MXGP victory for Herlings in Turkey as Red Bull KTM win both classes once more

MXGP entered the final three weeks and last three fixtures of the 2025 season with a trip to the flat, hardpacked Afyon circuit hosting the Grand Prix of Turkey. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings won for the second race in a row and for the fourth time with his 2025 KTM 450 SX-F. Simon Laengenfelder was the overall winner in MX2 with the KTM 250 SX-F – the sixth time the German has stood on top of the box in 2025 –as the series waved goodbye to European terrain. Red Bull KTM ruled both Qualification Heats and all four motos in Afyon.

  • Jeffrey Herlings owns the Turkish Grand Prix for the fifth time and raises his career win total to 111. The Dutchman went 2-1 in Afyon and stretches his podium streak to three on the bounce
  • Lucas Coenen finishes runner-up for his thirteenth trophy of his rookie MXGP season and wins the first moto in Turkey: his thirteenth 25-pointer of the campaign and the best tally of the entire field
  • P1 for Simon Laengenfelder and a tenth podium from 15 this campaign. The German wins the second moto after Sacha Coenen takes the first outing and finishes P3: the Belgian’s ninth trophy
  • A tough day for Andrea Adamo with small crashes and mistakes putting the Italian 9th overall in MX2
  • MXGP jets east for back-to-back events in China and Australia to finish the 2025 schedule. The Shanghai International off-road circuit is first on the list in two weeks

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing began the run-in to the MXGP and MX2 title disputes with the annual trip to Afyon and the purpose-built facility in eastern Turkey. Flat, jumpy, and formed from hard-packed soil, Afyon is a familiar (elevated) site for the Grand Prix paddock after its world championship inauguration in 2018.

On Saturday it was a Coenen brothers show for the Qualification Heats. Lucas started brightly under stormy skies and won the MXGP sprint for the seventh time in 2025. Sacha grasped a customary holeshot on the KTM 250 SX-F and rode clear to his maiden MX2 Pole. In MXGP Jeffrey Herlings was runner-up for a strong 1-2 for the Red Bull KTM squad. In MX2 Simon Laengenfelder was 6th and Andrea Adamo scored 10th after a brief tumble.

Sunday’s motos followed the same trend. Coenen holeshotted and won the first race as Herlings ran to P2. The teammates swapped roles in the second outing as Coenen had to come back from a top five start. Herlings had edged clear to go 2-1 and claim the overall and Lucas came very close to relegating from title rival Romain Febvre but took P3 and a 1-2 for 2nd on the day. Herlings now has four wins for the year and has two on the bounce after acing his home Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Sacha Coenen holeshotted and controlled the first MX2 moto. Laengenfelder rose from the top five to earn P3 by the end of the distance, and Adamo had to recover ground to P8. While Adamo labored again in the second race (P9 after a crash), Laengenfelder made a better start and was able to win (the tenth time in a moto this year). Coenen was 4th and climbed the lower step of the rostrum for his sixth champagne bottle from the last eight meetings.

A maximum of 124 points remain in 2025. Coenen is 26 from the red plate in MXGP and is guaranteed a top three classification in his maiden season while Herlings is 6th in the standings and with possibilities to rise to 3rd. In MX2 Laengenfelder fronts Kay de Wolf by 12 points and Adamo is now 62 from the peak of the table.

The 2025 EMX250 European Championship is over. Gabriel SS24 KTM team’s Max Werner finished 11th overall in Turkey. Gyan Doensen missed the trip due to his left leg injury and ends his first season in the competitive feeder class with P6 in the standings.

The penultimate Grand Prix of the year will fire into life on Saturday-Sunday 20-21 of September for only the third trip to China.

Jeffrey Herlings, 2nd and 1st for 1s overall in MXGP: “Super-pleased with this win. For a Dutch rider it’s a difficult track; one of the most difficult and very hard to pass but we managed to get it done and the weekend went better than I expected. We made some good changes for the elevation so a shout out to KTM for providing me with such a good bike. 111 now, so let’s go to China and to the final two. Let’s try and finish the year as strong as we can.”

Lucas Coenen, 1st and 3rd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “Not bad in the first moto. I took a good start but the first lap was a bit hectic. I settled in and focused on my rhythm. The track was slick and it was easy to make a mistake but I felt better and better. The second: not much to say. I had to come from the back and at one point I was sleeping. I was then a bit shy on the last lap. I’m young. It’s racing: I had an opportunity and I didn’t take it. I’ll keep learning. I’m looking forward to the last two races and we’ll do what we can.”

Simon Laengenfelder, 3rd and 1st for 1st overall in MX2: “I had a crash in the middle of the moto…so I’m really happy to be able to bounce back like this. Saturday was not great and it was quite tough to race here. I made a mistake with the first start but did better in the second, I think I was 3rd after the second corner. It was an intense track and you had to push everywhere. I like it when it was a bit more technical in the second race.”

Sacha Coenen, 1st and 4th for 3rd overall in MX2: “A really good first moto. I then had a good start in the second…but made some mistakes. It was pretty difficult so I’m happy to be on the podium. I’ve been working on my consistency, and it’s been going well.

Andrea Adamo, 8th and 9th for 9th overall in MX2: “You can have up-and-down moments through the year but this was not the time to have a bad weekend. Anyway, we move on, and we have two rounds to go so onto China and Australia.”

 

Results MXGP Turkey 2025

 

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-1

2. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-3

3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 3-2

4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 4-4

3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 5-5

 

Standings MXGP 2025 after 18 of 20 rounds

 

1. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 885 points

2. Lucas Coenen (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 859

3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), Fantic, 638

4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 557

5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED), Yamaha, 528

6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 522

 

Results MX2 Turkey 2025

 

1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 3-1

2. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 2-2

3. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-4

4. Guillem Farres (ESP) Triumph, 6-3

5. Mathis Valin (FRA) Kawasaki, 4-6

6. Liam Everts (BEL) Husqvarna, 5-5

9. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 8-9

 

Standings MX2 2025 after 18 of 20 rounds

 

1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 833 points

2. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 821

3. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 771

4. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 648

5. Thibault Benistant (FRA), Yamaha, 575

7. Liam Everts (BEL), Husqvarna 538

KTM NEWS

SECOND OVERALL FOR RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING'S JORGE PRADO AT BUDDS CREEK NATIONAL

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Round 10 of the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship proved to be another successful outing for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing at Budds Creek, with Jorge Prado claiming second overall in 450MX, while Julien Beaumer earned a top-five finish in 250MX. Following his second-place result at Unadilla last weekend, Prado qualified sixth aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION at the rain-affected Budds Creek National, posting a 1:56.300 lap time before racing to P3 in Moto 1. The four-time world champion started Moto 2 from second and remained firmly in contention for the victory throughout the race. He ultimately settled for a spirited third position, securing second overall and his fourth podium of the season outdoors. With one round remaining in the 2026 Pro Motocross season at next weekend's Ironman National, Prado sits fourth in the 450MX standings and is currently third in the wider SMX World Championship rankings. Jorge Prado: "My riding was pretty good today and a podium is always nice. I need to get better at dealing with traffic in those last 10 minutes, so we’ll work on that, and it will help a lot with my results. Hopefully we can get a moto win or an overall at Ironman – I like that track and am feeling really good on the bike." Four-time 450MX champion Eli Tomac set the fifth-fastest time on the combined 450MX timesheets in qualifying, before featuring toward the front of the pack from the outset in Moto 1 aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION. The 33-year-old finished a solid fourth in the opening race, before a difficult start in Moto 2 left him to recover to 13th, with Tomac completing the weekend ninth overall as his late-season momentum continues to build. Eli Tomac: "We had a much better weekend, even though the overall results may not show that – I was happier with my riding. I was battling for a podium position almost the whole first moto, and then in the second moto, I just put myself in too bad of a position off the start to really get to the front. At this point, I’m just getting stronger and stronger, and I feel like I’ll be in the podium fight for Ironman and for the SMX series." Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger continued his return to Pro Motocross competition at Budds Creek, with ‘The Cowboy’ converting a strong start in Moto 1 into a 10th-place result. Plessinger completed the opening lap of Moto 2 in sixth on board his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and eventually claimed seventh, taking P7 overall for the round in his second race back since injuring his tailbone at RedBud. Aaron Plessinger: "Budds Creek went pretty good, I'd say! It was a lot better than my last few weeks at the track – practice was alright, then it started raining, and I got excited, but it stopped just in time for the track to kind of dry out a little bit before Moto 1. We got 10th in that one, which was decent given I am racing myself back into form, and then the second one I got a really good start, before being shuffled back early. From there, I battled around seventh and stayed there the whole moto to earn seventh overall. This is solid, it's good momentum, and we'll take the positives into Ironman!" Equipped with the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in the 250MX Class, Beaumer qualified 10th quickest on combined times, before racing to an eighth-place finish in Moto 1 amid technical, drying track conditions. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider charged forward from outside the top 10 in Moto 2 to take an impressive fourth-place finish. His 8-4 moto scorecard earned fourth overall for the weekend, maintaining third in the 250MX standings with one round remaining. Julien Beaumer: "P4 at Budds Creek. I struggled a little bit in Moto 1, but rode more like myself in Moto 2. I had to fight from around 15th to fourth in that second moto, so happy with the progress, and we will keep building. Let's finish this thing off strong at Ironman!" Next Race: August 29 – Crawfordsville, Indiana Results 450MX Class – Budds Creek National 1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 2. Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 3. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 7. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 9. Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 10. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) 13. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) Standings 450MX Class 2026 after 10 of 11 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 442 points 2. Jett Lawrence, 441 3. Haiden Deegan, 376 4. Jorge Prado, 351 5. RJ Hampshire, 308 12. Aaron Plessinger, 129 17. Eli Tomac, 89 23. Lucas Coenen, 44 28. Malcolm Stewart, 31 Results 250MX Class – Budds Creek National 1. Chance Hymas (Honda) 2. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 3. Landen Gordon (Yamaha) 4. Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 9. Daxton Bennick (Husqvarna) 12. Landon Gibson (Husqvarna) 15. Ryder DiFrancesco (Husqvarna) Standings 250MX Class 2026 after 10 of 11 rounds 1. Cole Davies, 378 points 2. Levi Kitchen, 364 3. Julien Beaumer, 322 5. Ryder DiFrancesco, 291 13. Casey Cochran, 146 18. Daxton Bennick, 118 20. Sacha Coenen, 83

JULIEN BEAUMER AND RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING CONTINUE INTO THE FUTURE

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has re-signed Julien Beaumer through the 2027 SMX World Championship and beyond, continuing together into the future following a standout campaign to date in AMA Pro Motocross this season. Since joining KTM's factory program in 2024, Beaumer has emerged as one of the most exciting young riders in the sport. The 20-year-old broke through for a first-career 250SX victory in the AMA Supercross Championship last year on his way to second in the Western Divisional standings. Despite a serious back injury ruling him out of Supercross in 2026, 'Juju' has made a remarkable return to competition outdoors and is currently positioned third in the 250MX championship after winning his maiden overall at the Spring Creek National. In a multi-year agreement, Beaumer will enter his fourth season with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2027, targeting title success across the SMX World Championship – including the AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross Championships – equipped with the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION. Julien Beaumer: "I'm really stoked to announce that I've extended my contract with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. I can't thank them enough for the belief and hard work they put in – these last three years have been amazing and I couldn't be happier to be with the group of people that I'm with. Let's win some races and fight for some championships! That's the goal." Ian Harrison, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: "Julien is one of the younger riders on our team, but with this contract extension he’ll become one of the veterans of our program. We couldn’t be prouder of the growth Julien has shown. He has demonstrated that even during challenging times, he can make smart decisions, stay focused on improvement, and continue working to become a better racer. We’ve all seen the tremendous progress he has made throughout the 2026 Pro Motocross season, both on and off the track. I have no doubt that Julien will continue to develop his racecraft and reach new levels in the years ahead. His future is incredibly bright, and we’re grateful for the trust he has placed in our team. We look forward to continuing to build on this success together."