Lucas Coenen and Guillem Farres emerged as the big winners at the 2026 MXGP of South Africa, as both riders completed dominant weekends at the Terra Topia MX Track in Johannesburg to strengthen their championship ambitions.
Images courtesy of Infront Moto Racing
Returning to South Africa for the first time in 18 years, the FIM Motocross World Championship produced spectacular racing in front of a passionate crowd, with Coenen completing a perfect weekend in the premier MXGP class while Farres made it back-to-back overall victories in MX2.
Coenen Continues Championship Charge
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen was untouchable in the MXGP class, winning both motos after making superb starts and controlling the races from the front.
The Belgian faced pressure from Jeffrey Herlings throughout the day, with the five-time World Champion closing the gap on several occasions, but Coenen remained composed to secure maximum points and his 21st Grand Prix victory.
Herlings finished second overall for Honda HRC Petronas, while Kawasaki’s Romain Febvre completed the podium with a pair of third-place finishes.
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South African fans also had plenty to cheer about as Calvin Vlaanderen delivered his best overall result of the season in fourth after an impressive second moto performance on the Ducati.
Coenen’s perfect weekend extends his lead in the MXGP World Championship to 68 points over Herlings heading into the summer break before the series resumes at MXGP of Great Britain at Foxhills later this month.
Reflecting on his dominant weekend, Coenen said:
“On those types of tracks it’s really nice to ride, but the start is the key. 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 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.”
MXGP Overall Results
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 566 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 498 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 443 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 404 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 364 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 343 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 332 p.; 8. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 287 p.; 9. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 273 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 268 p
Farres Turns Up the Heat in MX2
The MX2 title race tightened considerably as Guillem Farres claimed another flawless Grand Prix, winning both motos to record his second consecutive perfect weekend.
The Triumph Racing rider controlled both races to claim maximum points, while reigning World Champion Simon Längenfelder returned to the podium with second overall after ending a run without a top-three finish.
Rising Latvian star Janis Reisulis continued his impressive rookie campaign by claiming third overall for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2, while South African favourite Camden McLellan delighted the home crowd with fourth overall after narrowly missing the podium.
Farres’ dominant display has reduced the gap to championship leader Sacha Coenen to just 14 points, setting up a fascinating battle when the series returns at Foxhills.
Farres said:
“My mentality is just going race by race. Same story as Portugal, haven’t really touched my bike, stayed on my base setup, just focused on myself and my riding. It’s a great group, and it’s nice to come to a race weekend, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like when I was a 10 or 12 year old kid going to race with my dad. It’s nice when you’re leading, your goggles don’t get dirty, your bike doesn’t get dirty, you can run your own pace. I think that’s one of my strong points, I can have a guy on my back for the whole race and not get nervous at all.”
MX2 Overall Results
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 518 points; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 504 p.; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 467 p.; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 455 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 433 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 400 p.; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 352 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 307 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 278 p.; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 225 p.
Championship Battles Building
With the South African Grand Prix complete, both world championship battles head into a short break in intriguing fashion.
Lucas Coenen now enjoys a healthy advantage in MXGP after another faultless weekend, but the MX2 title fight has tightened dramatically, with Farres now just 14 points behind Sacha Coenen after successive perfect Grand Prix weekends.
The FIM Motocross World Championship now heads to Foxhills for the MXGP of Great Britain, where both championship battles are expected to intensify as the second half of the 2026 season gets underway.
