The opening round of the 2026 FIM World Motocross Championships took place today in front of packed hillsides of excited fans, as the YPF MXGP of Argentina delivered on all of its promise with some pulsating battles for victory around the Bariloche MX Race Track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a tough Qualifying Race,\u00a0Jeffrey Herlings\u00a0made a perfect start to his\u00a0Honda HRC Petronas\u00a0career with a brilliant 1-1 performance to earn his 113th Grand Prix victory and his first in Argentina since 2018.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reigning World Champion\u00a0Romain Febvre\u00a0made a solid start to his title defence with second overall, for the third year in a row in Argentina. Saturday\u2019s Qualifying race winner\u00a0Tom Vialle\u00a0completed a brilliant MXGP debut weekend with third overall!\u00a0 The\u00a0Honda HRC Petronas\u00a0teammates now share the World Championship lead, with Herlings taking the red plate by virtue of his higher number of race wins!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In MX2, another to recover from a rough Saturday was\u00a0Red Bull KTM Factory Racing\u2019s\u00a0defending World Champion\u00a0Simon L\u00e4ngenfelder,\u00a0also taking both race wins in a smooth and calculating performance to crown the 100th GP of his career with a tenth GP win, and he now leads the series by three points heading to round two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Triumph Racing Factory Team\u00a0riders\u00a0Guillem Farres\u00a0and\u00a0Camden McLellan\u00a0packed out the podium places in second and third overall, as Guillem followed up his best career Qualifying Race with his equal-best GP result! Can he go one better at his home GP next time out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The racing throughout was action-packed around the wide and fast circuit, and the crowd responded with a great atmosphere that only urged the riders on further! What a fantastic start to the MXGP season!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with all of the practice sessions over the weekend, Herlings took the fastest time in morning Warm-Up, with\u00a0Calvin Vlaanderen\u00a0second for the newly-titled\u00a0Red Bull Ducati Factory MX Team.\u00a0Tom Vialle wore the red plate after his Qualifying Race win, doing so in a Grand Prix for the first time since July 2022!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Honda HRC Petronas teammates Vialle and Herlings powered into the first corner in tandem at the head of the field in MXGP race one, and it was the Dutchman who took a rare\u00a0Fox Holeshot Award\u00a0ahead of the Frenchman, although\u00a0Andrea Adamo\u00a0stuck his\u00a0Red Bull KTM Factory Racing\u00a0machine between them for the first couple of laps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadly,\u00a0Venrooy KTM Racing\u2019s\u00a0Mattia Guadagnini\u00a0and fellow Italian\u00a0Alberto Forato\u00a0for\u00a0Fantic Factory Racing MXGP\u00a0suffered separate crashes on the first lap, but\u00a0Andrea Bonacorsi\u00a0started well for\u00a0Red Bull Ducati Factory MX Team,\u00a0ahead of Febvre and his\u00a0Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP\u00a0teammate\u00a0Pauls Jonass.\u00a0The Frenchman was able to pass the Italian at the first climb over the big triple jump!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lucas Coenen\u00a0had started outside of the top five for\u00a0Red Bull KTM Factory Racing,\u00a0but managed to work past both Jonass and Bonacorsi within a few corners to take fifth during the first full lap. Vialle attacked Adamo, and started lap three by jumping to the inside of the Sicilian over the finish line jump to make it a Honda 1-2 again.\u00a0 A lap later, he had closed the gap to Herlings and shocked \u201cThe Bullet\u201d with an outbraking outside move to take the lead on lap four!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By lap eight, Febvre and Coenen had both got past Adamo, and ultimately he was to drop back to 11th at the flag. Coenen got within striking distance of Febvre but couldn\u2019t pull the trigger, the duo finishing third and fourth.\u00a0 Bonacorsi had crashed out of the race on lap five, and Jonass got up to a fine fifth place finish ahead of the\u00a0Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP\u00a0duo of\u00a0Tim Gajser\u00a0and\u00a0Maxime Renaux,\u00a0the Slovenian bruised from his Saturday crash but finding he strength for an aggressive block-pass on Adamo at the highest point of the circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vlaanderen was the top Ducati rider in eighth, while\u00a0Thibault Benistant\u00a0put in a good ride on his MXGP class debut to take ninth for\u00a0Team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul,\u00a0ahead of the third factory\u00a0Honda HRC Petronas\u00a0rider\u00a0Ruben Fernandez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herlings had found his groove in the last third of the race and closed in on his youngest teammate Vialle, sweeping around the outside of the Frenchman to take the lead without chance of retaliation, and he celebrated his first race win on the Honda by punching the air and accepting a gracious high-five from Vialle after the finish line!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The start of race two was disrupted by Forato firing into his start gate before it dropped, disrupting other riders\u2019 gates and forcing the race to be red-flagged. Febvre had fired to the front but had to be called back to the line before two laps had completed, thus forcing a full restart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0Fox Holeshot Award\u00a0was taken by Renaux this time, with Febvre right behind him, and Vialle, after Herlings had run wide, making it a French 1-2-3 at the front! Vialle got to second as Jonass ran into his teammate and crashed in turn two, bringing down the luckless Forato, as well as the\u00a0TEM JP253 KTM Racing\u00a0bike of\u00a0Jan Pancar\u00a0and the third Red Bull Ducati of\u00a0Jeremy Seewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vialle pulled a fantastic pass on Renaux to take the lead, and Febvre followed past a few straights later, while Gajser was moving forward to pass his former teammate Fernandez for fourth. Herlings was outside of the top ten initially and had to charge back through the pack, and he too passed the Spaniard, after a little back and forth beforehand, down the start straight, using a wide line that veered to the inside of a small jump for more speed, a line that made him time on his rivals for most of the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly, Vialle dropped out of the lead by briefly stalling his bike, and he restarted within sight of a battle for fourth between Gajser and Herlings, the old rivals squaring off until Herlings\u2019 start-straight line paid dividends again for him to move to fourth. The Dutchman then pulled a stunning outside pass on Vialle in the biggest downhill section\u2019s braking bumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One Frenchman down, two to go for Herlings, but he didn\u2019t need to pass on Renaux as the Yamaha man, who was struggling with stomach cramps, crashed at the bottom of the big hill. There was a six-to-seven second gap to Febvre at this point for Herlings, and it looked like the reigning Champ would be able to control the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lucas Coenen was having a quiet race to sixth, which would ultimately see him in fifth overall ahead of Fernandez, who held on to fifth in race two. Adamo improved to seventh to take eighth overall behind Renaux, who remounted to take eighth in race two.\u00a0 Benistant took ninth again for that spot overall, and his teammate\u00a0Kevin Horgmo\u00a0rounded out the top ten after being sick for several days! Jonass recovered to 13th in race two to round out the top ten overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Gajser marched forward to utilise Herlings\u2019 passing spot and take third from Vialle, although it was only good enough for fourth overall for the Slovenian. Herlings, set for the GP win but still behind Vialle in the Championship, gritted his teeth and closed the gap on Febvre, sending the crowd into ecstatic roars with a smart cutback move that left the result in no doubt.\u00a0 It was a stunning move that levelled the Championship points with his teammate! \u201cThe Bullet\u201d will wear the red plate in Spain, for the first time since 31st of October 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MX2 throws up surprises<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Warm-Up session saw reigning Champion L\u00e4ngenfelder, with his new black #1 plate, at the top of the tables ahead of his fellow GP winners\u00a0Liam Everts\u00a0for\u00a0Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, and\u00a0Sacha Coenen.\u00a0Sacha wore the red plate for\u00a0Red Bull KTM Factory Racing\u00a0for just the second time in his career, and for once didn\u2019t hit the top of the timings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as he did in the Qualifying Race,\u00a0Janis Reisulis\u00a0launched into the lead to claim his first\u00a0Fox Holeshot Award\u00a0for\u00a0Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2\u00a0at the first time of asking! However, there was no repeat of Saturday\u2019s events for L\u00e4ngenfelder, who was right there in second early on ahead of Janis\u2019 brother\u00a0Karlis Reisulis\u00a0in third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noel Zanocz\u00a0for\u00a0Venrooy KTM Racing\u00a0and\u00a0Jens Walvoort\u00a0of\u00a0SB Racing KTM\u00a0were battling in the top five, but Coenen and Farres were quickly past them, and then also past Karlis Reisulis by the end of lap two.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everts and\u00a0CRD Motosport TM Moto\u00a0rider\u00a0Cas Valk\u00a0had suffered a first corner crash but were battling through the field. L\u00e4ngenfelder patiently worked up to pass on Janis Reisulis on lap six, with Sacha going past a lap later, thanks mainly to Reisulis struggling to get around a lapped rider!\u00a0 Try as he might, Coenen couldn\u2019t catch the Champ, who took his 25th career GP race win by over four seconds from the Belgian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It took Farres until he was within sight of the two lap board to depose Janis for third, with the Spanish-speaking crowd cheering at the move near the pit lane! Fourth on debut was still a great result for the reigning EMX250 Champion.\u00a0Mathis Valin\u00a0worked forward to take fifth for\u00a0Kawasaki Racing Team MX2,\u00a0with McLellan sixth and a recovering Everts, also struggling with sickness, getting all the way back to seventh with a late pass on\u00a0Honda HRC Petronas\u00a0rider\u00a0Valerio Lata.\u00a0Karlis Reisulis claimed ninth and Walvoort tenth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second outing saw another Reisulis\u00a0Fox Holeshot,\u00a0with Karlis this time flying to the front ahead of Everts and L\u00e4ngenfelder, the\u00a0Osi\u010dka Racing KTM\u00a0of\u00a0Julius Mikula,\u00a0with Janis Reisulis in fifh, but there was carnage behind them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walvoort had got the finish line jump wrong and landed short, leaving Lata nowhere to go but straight into a big crash! Walvoort somehow stayed onboard, but Sacha Coenen, losing his good start position with a mistake in the first corner, was not so lucky, and piled into the Italian\u2019s bike, hitting the ground hard and ending both of their races. Sacha rode gently back to the pits clutching his knee, but checks with the physio confirmed there was no further damage. The red plate from his Saturday win, however, was not set to stay on his bike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Everts was quickly able to pass Karlis for the lead, while Farres got past both Mikula and the Latvian\u2019s brother to move into third, but a back and forth duel with L\u00e4ngenfelder went the way of the German, a firm move past pit lane forcing the Spaniard wide and off the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Champ set about closing down a suffering Everts, who was also struggling with sickness over the weekend, and despite mustering some resistance, couldn\u2019t hold the #1 rider back when he outbraked the Belgian down the biggest hill in a stunning move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McLellan was also on a tear, aggressively passing both Reisulis brothers, and finally Everts, to take a brilliant second position! Farres recovered to fourth, Karlis Reisulis held onto a great fifth ahead of his brother, then came Valin, Valk, and the\u00a0SixySeven Racing Husqvarna\u00a0of\u00a0Scott Smulders\u00a0to round out the top ten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n L\u00e4ngenfelder took his tenth career Grand Prix victory ahead of Farres and McLellan, with Everts and Janis Reisulis completing the top five overall. It was a brilliantly competitive day on the MX2 class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:<\/strong> 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 36:02.812; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +0:03.450; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.886; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:32.619; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:46.824; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:48.358; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:51.502; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +0:52.249; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Honda), +0:52.675; 10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +1:04.826<\/p>\n\n\n\n MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:<\/strong> 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:32.280; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.674; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:08.103; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +0:27.977; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:30.711; 6. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:37.758; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:40.360; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:43.051; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Honda), +0:52.620; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:54.669<\/p>\n\n\n\n MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification:<\/strong> 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 40 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 35 p.; 5. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 27 p.; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 27 p.; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, HON), 24 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 24 p.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:<\/strong> 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 50 points; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 50 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 48 p.; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 42 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 36 p.; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 32 p.; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 32 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 28 p.; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 24 p.;<\/p>\n\n\n\n MXGP – Manufacturers Classification<\/strong>: 1. Honda, 60 points; 2. Kawasaki, 48 p.; 3. Yamaha, 42 p.; 4. KTM, 42 p.; 5. Ducati, 24 p.; 6. Fantic, 18 p<\/p>\n\n\n\n MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: <\/strong>1. Simon L\u00e4ngenfelder (GER, KTM), 34:55.834; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:04.422; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:13.557; 4. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:16.928; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:19.977; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:21.342; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:34.164; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:36.712; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:45.409; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +0:56.574<\/p>\n\n\n\n MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 \u2013 Top 10 Classification:<\/strong> 1. Simon L\u00e4ngenfelder (GER, KTM), 35:08.451; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:03.500; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:20.975; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:34.985; 5. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:36.783; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:37.465; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:39.823; 8. Cas Valk (NED, TM), +1:01.988; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +1:08.553; 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna), +1:23.225<\/p>\n\n\n\n MX2 Overall \u2013 Top 10 Classification:<\/strong> 1. Simon L\u00e4ngenfelder (GER, KTM), 50 points; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 38 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 37 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 30 p.; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Cas Valk (NED, TM), 20 p.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MX2 – World Championship Classification:<\/strong> 1. Simon L\u00e4ngenfelder (GER, KTM), 50 points; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 47 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 43 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 41 p.; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 38 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 32 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 29 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, TM), 22 p.; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 21 p.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MX2 – Manufacturers Classification:<\/strong> 1. KTM, 60 points; 2. Triumph, 51 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 41 p.; 4. Yamaha, 39 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 38 p.; 6. Honda, 26 p.; 7. TM, 22 p.; 8. GASGAS, 10 p.; 9. Ducati, 9 p.; 10. Fantic, 8 p.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The opening round of the 2026 FIM World Motocross Championships took place today in front of packed hillsides<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[311,371,370],"class_list":["post-10390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-motorsports","tag-mx2","tag-mxgp"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings.jpg",1040,693,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings-768x512.jpg",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings-1024x682.jpg",640,426,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings.jpg",1040,693,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings.jpg",1040,693,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"International<\/a>","tag_info":"International","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jeffrey-Herlings.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10394,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10390\/revisions\/10394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}