In hot and humid temperatures at the Lacapelle-Marival track in southern France, Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Jeffrey Herlings fought off the competition to win the second moto and take the French GP overall, his third victory in just six rounds. His one-two-one results now see the Dutchman just two points behind in the 2026 MXGP Championship standings with plenty of racing still to come.
With passing at a premium, all the riders knew that the start would be all important and although Herlings rounded the second corner in second place in race one, he knew it would be tough to make the move into first. Riding a controlled race, he kept the second-place, knowing that a victory in the second moto would secure him the overall. And while he didn’t quite get the holeshot in the restarted race two, he quickly got into the lead and his closest championship rival behind him all moto long. It certainly wasn’t an easy task as temperatures were above 30 Celsius, but the #84 was determined not to let slip any points in what is turning into a tense battle at the top of the standings.
In his home GP, Tom Vialle had a tough weekend in front of his home fans, never totally finding his smooth rhythm in the hard-pack terrain. His starts were a strong-point though, right up until he got a nasty kick off the bank on the edge of the track as they rounded the first corner of race two and he couldn’t hold onto his bike. With the rest of the pack following closely behind, the bike sustained too much damage for him to be able to line-up for the restart as that race was red-flagged. It was a shame for the home rider, who had finished eighth in race one and really wanted to show his skills in front of the passionate French crowd.
Ruben Fernandez maintained his consistent run of scoring 30+ points over the weekend, but the Spaniard knows it isn’t enough and that challenging further up the field is still the goal. His sixth place in race two was a better effort and closer to where he wants to be, but the team will be helping him as much as they can in these next few GPs, to get him nearer to the front.
In the MX2 class Valerio Lata had two completely different motos where the results definitely weren’t a good representation of the speed he showed. In the first race, a first turn incident saw him remount in last place, where the young Italian then put on a charge to finish all the way up in 12th place. In race two, he started much better in ninth place and was fastest on the track for four laps in a row, but due to the one-lined nature of the circuit, he could only finish in eighth.
After four weekends off from the GPs, France was the first of three rounds back to back to back, with the riders now off to Germany where the weather will still be warm. All four riders have had success at the Teutschenthal circuit in the past, and will be trying their best to have good results in 2026.
MX2 Race 1
- Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), 34:00.275; 2. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.461; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:05.721; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:12.347; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:18.966; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:24.731; 7. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +0:26.920; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:30.737; 9. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +0:36.714; 10. Francisco Garcia (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:39.187; 11. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Ducati), +0:41.055; 12. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:04.768;
MX2 Race 2
- Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), 34:57.080; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:00.856; 3. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:06.860; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:09.962; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:13.230; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:13.825; 7. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:22.869; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:28.488; 9. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +0:41.023; 10. Francisco Garcia (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:45.289;
MX2 GP Overall
- Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 50 points; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 42 p.; 3. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 32 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 31 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Maxime Grau (FRA, HON), 24 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 22 p.; 10. Francisco Garcia (ESP, KAW), 22 p.;
MX2 Championship
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 281 points; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 273 p.; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 261 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 245 p.; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 233 p.; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 211 p.; 7. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 209 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 167 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 156 p.; 10. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 130 p.;
Rubén Fernández 70
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Solid weekend, and similar points to previous rounds, but I’m still not satisfied with it and would much prefer to be nearer the front guys. It wasn’t an easy track and the weather didn’t help either, but the conditions were the same for everyone and I just need to improve a couple of things and I think I’ll be close. Now we go to Germany where I’ve had good and bad races, but I’m going to try and make sure 2026 is a good one.
Tom Vialle 16
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Obviously disappointed to not be able to line-up in the second moto. It was a pretty crazy crash and my bike was banged up so I couldn’t do the restart but otherwise, I’m okay. It certainly isn’t how I hoped my weekend would go and it is a shame because I enjoyed being back in France and having the crowd support. Now the goal is to make sure I’m ready for Germany next weekend.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
Honda HRC PETRONAS
It was a tough weekend, with the weather and the track conditions but to go one-two-one across the weekend is exactly what we wanted. I got the start in the second moto when I needed it and although Lucas was behind me the whole race, I was able to ride a mistake-free race and even getting some cramp near the end, I held on and took the victory. We did a lot of work during this break from the GPs, both racing and testing, so I want to thank everyone at Honda HRC PETRONAS for their efforts. This season is going to be a marathon, not a sprint so I just need to keep going.
Valerio Lata 18
Honda HRC PETRONAS
After yesterday, I really wanted to show what I was truly capable of, however that plan went out of the window on the first corner when contact with another rider put me down. I remounted in last place and rode as well as I could to get back to 12th place, which I’m proud of my effort. Then in the second race, I felt good again and moved up to eighth place, including being the fastest rider on the track four laps in a row, but it was tougher to make any moves and I ended up finishing there. Definitely not ideal but Germany is a good track for me and I really want to show that.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas –
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Jeffrey showed what a tough competitor he is this weekend, on a track he doesn’t like, in extremely hot temperatures to fight until the end to hold off second-place to win the GP overall. The race seemed like an hour long but he just didn’t make any mistakes and had good lines in the right places. Unfortunately Tom wasn’t able to line-up in the second moto restart after his crash meant his bike was unrideable. It was a shame for him at his home GP, but thankfully he is okay and will be fine for Germany next weekend. Ruben and Valerio struggled off the start and that always makes things difficult on such a tight and technical track with limited passing. Next stop is Germany and we’ll once again come out fighting.
📸 @shotbybavo
