Tom Vialle made the perfect start to his Honda HRC PETRONAS career, as he took the holeshot and won the 2026 MXGP of Argentina qualifying race. In what is also his debut in the MXGP class, the Frenchman rode a flawless race on his Honda CRF450RW to lead from the first turn and control the moto in front of a plethora of world champions and GP race winners.
Second in free practice and then third in timed practice showed that he was immediately at home in this MXGP field, and when he stormed off to a trademark holeshot – something he has specialised in his whole career – he looked extremely comfortable. Despite pressure from behind the entire moto, the #16 rode smoothly on a tricky Bariloche circuit and took the chequered flag for the maximum 10 points, which will give him the red-plate for the two motos tomorrow.
Behind him in sixth place was teammate Ruben Fernandez, who was pushing for better positions before a couple of mistakes in the same corner cost instead cost him a position. While it was slightly disappointing for the Spanish-speaking rider, who is highly motivated to perform in front of a lot of fans, he knows that with a good start, he has the speed to run up front and that’s what he’ll be hoping to do in both of Sunday’s gatedrops.
Fellow Honda HRC PETRONAS debutant Jeffrey Herlings had a great start to today’s proceedings, placing first in both the free and timed practice on this brand-new Bariloche circuit. It was great to see the #84 able to adapt to the new conditions immediately and hopes were high he would be able to replicate that in the qualification race. Unfortunately his got boxed out off the start and had to battle hard to get himself inside the top 10 early on. After all that work, he was just about to really attack the riders in front, but a small mistake as they entered the start straight saw him drop right down the field. Charging through from way outside the top 20, he made his way all the way up to 12th as time expired, which was an impressive result on a track that wasn’t easy to make moves on. While the gate-pick isn’t what he wanted, the speed he showed all day gives him confidence he can challenge up front if he can negotiate the first turn with the leaders.
In the MX2 class, Valerio Lata had a consistent day, going three, sixth and seven across the three sessions. While the Italian isn’t happy with his riding in the qualification race, he knows that his speed is good and with some small adjustments, he’ll be able to put a lot more points on the board tomorrow.
MX2 Qualification Race
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 26:04.512; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:04.896; 3. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:05.851; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:07.208; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:10.031; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:24.719; 7. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:36.563; 8. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +0:40.002; 9. Cas Valk (NED, TM), +0:41.708; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:46.935;
Ruben Fernandez 70
Solid start, but not as good as I truly would have liked. Sixth is okay but it was a tough moto out there on a tricky track. I really want to do well here for all my fans, and for the team so tomorrow I will be aiming to get myself further up the field and hopefully battling for a podium. Sunday is a new day and I will be very motivated to improve.
Tom Vialle 16
**Very happy to get the win, and a great start to the season. I didn’t know where I’d place coming into this year, so it is nice to see that my speed is good enough for the front of this field. I had a good winter of work and I’d like to thank the team for all their effort and for trusting in me, and it is good to repay them so quickly. It is only one qualifying race but it is nice to be running the red-plate tomorrow where I’ll be trying to repeat today’s results.**
Jeffrey Herlings 84
**The day went really well, right up until the start of the qualification race. I was fastest in free practice and fastest in timed practice, but then I didn’t get a good start in the qualification race and it went downhill. I was battling hard on those opening laps but made a mistake on the start straight and went down. I worked my way back up through to field to 12th but not really the first race I wanted and now I’ll have a tough gate-pick for the motos tomorrow.**
Valerio Lata 18
**I’m not really happy with how I rode in the qualification race, and although I finished seventh, I know I am capable of much more. I just couldn’t find my rhythm out there, which was frustrating because my practice times were decent. Still, it is the first race and I know I can improve so that’s what I want to do in the two motos.**
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
**It was great to see Honda HRC PETRONAS win every session in the MXGP class today. Jeffrey being fastest in free and timed practice showed he is comfortable on his machine, but a big congrats to Tom for a great ride to win the qualification race. Ruben also had a solid day, placing inside the top 10 in every session so it just a good day all round. Valerio also showed his speed, and I think there is more to come from him, so we will make sure all four riders have what they need tomorrow and keep pushing for more good results.**
Qualification Race
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Vialle Tom 16 FRA 10 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 25:22.564
2 Coenen Lucas 5 BEL 9 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:05.479
3 Adamo Andrea 80 ITA 8 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:12.300
4 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 7 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:14.278
5 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 6 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:19.850
6 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 5 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 0:25.297
7 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 4 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:31.412
8 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 3 Venrooy KTM Racing 0:40.323
9 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 2 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:41.770
10 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 1 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:43.524
11 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 0 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:49.517
12 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 0 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 0:57.499
13 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 0 Honda SR Motoblouz 0:58.622
14 Oliver Oriol 83 SPA 0 Gabriel SS24 KTM 0:45.781
15 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:05.054
16 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 0 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:05.962
17 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:19.851
18 Benistant Thibault 9 FRA 0 Honda SR Motoblouz 1:24.764
19 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 0 MX-Handel Husqvarna Racing 1:27.211
20 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 0 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:29.227
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Vialle Tom 16 FRA 10 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP
2 Coenen Lucas 5 BEL 9 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3 Adamo Andrea 80 ITA 8 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
4 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 7 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
5 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 6 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
6 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 5 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP
7 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 4 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
8 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 3 Venrooy KTM Racing
9 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 2 Ducati Factory MX Team
10 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 1 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
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