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.
