Round two of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship marked the series’ first stop on European soil, with a strong crowd turning out at the upgraded Almonte circuit in Spain. Known more for hardpack layouts, the venue offered something very different this time around, with deep sand creating a physically demanding test that pushed the MX2 field to their limits.
Words and Images by Infront Moto Racing
History was made for the Triumph Racing Factory Team by South African Camden McLellan, who took the first ever Grand Prix victory for both himself and the British manufacturer in its current form. His teammate Guillem Farres had delighted his home crowd with a great win in race one, but was prevented from challenging for the overall at the start of race two.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Simon Längenfelder and Sacha Coenen rounded out the podium, but McLellan will attach his, and Triumph’s, first ever red plate to his machine as they head to round three in Switzerland!
With a raucous atmosphere and a surprisingly challenging circuit, the inaugural event at Almonte was a memorable occasion for spectators and competitors alike as MXGP launched into its European season in style!
The Warm-Up session already caused excitement for the local fans as their hero in MX2, Guillem Farres, took the fastest time by a quarter of a second for the Triumph Racing Factory Team, with Valerio Lata enjoying a good session in second for Honda HRC Petronas. Qualifying Race winner Sacha Coenen was third.
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It was almost a shock that the Holeshot king of the last two years had to wait until the third opportunity to take his first Fox Holeshot Award of the 2026 campaign, but Sacha rocketed into the lead and looked strong at the beginning of race one. He was almost unnoticed, however, as the crowd were roaring for Farres in second place! With his number coloured like the national flag on his back, the Triumph man held off the reigning Champion Längenfelder, until suddenly Coenen dropped the bike in front of the Monster Energy rig and made that battle one for the lead!
The German couldn’t quite hold the pace, and the charge was coming from behind him. After fighting past rookie Janis Reisulis on the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 machine, Camden McLellan was building momentum, especially through the wave section where he gained significant time every lap! He past the Champ there on lap eight, and set after his teammate out front!
Mathis Valin had got past his successor as EMX250 Champion, Janis Reisulis, to take fourth on the same lap, and the young duo were to finish in those positions as Liam Everts had a quiet ride to sixth for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing. Sacha Coenen was only able to recover to seventh, with Valerio Lata fighting forwards to eighth for Honda HRC Petronas.
Karlis Reisulis, brother and teammate to Janis, took a steady ninth ahead of the Dixon Racing Team Kawasaki of Kay Karssemakers, revelling in the sand!
The battle of the Triumphs was mesmerising! Well known in the Paddock for being good friends, training partners and housemates, they fought hard as the South African continually made ground in the waves, but the Spaniard held him off! With his supporters urging him on, Farres was inspired to hold on and take the race win, just 1.6 seconds ahead of Camden, and he headed straight to the largest bank of spectators for an emotional celebration! Längenfelder’s third had just about kept the series lead in his possession, however.
With all eyes on him to repeat the feat, Farres sadly never got the opportunity. Visibly hunting for gears down the start straight of race two, he was called into Pit Lane and ultimately just given a Pit Board instruction to “STOP”, and his dreams of a home GP win were shattered.
Längenfelder had taken the Fox Holeshot Award, but got pushed wide immediately as Coenen took the lead into turn two. McLellan was better placed this time, although his progress was delayed by an opportunistic move from Lata into the fourth corner of the race!
Everts was fifth early on, but seemed to be struggling for pace. Valin passed the Belgian on lap eight, and Janis Reisulis put him down to seventh two laps later. That’s where he stayed for seventh overall, with Karlis Reisulis eighth and Karssemakers ninth, although the Dutchman would be tenth overall behind Farres’ points from his race win. Julius Mikula, after a big crash on Saturday, recovered well to take tenth in race two for Osička KTM.
With Coenen not motoring away at the front, McLellan could afford to be patient in his pursuit of Lata, and on lap eleven he used his speed through the waves to catch the Italian before carving inside the Honda man through the next corner! Just three laps later he was onto Coenen, pulling a supreme pass through, where else, the wave section, and immediately started to pull away.
Längenfelder passed Lata on the final lap to confirm himself in second overall ahead of Coenen, who went 7-2. Janis Reisulis also passed Valin on the final lap to take fifth, but fourth overall ahead of the Frenchman, with Lata’s 8-4 races good enough for sixth.
It was a commanding first overall victory for McLellan, however, in a stunning display of raw pace that could stake himself a claim to being the best MX2 rider in the sand. And it marks the arrival of Triumph as a winning manufacturer in the modern Motocross world. An incredible day for all concerned!
Now carrying the red plate, the determined South African has a two-point lead over the defending Champ, as they head to a track where the German was near perfect last year. Will that form book be turned on its head?!
There are still many questions to be answered in the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championships. Join us very soon for the next instalment in this compelling drama!
Camden McLellan: “It feels really good. It’s a special weekend for me. Since my last race win in Trentino, a long time coming that makes it even more sweet. The red plate is a nice bonus as well. The first race was more chaotic and a big fight until the last corner, but the second race I controlled more. I waited for the right moment, made my moves, and everything was quite calculated. I didn’t want my first overall without a race win, so to take both is really satisfying.”
Simon Längenfelder: “I felt good, but not perfect. Today Camden [Mc Lellan] was just stronger and faster, so I didn’t take any risks. I focused on my rhythm and did my own race. 3-3 is not too bad for the championship. Every point counts, especially in such a competitive class, so consistency is really important.”
Sacha Coenen: “The first race was difficult. I had arm pump from the beginning and made a mistake, so it was hard to come back. In the second race I had a better start and felt better, but I still made a small mistake and couldn’t fight for the win. I need to be more consistent and make fewer mistakes, but overall there are still positives to take from the weekend.”
Results
Race 1
FIMMWC_MX2_GPR1_RaceClassification-4102_1_7_351_1_17836654E976294D06685107AB555849Race 2
FIMMWC_MX2_GPR2_RaceClassification-4102_1_7_352_1_5ACA27A844753A75744F27161BE4E14FGP Overall
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. 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.;
MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 112 points; 2. Triumph, 110 p.; 3. Yamaha, 77 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 76 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 74 p.; 6. Honda, 57 p.; 7. TM, 39 p.; 8. GASGAS, 13 p.; 9. Ducati, 9 p.; 10. Fantic, 8 p.
