Lucas Coenen (Red Bull KTM) wins the MXGP of South Africa with a perfect score

Second MXGP round in Johannesburg (South Africa): French HRC factory rider Tom Vialle took the holeshot just ahead of World Championship leader Lucas Coenen (KTM), but the Belgian World Championship leader didn’t need to be asked twice and took the lead on the very first lap. Lucas Coenen then controlled the race from the front. In the closing stages, Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) launched another attack, but this time his efforts were in vain. Lucas Coenen came through unscathed in Africa and won the Grand Prix with a perfect score of 60 points, having already won Saturday’s qualifying race with a haul of 10 points.

Jeffrey Herlings defied fate

Although Jeffrey Herlings’ crash in the first race was relatively minor, it could have ended much more badly. After a mediocre start, ‘The Bullet’ had to fight his way up the field from fifth place in the second race. He overtook his HRC team-mate Tom Vialle on lap 5. It was only in the second half of the race that he managed to get the better of defending champion Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) on the inside line of a left-hand bend, moving up to second place. The Dutchman then set off on a final sprint, but made another mistake: “I wanted to close the gap on Lucas and nearly went off at the big triple. After that, I told myself I didn’t want to tempt fate any further today. I’d used up all my luck for the day.” With a 2-2 result, Herlings finished the South African Grand Prix in second place.

My luck was all used up for today

Jeffrey Herlings

With a 3-3 result, Romain Febvre took third place on the podium in Johannesburg. “I banged my knee in the first race,” recalls the defending champion. “At the start of the first race, I couldn’t ride at full pace at all because of the pain. It got a bit better towards the end. In the second race, I got off to a good start and was able to keep up with the leaders for 20 minutes. Step by step, we’re making progress.”

Local hero Calvin Vlaanderen in fourth place

With a 8-4 result, Ducati factory rider Calvin Vlaanderen finished his home Grand Prix in fourth place on the day’s standings. In the second race, he crossed the line ahead of Tim Gajser (Yamaha) and was celebrated by the home fans. Following his fourth place in the first race at Montevarchi, fourth place in Johannesburg marked another personal best for him this year.

Pauls Jonass overtaken by Ruben Fernandez

On lap 6, the Latvian Kawasaki factory rider Pauls Jonass was taken out by HRC factory rider Ruben Fernandez. Jonass dropped from 8th to 17th place, but was fortunately able to continue and finished the second race in 13th place. With a 4-13 result, Jonass finished his African tour in 9th place.

Pauls Jonass wurde in Johannesburg von Ruben Fernandez abgeräumt

Foto: MXGP-TV

Situation at the top of the standings

With his third hat-trick of the season, Lucas Coenen extended his lead in the World Championship standings in South Africa from 57 to 68 points over Jeffrey Herlings in second place. Next week, Coenen will compete in the sixth round of the US Nationals at Southwick, and in two weeks’ time the action continues at Foxhill (England) with the 12th Grand Prix of the 2026 season.

MXGP of South Africa

1. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 1-1, 50 points

2. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 2-2, 44, (-6)

3. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 3-3, 40, (-10)

4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NL), Ducati, 8-4, 31, (-19)

5. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 6-5, 31, (-19)

6. Ruben Fernandez (E), Honda, 7-8, 27, (-23)

7. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 5-10, 27, (-23)

8. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 9-7, 26, (-24)

9. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, 4-13, 26, (-24)

10. Oriol Oliver (E), KTM, 10–9, 23, (-27)

11. Jan Pancar (SLO), KTM, 12-12, 18, (-32)

12. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 21-6, 15, (-35)

13. Rick Elzinga (NL), KTM, 13–14, 15, (-35)

14. Kevin Horgmo (N), Honda, 11–16, 15, (-35)

15. Kevin Brumann (CH), Husqvarna, 14-15, 13, (-37)

MXGP World Championship standings after round 11 of 19:

1. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 566 points

2. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 498, (-68)

3. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 443, (-123)

4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 404, (-162)

5. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 364, (-202)

6. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 343, (-223)

7. Ruben Fernandez (E), Honda, 332, (-234)

8. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 287, (-279)

9. Kay de Wolf (NL), Husqvarna, 273, (-293)

10. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, 268, (-298)