Red Bull KTM Factory Racing icon Jeffrey Herlings is working towards a competitive return to motocross action and through the final stages of rehabilitation after surgery to repair a torn right ACL.
The five-times world champion and most successful Grand Prix winner in FIM Motocross World Championship history is coming closer to his goal of being able to ride, test and get back into MXGP shape for 2025. 30-year-old Herlings underwent an operation to fix the right knee injury, which he sustained in the sand of Valkenswaard in October 2024 and after a strong campaign in which he completed the 20-round season with 3rd in the standings and with 4 GP wins and 15 podium finishes.
Since the medical procedure the Dutchman (Red Bull KTM’s longest serving racer after joining the factory MXGP team in 2010) has been following the rehab steps and is now just a few weeks away from being able to ride his 2025 KTM 450 SX-F.
Herlings will not be able to join the rest of his team for the season-opening Grand Prix of Argentina on 2-3 March but will then assess his pace and progress until he is ready to enter the MXGP start gate once more for his eighth attempt at the class and his sixteenth year as a world championship athlete.
Jeffrey Herlings: “We’re looking good. I can do everything aside from ride the bike. I can cycle, swim, cross train – and it should only be a few weeks until we are back to the normal plan. 2024 wasn’t a great season but it was decent; we’d made a lot of races, came close to the MXGP championship, won a few GPs and had something like 15 podiums at the end. I wanted to be strong coming into this year so having this setback was not good but what I can hope for now is a successful second part of the championship. It was a weird injury because there was not much pain after surgery but it takes time to recover. I want to ride as soon as possible and join the rest of my Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team… but we just need to wait a little longer. I really want to race again.”
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.
The Coenen brothers, Lucas and Sacha, starred at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal as 2026 MXGP tipped into the second half of the calendar. The Belgians took their Red Bull KTM machinery to podium results around the rapid layout and large jump sections of the clay-like terrain for round ten of the season.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Julien Beaumer finished second overall in Round 4 of the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship courtesy of a 2-2 moto scorecard in 250MX, on a weekend at the High Point National where 450MX teammates Jorge Prado and Aaron Plessinger also featured inside the top-five. Beaumer qualified fourth fastest in the 250MX division aboard his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in the morning sessions, before launching to a top-three start in Moto 1 and taking over the lead 10 minutes into the race. After building an advantage of more than seven seconds, a small tip-over saw him surrender the lead, ultimately finishing a hard-fought P2 at the checkered flag. Another strong start in Moto 2 saw Beaumer once again convert his track position into a second-place finish, with a 2-2 scorecard earning him second overall for the round and a second-career 250MX podium. The impressive 20-year-old has climbed to third in the 250MX championship standings after four rounds, just two points from the lead as riders now have one week off before the series recommences at RedBud on July 4. Julien Beaumer: "This is special. I remember last year when they said I wasn’t an outdoor guy, but we’re getting there, and I think I’m in a position to start fighting for some wins. We’re in this thing and we’ll go into the off weekend with some confidence, keep building, and come out swinging at RedBud.” Equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, Prado qualified third fastest in 450MX with a 2:00.649 lap-time at High Point, carrying that form into Moto 1 where he raced to a convincing third-place finish. The four-time world champion started towards the front in Moto 2, running inside the top-five throughout the race, which included an intense late-race battle with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Plessinger. He eventually recorded 3-5 scores for the weekend, placing fourth overall and rising to P4 in the standings. Jorge Prado: "Round 4 at High Point was an okay day for me. Both qualifying and Moto 1 were very good, and then in the second moto I finished P5 for fourth overall. We can take some positives from today, even if we still have some work to do – we’ll get to it in the break and come out swinging at RedBud.” Plessinger was the seventh-fastest 450MX qualifier this weekend and was battling for a top-five in Moto 1, delivering a well-earned sixth position. ‘The Cowboy’ then posted an impressive outing in Moto 2, charging through the field to a P4 result and securing fifth overall on the day. As a result, Plessinger has advanced to seventh in the championship following Round 4. Aaron Plessinger: “This is a win for me – I haven’t ridden that good in almost a year! So, it feels good to get that monkey off my back and get up here and show the boys what I can do. I’ve got to give it up to the whole Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, because they’ve been behind me, pushing me, and believing in me, and I’ve got to give a shoutout to everyone on the team. My bike was working great today and this is a huge win – I’m happy to be up there and thanks to all who support me.” Next Race: July 4 – RedBud, Michigan Results 450MX Class – High Point National 1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 2. Jett Lawrence (Honda) 3. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 4. Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 5. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 8. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) Standings 450MX Class 2026 after 4 of 11 rounds 1. Jett Lawrence, 182 points 2. Hunter Lawrence, 180 3. Haiden Deegan, 144 4. Jorge Prado, 122 5. RJ Hampshire, 121 7. Aaron Plessinger, 102 16. Lucas Coenen, 44 22. Dante Oliveira, 25 28. Malcolm Stewart, 10 Results 250MX Class – High Point National 1. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 2. Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 3. Jo Shimoda (Honda) 6. Ryder DiFrancesco (Husqvarna) 7. Casey Cochran (Husqvarna) Standings 250MX Class 2026 after 4 of 11 rounds 1. Levi Kitchen, 150 points 2. Jo Shimoda, 149 3. Julien Beaumer, 148 6. Ryder DiFrancesco, 111 15. Casey Cochran, 54 19. Sacha Coenen, 33 23. Daxton Bennick, 24
