MXGP ACADEMY IS GOING STRONG IN 2026

WHAT THE MXGP ACADEMY IS

The MXGP Academy is a global rider-development programme launched in 2015 by Infront Moto Racing, working in close collaboration with the FIM and national motorcycling federations (FMNs). Its mission rests on two goals: pulling as many young people as possible into motocross as a sport, and giving the talented, passionate ones a genuine pathway toward becoming professional Grand Prix riders.

What sets the Academy apart is where it happens. Every session runs on the same weekend as an MXGP Grand Prix, so participants train, learn and socialise inside the actual paddock, alongside the factory teams and world-class riders they’re chasing as role models.

A SEASON OF COACHING, ON AND OFF THE TRACK

Since the season opened in Almonte in Spain back in March, the Academy has now completed five rounds: Spain, France, Germany, Latvia and, most recently, the Czech Republic, where the paddock wrapped up just last week. Across every stop the format has stayed consistent. Fridays cover the basics through classroom-style education, including the MX-A Certificate curriculum and dedicated media training, preparing riders for interviews, sponsor obligations and life in front of a camera, alongside riding sessions delivered in partnership with each round’s local coaches. Parents follow their own track throughout the weekend, with workshops on how to communicate with and support a young rider through the pressures of a developing career.

One thread has run through all five rounds so far: Martin van Genderen, the Academy’s coordinator, and Jan Postema, its lead technical trainer, are the two members of staff who have been present at every single round this year. Local coaches rotate in at each venue to add region-specific expertise, but van Genderen and Postema are the constant that ties the travelling programme together.

FRANCE’S GIRLS-ONLY WEEKEND

The one round that broke from the usual format was Lacapelle-Marival in France, where the Academy ran its FIM WMX Academy weekend: a girls-only session for 14 female riders from France. It was also the round where van Genderen and Postema were assisted and helped by two-time FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion Livia Lancelot who led the session alongside Postema, covering on-track coaching, physical preparation and education, with parents again folded into the programme. The weekend’s high point was a visit from Lotte van Drunen, the reigning two-time WMX World Champion and herself a graduate of the very first girls-only MXGP Academy programme, who returned to speak with the group as living proof of where the pathway can lead.

A 360° VIEW OF THE PADDOCK

Beyond the coaching itself, the Academy’s real value this season has been the bridge it builds to the paddock and everything behind it: the teams, the technical partners, and the broadcast operation that puts a Grand Prix on screen. This season’s workshops proved invaluable on that front, giving riders, parents and trainers a genuine look at the mental, physical and logistical sides of the sport that rarely make it into a highlight reel. Armed with that fuller picture, parents and trainers came away better equipped to support their riders, whether that meant adjusting a training routine or simply understanding what a professional motocross career actually demands day to day.

Tyre partners Pirelli and Dunlop have been a fixture at every round, with their service trucks and technical zones open to riders wanting to understand what goes on underneath them. Beyond the tyre trucks, Saturdays have typically meant guided tours through the paddock’s biggest factory operations, Honda, Yamaha, KTM and Kawasaki plus stops with equipment and technical partners: MIPS, TwinAir, the Red Bull hospitality unit, Airoh helmets and Scott’s goggle service. Riders leave most Saturdays having met a handful of their own heroes in the paddock, in their awnings and with a phone full of pictures to prove it.

WHAT’S LEFT ON THE CALENDAR

Two rounds remain on the calendar. Uddevalla, Sweden (14–15 August), while Shanghai, China (11–12 September) is close to be confirmed. Uddevalla is also where the Academy is planning to add a visit to the MXGP-TV studio, giving riders a look at how a Grand Prix actually gets broadcast and having a exclusive view of the setting behind the Studio Show and their presenters, Paul Malin and Lisa Leyland!