The MXGP of South Africa arrived in Johannesburg for the 2026 MXGP World Championship, with South Africa’s biggest city providing a spectacular backdrop to a weekend packed with world-class racing. Hear more from the leading riders of each division in this Reaction feature.

MXGP

Image: Supplied.

P1 | Lucas Coenen (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
Tracks like these are really nice to ride but the starts are key: if you almost make the holeshot then you are nearly home. I still had to fight to keep the gaps but I won all three motos so I’m happy with that. I could control any pressure. You can’t do better than 1-1-1, so a perfect weekend. We executed well and I’m pumped right now. We’ll go to the U.S. and enjoy a weekend off in the sand and then we’ll try again in England.

P2 | Jeffrey Herlings (Honda HRC Petronas):
You can’t win every time, I gave it a go, but after I had a big moment, I think I used up all my luck so I just decided that second overall was good enough. My footpeg hit the ramp of the jump and I don’t know how I saved it, but somehow I’m able to talk about it so it’s all good. I think this was one of the best tracks we’ve ridden this year, but it was still very, very difficult to pass on and that makes the start so important and fifth place round the corner just isn’t good enough.

P3 | Romain Febvre (Kawasaki Racing Team):
I felt fast all weekend – the speed was there and also the starts – and had hoped for better but I hurt my knee on the first lap of race one and had a lot of pain for most of the moto. I took a good start again in the second race and was managing Jeffrey behind me for more than twenty minutes. I am getting there step-by-step, closer to the front two every week, and the three of us are gone from the pack. I could always hold their race pace and I have been working on my one-lap speed these last few weeks.

P4 | Calvin Vlaanderen (Red Bull Ducati Factory MXGP Team):
Such a nice weekend at home, it’s just so nice to have my first Grand Prix in South Africa and to have a good result. The pressure I had with my family and friends and my fans cheering for me was huge: I had to execute and I’ve tried to block out the noise and focus on my riding, doing what I know I had to do. I did it and I’m proud of myself and happy with the momentum we’ve had in the last couple of weekends. We are maintaining it and we keep getting better, the confidence is coming back, now we keep fighting.

P5 | Tim Gajser (Monster Energy Yamaha):
Another tough Grand Prix. The track was really nice, but it was just very difficult to make passes. I got stuck behind riders in both races and was trying to come through from behind, but it wasn’t easy to find the right lines and move forward. Overall, I gave it everything I had, like always, and now it’s onto the next GP.

P6 | Ruben Fernandez (Honda HRC Petronas):
I’m glad to be able to leave South Africa having finished all three motos in the points. It was certainly a difficult weekend, but overall it was a good experience to come down here and race in South Africa. I would have liked to have done better today, but I wasn’t feeling so great after yesterday so now I have a weekend-off to get better and get myself healthy for Great Britain.

P7 | Maxime Renaux (Monster Energy Yamaha):
I’m struggling a lot at the moment. I’m doing my best, but things just aren’t coming as naturally as they usually do. We need to find a solution quickly, but the problem is that the Grands Prix are coming one after another, so it’s difficult to fully recover. I’m giving everything I have, but I just feel like there’s nothing left in the tank. I tried my best to recover for this weekend, but I still can’t find my usual level. We’ll keep trying and hopefully find a way forward.

P8 | Andrea Adamo (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
A so-so weekend. Some positive things but we need to be better, especially on the first laps because this track was pretty nice but also quite easy. It never got really rough so everybody was very fast and then it was tough to overtake. The motos were pretty much done on the first laps, so I need to be better and smarter there because I had a great start in the second moto but I was P7 by the end of the first lap and that’s where I finished! A few things to improve but we keep learning and keep building. We didn’t reach the top five this weekend…but we’ll fight back in the next races.

MX2

Image: Supplied.

P1 | Guillem Farres (Triumph Factory Racing):
It was a really good weekend in South Africa. I had a good feeling from free practice, and we carried the momentum from Portugal into this weekend. In the first moto, I was third after the start, made a couple of quick passes on the opening lap, and put myself into the lead. From there, the guys behind kept the pressure on, so I had to work hard for the win. The second moto was, let’s say, a little easier. I pushed really hard on the opening laps to build a good gap, and from there I just managed the lead until the end. I’m really happy with the weekend, the team, and the bike. We’ll keep working hard and getting closer to our goal.

P2 | Simon Langenfelder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
It’s good to bring that intensity and fire back this weekend. I’ve made some changes around me and they seem to be working out. I’m happy about that. The UK next and I’m a bit sad we’re not going to Matterley [Basin] anymore, but I’ve seen some photos of Foxhill and it looks pretty good – pretty steep in some places – so we’ll find out when we’re there.

P3 | Janis Reisulis (Monster Energy Yamaha):
It was a good day. I felt really comfortable on the bike in warm-up, and although I was maybe a little hesitant in a few places during the first race, it was quite a calm moto. I was mostly riding on my own and just focused on riding the track. I went into the second moto with the same mentality as always. When Camden McLellan passed me near the end, I suddenly had that fire in me and just went for it. I managed to make the pass back, and that’s what got me onto the podium. I’m really happy with the result and hopefully I can keep going like this. A big thank you to the whole team and it’s amazing to score two podiums in a row.

P4 | Sacha Coenen (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
Not the easiest weekend, let’s say. I didn’t start well in the first race on Saturday but could make my way back to second and then we made some changes for Sunday and I was already feeling better for moto one. I had good speed all the way through and was on the back wheel of the leader but couldn’t make the pass. Second was okay. Second moto, I don’t have a lot to say. I’m feeling good and I’m ready to fight each weekend; this is important, and we’ll keep trying to have fun every race.

P5 | Camden McLellan (Triumph Factory Racing):
That’s Sunday wrapped up here in South Africa. It was a pretty good day with some ups and downs, some good riding, and some good moments, but my starts let me down once again. I really need to figure that out because if I can get out of the gate up front, I think we’ll be in a good position. My riding was good and everything else felt good, and it was a lot of fun racing in front of the home crowd. A big thank you to everyone who came out to support me.

P6 | Liam Everts (Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing):
South Africa was a unique challenge and I really enjoyed racing here. The altitude definitely makes it tougher physically, and the track changed a lot throughout the weekend, so consistency was important. We came away with another solid points haul, which keeps us moving in the right direction in the championship. After a busy run of races, it’ll be good to reset before heading to Foxhills, where we’ll be aiming to fight further towards the front.

P7 | Karlis Reisulis (Monster Energy Yamaha):
Today was okay. I got decent starts but after that I found it difficult to make passes. I finished seventh in both motos, which obviously isn’t where I want to be. I didn’t feel too bad on the bike, but my pace just wasn’t there today. That’s something I need to work on and improve for the next round. Thanks to the team as always for all their hard work.

P8 | Maxime Grau (Maddii Racing Honda):
Man, my starts weren’t on my side this weekend, but I felt really good all weekend on this track and enjoyed every lap. We know what we need to work on, and now it’s back home to keep pushing and improving. Big thanks to my team for all the hard work and support.