Lucas Coenen delivered another flawless performance at the 2026 MXGP of South Africa, claiming his fifth overall victory of the season with a dominant 1-1-1 sweep at Terra Topia. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider extended his championship lead to 68 points as the series returned to South African soil for the first time since 2008.
The Belgian star was untouchable across the weekend at the elevated hardpack circuit near Johannesburg, claiming his seventh holeshot of the season in the opening moto before controlling the race from start to finish. He repeated the performance in moto two, escaping early and managing the 30-minute-plus-two-lap distance with complete authority.
The victory marks Coenen’s 21st career Grand Prix win and third perfect 1-1-1 performance of 2026, extending his championship advantage over Jeffrey Herlings to more than one full round’s worth of points. The result also helped KTM move to the top of the MXGP Manufacturers’ standings.
“Tracks like these are really nice to ride but the starts are key,” Coenen said. “I still had to fight to keep the gaps but I won all three motos so I’m happy with that. You can’t do better than 1-1-1, so a perfect weekend.”
Andrea Adamo posted a solid eighth overall for Red Bull KTM with 9-7 finishes. The Italian showed strong pace in the second moto after running inside the top three early before settling into seventh. The former MX2 world champion sits sixth in the standings in his rookie MXGP campaign.
In MX2, Simon Laengenfelder returned to the podium for the first time since round four in Sardinia, claiming second overall with 3-2 moto scores aboard his KTM 250 SX-F. The reigning MX2 world champion ran a lonely but secure second moto to secure his fifth trophy of the season, keeping him third in the championship chase, 52 points behind the leader.
Sacha Coenen narrowly missed a fifth consecutive podium, finishing fourth overall after a challenging second moto. The red plate holder took a strong second in moto one but ran off track at the first corner in race two and crashed on the opening lap, forcing him to recover to sixth. Despite missing the podium by a single point, he maintains a 14-point championship lead.
Terra Topia’s debut MXGP venue featured a long, fast, rough and rippled hardpack layout with decent line choice and hefty jumps. Hot, sunny conditions and a dipping sunset created visibility challenges in sections during Sunday afternoon’s racing.
Red Bull KTM swept both MXGP and MX2 qualifying heats on Saturday, marking the fourth time in eleven rounds that the factory has aced both classes on the same day. The team has now claimed ten MX2 podiums from eleven rounds in 2026.
After three consecutive race weekends in Italy, Portugal and South Africa, the world championship enters a one-week break before another triple-header in Great Britain, Czechia and Belgium. Round 12 takes place at Foxhill circuit on 18-19 July for the first British Grand Prix at the venue since 2000.
Photo: KTM Media
