control of the overall rankings. Remaining calm and consistent while many of his rivals struggled with mistakes in the technical conditions, the Spaniard claimed two test wins and finished inside the top three on five further occasions. That consistency ultimately earned him the EnduroGP victory by eight seconds, while also extending his unbeaten Enduro1 run with another commanding class win. Garcia carried that winning momentum into Sunday and once again proved untouchable. Fastest in the opening Enduro Test allowed him to take the overall lead after lap one, before a dominant second lap saw him top two of the three tests and extend his advantage to almost 30 seconds. By winning the final test of the day, Garcia sealed his seventh EnduroGP victory of the season by an impressive 31-second margin. The result also marked his 10th Enduro1 victory from 10 days raced in 2026, underlining his complete control of the category. Verona showed excellent speed on Saturday despite the demanding conditions. The Italian won two of the opening three tests and ended the first lap in second overall, separated from Garcia by little more than one second. Consistently posting top-three times throughout the day, Verona remained firmly in contention for victory and pushed hard on the final lap in an attempt to close the gap. He ultimately secured second in EnduroGP to complete a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing one-two, while claiming his sixth Enduro2 victory of the season. Sunday proved more difficult for Verona. A challenging opening lap left him eighth overall, but the reigning Enduro2 world champion responded strongly, improving his pace and climbing to fifth by the end of lap two. Despite continuing to fight through the final lap, a mistake in the Extreme Test cost him valuable time and prevented any further progress. Verona finished fifth overall and third in Enduro2, extending an extraordinary streak that has now seen him finish on the class podium at every day of EnduroGP racing for more than seven consecutive years. After five rounds, Garcia has significantly strengthened his position at the top of the EnduroGP standings. His perfect weekend in Portugal sees him extend his championship lead to 34 points with just two rounds remaining, while his unbeaten Enduro1 campaign has yielded a maximum 200 points and a commanding 43-point advantage in class. Verona remains second overall in the EnduroGP standings with a healthy 17-point cushion over third place, while continuing to lead the Enduro2 championship by 13 points. The 2026 FIM EnduroGP World Championship continues on July 17-19 with the GP of France in Saint-Agrève, the penultimate round of the season.

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The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team of Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, and Leandro Mercado extended their FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) lead after finishing second in a dramatic 8 Hours of Spa Motos at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

After qualifying second on Friday, YART added four points to their championship total and arrived on the grid with a 17-point advantage at the top of the standings. With dry conditions greeting the riders for the start of Saturday’s eight-hour race, the reigning champions were focused on building on their strong start to the season and continuing their impressive recent record at Spa.

The Belgian round has become a particularly strong venue for YART in recent seasons, with the team winning the 24-hour edition in 2023, taking victory again in 2024 when it switched to an eight-hour format, and finishing third last year in mixed conditions on their way to the 2025 EWC title. Their second-place finish this season made it four consecutive podiums for the Austrian squad at Spa.

After a tricky start that saw Hanika drop from second to tenth off the line, the Czech rider responded immediately, producing an excellent recovery ride to climb to sixth within the opening 20 minutes before moving up to fourth by the half-hour mark, just 1.9s from the lead.

Hanika continued to push hard throughout the opening stint before pitting from fourth after 45 minutes, with Fritz taking over the Bridgestone-shod #1 Yamaha R1 in fifth. The German quickly moved into the podium fight, and by the 75-minute mark, he was part of a superb four-bike battle for the lead, with the leading group separated by just over a second.

Fritz then climbed to second before handing the R1 over to "Tati" Mercado, who delivered a composed stint to keep YART firmly in the fight at the front. With conditions beginning to shift and the race developing into a strategic test, the Argentine kept the pressure on and made sure the team stayed firmly in the victory hunt before handing back to Hanika.

With the weather changing constantly, the second half of the race became increasingly unpredictable. Heavy rain arrived shortly after one of Fritz’s stops, forcing YART back into the pits just one lap later, while the team were later caught in another chaotic period when Hanika switched from wets to slicks on a drying track, only for the rain to return almost immediately.

At one stage, the constantly changing conditions triggered three pit stops in just 20 minutes, but YART remained calm and executed each stop cleanly, adapting to whatever the race threw at them. With Crashes, delays, and strategy calls all affecting others around them, Hanika, Fritz, Mercado, and the team focused on consistency, mistake-free riding, and making the best possible decisions in a rapidly changing situation.

Despite the difficulty of judging tyre choice and timing throughout the race, YART kept the pressure on while also managing the championship picture. They eventually crossed the line second after 192 laps, 1:16.079 behind the winners, securing 24 more points, extending their championship lead to 22 points, and securing a fourth consecutive podium at Spa. The result means YART leave Belgium with 91 points after two rounds, adding to their victory at Le Mans.

There was frustration for the Belgian-based Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 squad at their home round. Randy de Puniet, Florian Marino, and Bo Bendsneyder made a strong start from sixth on the grid and were running well inside the top five before a technical issue cost them significant time. The #99 Yamaha R1 later lost further ground after a crash and eventually finished 29th overall, 22 laps down.

There was further success for Yamaha across the classes, as Team 18 Pompiers Igol CMS Motostore secured a Superstock podium by finishing ninth overall and third in SST on the #18 Yamaha, while Motobox Kremer Racing by 321 took victory in the Production category after finishing eighth overall on the #65 Yamaha.

The FIM Endurance World Championship now heads to Japan for Round 3, the Suzuka 8 Hours, which takes place from 3 to 5 July.

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Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Karlis Reisulis has narrowly missed the overall podium at round eight of the MX2 World Championship – his home Grand Prix in Latvia – by just two points, ending the weekend in fifth. Plus, with teammate Janis Reisulis placing seventh overall, it underlined a solid day for the talented brothers as the series nears the halfway point.

Spurred on by their native fans all weekend long, the Latvian teammates were focused on putting on a show and leaving the sandy Kegums circuit with solid results. With the sun shining throughout the Grand Prix, the atmosphere was electric as the MX2 class headed to the start line for the opening race of the day.

In race one, K. Reisulis didn’t enjoy the best of starts, and he was forced to work hard in order to move up the leaderboard. By the halfway stage of the race he was comfortably running in sixth and as he crossed the finish line, he trailed Simon Längenfelder by just under two seconds.

Encouraged by his excellent ride in the opening race of the day, K. Reisulis delivered his best performance of the season so far in Race Two. Starting second, the Yamaha YZ250FM rider kept the leader in sight for the duration, until he made a minor mistake on the final lap that allowed Camden McLellan through. This ultimately cost K. Reisulis a place on the overall podium, but it was nevertheless an exceptional performance to secure his season-best race result of third for fifth overall on the day. A result that moves him up to eighth in the series standings.

Following a series of impressive overall results in recent Grands Prix, including fourth last weekend in Germany, J. Reisulis was understandably focused on impressing at his first home Grand Prix. After being pushed wide in the tight first turn, the reigning EMX250 Champion was soon into 10th, and by mid-race he was up to seventh. J. Reisulis then lost one position as the laps wound down to finish eighth.

Race Two started with J. Reisulis running inside the top 10 until a mistake on lap six dropped him to 14th. From there, the 18-year-old worked his way through the field to secure 10th for seventh overall. After eight rounds, the MX2 rookie remains seventh in the championship.

With three consecutive Grands Prix now complete, the teammates will now enjoy a weekend off before returning to action in Montevarchi, Italy, for round nine of the MX2 World Championship on June 20-21.

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler has claimed a record-equalling fifth consecutive victory at the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, delivering another dominant performance aboard his KTM 300 EXC. Joined on the podium by FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hartin second, the result secured a KTM 1-2 finish at the iconic event and further cemented Lettenbichler’s place among the race’s all-time greats.

Starting from pole position in the Red Bull Hare Scramble following his fourth-place finish in the qualifying Iron Road Prologue, Lettenbichler made a strong start to the main race and immediately settled into the battle at the front. Running second through the early checkpoints, and with only seconds separating the leaders, Mani moved into to the lead by checkpoint four and quickly began building an advantage.

Once out front the German steadily increased his pace and control over the race. By checkpoint 13, he had opened a lead of 40 seconds, before stretching that margin to five minutes by checkpoint 18. Continuing to master the demanding Austrian terrain, Lettenbichler expertly negotiated the event’s most famous obstacles, including Carl’s Dinner, Dynamite, and Lazy Noon.

At the iconic Carl’s Dinner, he held a commanding 12-minute advantage and continued to pull away through the closing stages. Crossing the finish line almost nine minutes ahead of his nearest rival, Mani secured his fifth consecutive Erzbergrodeo victory, equalling both the all-time win record and the record for consecutive victories at the legendary event.

Manuel Lettenbichler: “Five wins at Erzberg, I have no words! It’s been an unbelievable race and I couldn’t be happier. I had an alright start, but quickly got in the mix with Mitch [Brightmore] and Trystan [Hart] and they were really pushing me hard. After that I felt so good on the bike and just enjoyed every section so much. It feels incredible to make it five in a row and equal the record. I am speechless!”

Hart also delivered an outstanding ride throughout Sunday’s main race. The Canadian ran third through the opening checkpoints before moving into second place by checkpoint 11 after a determined charge through the field. Although he briefly lost ground during the middle stages and dropped back to third, Hart responded strongly and reclaimed second position after an intense battle with Mitch Brightmore (GASGAS). Maintaining a strong pace through the final checkpoints, Trystan built a comfortable advantage over third place and ultimately secured second overall, completing an impressive KTM 1-2 finish at the 2026 Erzbergrodeo.

Trystan Hart: “I’m happy to come away with second place at Erzberg. It was a really tough race and I had to manage a few issues throughout, so it definitely wasn’t straightforward. I felt like I rode well in sections, but there were also areas where I know I can improve. That’s part of racing at an event as demanding as this. We’ll take the positives, keep working, and come back stronger next year.”

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Yamaha riders Pol Tarrés and Kevin Gallas took on the legendary Red Bull Erzbergrodeo aboard the Ténéré 700, taking on the event’s landmark 30th edition from 4–7 June in Austria.

The Ténéré 700 showed impressive reliability with no mechanical issues across four hours of gruelling conditions, allowing Tarrés to fight his way to Checkpoint 19 – entering the history books by achieving an incredible new record for big bikes at the event and finishing a very impressive 77th out of 500 competitors.

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