Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Jeffrey Herlings went one-one-one across the weekend, scoring a maximum 60 points to now lead the 2026 MXGP World Championship by 49 points with six rounds remaining.
After a convincing victory in the qualifying race yesterday, he knew that any points scored today would give him the red-plate, but he was relentless in his pursuit for victory, getting good starts inside the top three in both races, before moving into the lead a couple of laps later. From then on, he just controlled the races, crossing the line with comfortable margins of victory, to make it back-to-back perfect Sunday’s and move him firmly in command of the title standings. But while he currently has the momentum, he knows all too well the issues that can arise so it’ll be maximum concentration when they line-up at Lommel, Belgium next weekend.
Next to him on the podium in second place was a delighted Tom Vialle, who started excellently, and rode two strong motos to go three-two for second overall. Surprisingly, the Frenchman had never been on the box at this hard-pack Loket circuit, but that barren spell is over, and now he can look forward to finishing his maiden MXGP season with even more visits.
At one stage of the second moto, Honda HRC PETRONAS had all three places on the podium, as Ruben Fernandez was backing up his fifth in race one, with an excellent fourth. Unfortunately, passes by other riders thwarted what would have been a historic moment for the team, but the Spaniard still finished fourth overall and moved into fifth place in the championship standings. It has been an up and down season for the #70, but with two fourth-place finishes in a row, he has really found his groove and will be looking for podium places in these last six rounds.
Unfortunately a tough first lap for Valerio Lata in moto two, meant he was coming up through the field, eventually passing 18 riders on his way to a 12th place finish. It wasn’t what the Italian was after, but it was still an impressive display of passing from the MX2 rider who now heads to Lommel hoping to finish nearer the front in the deep, deep sand of Belgium.
MX2 Race 1
- Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), 34:03.298; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:10.705; 3. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:12.517; 4. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:13.808; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:15.555; 6. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +0:29.162; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:36.237; 8. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +0:42.614; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:49.533; 10. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), +0:51.950;
MX2 Race 2
. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), 33:57.774; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:06.000; 3. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:08.232; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:10.540; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:24.233; 6. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +0:47.842; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:54.803; 8. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +0:59.452; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +1:08.814; 10. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), +1:15.477; 11. Noah Ludwig (GER, KTM), +1:16.791; 12. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:19.607;
MX2 Overall
- Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 47 points; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 40 p.; 3. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 34 p.; 6. Maxime Grau (FRA, HON), 28 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 21 p.; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 21 p.;
MX2 Championship
- Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 618 points; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 585 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 548 p.; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 547 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 520 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 476 p.; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 376 p.; 8. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 352 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 332 p.; 10. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 283 p.;
Rubén Fernández 70
Honda HRC PETRONAS
I think I did about as well as I could have done today, and I can leave with my head held high. Race one was a tough one, and I got knocked about a bit before finding my rhythm. This dropped me a few spots, but I moved up through the field to fifth, with the top four too far ahead. I knew I needed a better start in race two and that’s exactly what I managed to do, putting myself in position to see the front guys. I did lose touch a bit, but I still finished fourth and that gave me fourth overall – again. I’d love to be on the podium, but we have six rounds remaining and I’m determined to get up there before the end of the season.
Tom Vialle 16
Honda HRC PETRONAS
It was great to get back on the podium after a tough stretch of races, including missing a few rounds with injury. It was hard after that, because the guys are running so fast, and it is still my first season back in the GPs and on a 450, so I’ve been working extremely hard and now the work has paid off. There is definitely more to come though and I’ll keep working and with these starts I’ve been getting, I know I am capable of even more in these remaining six rounds.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
Honda HRC PETRONAS
One-one-one is exactly what I needed to do and I just felt really good all weekend. The Honda is so good on this hard-pack terrain, it just sticks to the ground and when I get three starts like I did, it really makes life a lot easier. I know I have the red-plate right now, but I also know that it doesn’t really mean anything and that I have to keep performing like this for the last six rounds. We’ve seen what has happened already this year, and I’ve lost big leads before myself, so I’m not going to stop working until we have the gold plate. A big thanks to the whole of Honda HRC PETRONAS for all their hard work this year, because I think you can see that it is really paying off.
Valerio Lata 18
Honda HRC PETRONAS
I was hoping that after the seventh in race one, I could build upon it and get inside the top five, however that first lap ruined any chance of that. I tried my best to pass as many guys as possible, and almost reached the top 10, but ran out of time. Lommel will be a tough track, but I’ll give it my all and keep working hard until the end of the season.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas –
Honda HRC PETRONAS
What a weekend for all of Honda HRC PETRONAS. Jeffrey was dominant across the three races, showing speed and control on this tricky Loket circuit. His starts were excellent and he made quick passes to lead both races. Now we head to Lommel with the red-plate but still a lot of work to do as there are six races remaining and we need to keep fighting. Tom was excellent as well and we are so happy for him to get back on the podium. He’s had to work so hard to get back there after injury and fully deserves this performance. We came so close to an HRC one-two-three with Ruben just a few spots off in fourth place, and even in the moto two, going one-two-four was great to see. The whole team is full of confidence right now and we are really working hard to get Valerio involved in this as well.
📸 @shotbybavo
