Calvin Vlaanderen shines at home, Ducati smiles in MXGP: confidence on the rise

Best performance of the year for the Red Bull Ducati Factory MXGP Team rider at the South Africa GP, a shot of confidence for the Red.

Energized by racing at home, he claimed the best result for himself and for Ducati in this 2026 Motocross World Championship. Calvin Vlaanderen (Dutch but born in South Africa) went above and beyond during the MXGP weekend at Terra Topia MX Track, finishing with a superb 4th overall. It was his best GP finish of the season, coming right after his best qualifying of the year, 5th: a nice haul of points that allows the 30-year-old from Port Elizabeth to close in on the top 10 in the standings. Encouraging signs of growth for the Desmo450 MX? It hasn’t been an easy year after the breakout debut in 2025, but there seem to be small steps forward, to be confirmed and improved in the coming events as well.

Calvin Vlaanderen, however, ended this GP with a smile. "It’s really nice to have raced my first Grand Prix in South Africa and to have achieved a good result. The pressure I felt, with my family, friends and fans cheering for me, was enormous" he admitted at the end of the weekend. Despite everything, it was an extra boost. "I had to give my all and I tried to block out distractions and focus on my riding, doing what I knew I had to do. I managed it and I’m proud of myself and happy with the momentum we’ve built over the last two weekends. We’re building something important and we keep improving, confidence is coming back and now we’ll keep fighting.”

There’s also the other side of the coin in the 250 World Championship. Ferruccio Zanchi tried to fight for the top 10 throughout the South African weekend, but ended up just outside it in the overall GP classification. After qualifying 15th, he crossed the line P13 at the end of the first moto. The Beddini Racing Ducati Factory MX2 Team rider did get a better start with his Desmo250 MX in the second race of the day. At the checkered flag he was 10th, but in the day’s overall he leaves South Africa 13th.

“We found a new and very beautiful track, but as has been happening for a while now, we’re struggling to stay at the front,” admitted Ferruccio Zanchi. “We need to grow together with the bike and try to get back to fighting for the positions that are ours. On Saturday, in qualifying, I slipped and came back as far as I could; in race one I rode a careful race, trying to avoid mistakes; then in the second moto I put a bit more of myself into it and finished tenth.” Now it’s time for a short break, then focus shifts to the next events, with the goal of making concrete steps forward.