Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Jeffrey Herlings made it two podiums out of two, with a strong two-two performance at the MXGP of Andalucia. Held at the new, sandy Almonte circuit in the south of Spain, the Dutchman got two good starts and quickly worked his way into second place in both races, continuing his excellent Sunday form and keeping himself within touching distance of the championship lead.
After a Saturday crash in the qualifying race left him with 11th gate-pick, the Honda CRF450RW rider overcame the outside gate and rounded the first turn inside the top five. From there, he tried his best to get himself into the lead as quickly as possible, but he was beaten to the punch and although he tried to catch the leader, he was never able to make a battle for the top spot. It is still an excellent start to his Honda career though and with plenty of racing left to go, he knows that with this sort of form, he’ll be fighting for first place more often than not.
Teammate Tom Vialle also continued his strong start to the season by going two-five-six over the course of the weekend, including another holeshot in the first moto today. In what was his first European sand race in over three years, the speed was excellent for the Frenchman, but he wasn’t quite able to maintain the momentum over the duration of the two motos. Still, he has a lot to be happy with in the first two GPs and next week’s track in Switzerland should really play to his strengths and he hopes to be regaining the championship-leading red-plate which adorned his Honda CRF450RW today.
The third member of the 450 squad, Ruben Fernandez, came into this weekend under the weather, but determined to try his best in front of the passionate home crowd. A tough qualifier yesterday meant he had a lower gate-pick than normal and unfortunately that meant he was collected up in a first turn incident in race one. Remounting at the back of the field, the Spaniard put on a big charge – much to the excitement of the crowd – and worked his way up to 12th place. With renewed optimism that his speed was good, he avoided any dramas around the first turns of race two and found himself in sixth place. Unfortunately the energy he expended in race one, combined with his depleted capacity from his illness meant that he wasn’t able to maintain that, and although he tried his best to maintain a top 10 finish, he did slip to 11th on the last lap. Definitely not the home GP he was looking for, but Switzerland is next weekend, which is a track he won the qualifying race at last year.
Also heading to Switzerland with optimism is Valerio Lata, after the young Italian showed what he was capable of with a fourth place in race two. The Honda CRF250RW rider got better and better over the course of the weekend and after an eighth in race one, the fourth place showed his real speed on the tricky sandy surface. Now the goal will be to repeat that feat on a more favourable Frauenfeld facility, which is where Honda HRC PETRONAS will be heading for the third round of the 2026 MXGP World Championships.
MX2 Race 1
- Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), 33:54.093; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:01.623; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:11.796; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.990; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:27.569; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:30.409; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:42.848; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:55.174; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:14.100; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +1:17.666;
MX2 Race 2
- Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), 34:05.274; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:04.560; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:11.209; 4. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:16.718; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:35.328; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.989; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:42.479; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:43.754; 9. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +1:01.319; 10. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +1:11.791;
MX2 Classification
- Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 47 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 33 p.; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 31 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 29 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 25 p.; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 23 p.;
MX2 Championship
- Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 99 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 97 p.; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 80 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 78 p.; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 76 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 76 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 74 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 57 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 48 p.; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 40 p.;
Ruben Fernandez 70
I gave it everything I had this weekend to try and tough it out for my fans and give back to everyone who came to support me this weekend. The first race, I got taken out right on the first corner which made things really difficult, but I got all the way up to 12th which I was happy with. Then in race two, I got a much better start, but having to work so hard in the first race and just not feeling so great all weekend caught up with me and I dropped down the field. In the end, 11th is all I could do but I do want to thank the crowd and hopefully I can get back to my best next weekend.
Tom Vialle 16
I’m not totally happy with the end result, but there were definitely some good points and at the end of this GP, I sit third in the championship which is still positive and overall I’m in a good place. This was a tough track and while my speed was good, and I got some good starts over the weekend, I know there is still a lot to work on. The GP weekend is something I still have to get used to a bit, but after two GPs, to have held the red-plate, won a qualifier, and been battling up front in the motos I have to be pleased with the start to the season.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
The goal is to get podiums, and I’ve done that in Argentina and now here so I have to be happy with that. I need to improve my Saturday performances because I have dropped a lot of points there, but I’m in a good position and we still have 51 races to go, so there is plenty of racing left and in Argentina I was the best, and today I was second best. I was a little bit sore after the crash yesterday but no excuses, I rode as well as I could and I’m still in a good position so I want to keep it rolling.
Valerio Lata 18
After yesterday, I knew I had to step up and perform at a higher level and just start to show the speed I am capable of. Already the first moto was an improvement, with a good start and staying inside the top 10, but I still felt I could do better and the second moto was much more of what I hope and expect. I got another good start and made a couple of passes around the first three corners to move into second, which is where I stayed for the majority of the race. I dropped a couple of spots at the end, but there is still a lot of positives and I’m glad to be heading to Switzerland with much more confidence.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
A new GP always makes things interesting, and I think they did a really good job with the track to create a challenge for everyone. It was definitely a rollercoaster for the team, but overall there were a lot of things that we can be happy with from all the riders. We definitely can’t question all of their desire and effort that they put in, and there were some good results too. Hopefully Valerio can take this result and build upon it and really start to show his true speed. We know Ruben will do better when he is fully healthy, because even today he showed great speed. Tom and Jeffrey continue to impress and after two rounds they sit second and third in the championship so that is very positive. Switzerland looks like being a completely different experience so we’ll be making sure to get our riders as prepared as possible.
Race 1
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Coenen Lucas 5 BEL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 34:53.443
2 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 22 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 0:20.573
3 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 20 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:38.005
4 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 18 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:49.453
5 Vialle Tom 16 FRA 16 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 0:51.172
6 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 15 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:53.074
7 Adamo Andrea 80 ITA 14 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:58.340
8 Watson Ben 919 GBR 13 Wildcard Rider 1:00.206
9 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 12 Venrooy KTM Racing 1:09.054
10 de Wolf Kay 74 NDL 11 Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing 1:16.376
11 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 10 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:17.780
12 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 9 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 1:29.819
13 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 8 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:49.314
14 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 7 MRT Racing Team Beta 1 lap
15 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 6 Honda SR Motoblouz 1 lap
16 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 5 Ducati Factory MX Team 1 lap
17 Lopes Enzo 166 BRA 4 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
18 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 3 Ducati Factory MX Team 1 lap
19 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 2 Chambers Racing 1 lap
20 Butron Jose 173 SPA 1 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
Race 2
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Coenen Lucas 5 BEL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 35:20.181
2 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 22 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 0:12.803
3 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 20 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:24.976
4 Adamo Andrea 80 ITA 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:49.029
5 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 16 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:55.391
6 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 15 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:58.674
7 Vialle Tom 16 FRA 14 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 1:00.483
8 de Wolf Kay 74 NDL 13 Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing 1:01.485
9 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 12 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 1:03.193
10 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 11 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:04.636
11 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 10 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP 1:19.026
12 Oliver Oriol 83 SPA 9 Gabriel SS24 KTM 1:20.119
13 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 8 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:22.300
14 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 7 Honda SR Motoblouz 1:23.942
15 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 6 Venrooy KTM Racing 1:39.301
16 Watson Ben 919 GBR 5 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
17 Butron Jose 173 SPA 4 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
18 Lopes Enzo 166 BRA 3 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
19 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 2 Ducati Factory MX Team 1 lap
20 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 1 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1 lap
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Coenen Lucas 5 BEL 102 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 94 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP
3 Vialle Tom 16 FRA 89 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP
4 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 75 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
5 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 75 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
6 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 74 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
7 Adamo Andrea 80 ITA 69 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
8 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 51 Honda HRC PETRONAS – MXGP
9 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 49 Ducati Factory MX Team
10 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 40 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
11 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 38 Venrooy KTM Racing
12 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 29 Honda SR Motoblouz
13 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 28 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
14 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 27 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
15 de Wolf Kay 74 NDL 24 Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing
16 Benistant Thibault 9 FRA 24 Honda SR Motoblouz
17 Oliver Oriol 83 SPA 21 Gabriel SS24 KTM
18 Watson Ben 919 GBR 20 Wildcard Rider
19 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 15 MRT Racing Team Beta
20 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 15 Ducati Factory MX Team
21 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 13 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
22 Lopes Enzo 166 BRA 7 Wildcard Rider
23 Butron Jose 173 SPA 5 Wildcard Rider
24 Poli Joaquin ARG 5
25 Van Berkel Lars NDL 3
26 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 2 Chambers Racing
