Jeffrey Herlings continued his superb return to form with a stunning overall victory at the 2026 MXGP of Portugal, overcoming championship rival Lucas Coenen in an enthralling battle that thrilled the packed crowds at Águeda.
Images courtesy of Infront Moto Racing
The Honda HRC Petronas rider claimed his sixth career Grand Prix victory at the Portuguese venue and his 117th overall GP win, taking the overall on equal points with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen after the pair shared first and second positions across the two motos. Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre completed the podium with a pair of consistent third-place finishes.
Race one saw Coenen grab the early advantage after quickly dispatching Tom Vialle, while Herlings was forced to recover from outside the top five after losing traction in the opening corners. The Dutchman charged through the field, eventually moving into second, but by then Coenen had built enough of a cushion to take the race win by just over four seconds.
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The second moto delivered the showdown everyone wanted.
Once again Coenen took the lead early, but Herlings wasted little time slicing through the pack before closing onto the rear wheel of the young Belgian. After several laps of intense pressure, “The Bullet” finally found a way through with a decisive inside move and immediately pulled clear to claim the race victory and with it the overall Grand Prix.
The result sees Herlings continue to chip away at Coenen’s championship lead, with just 57 points now separating the pair heading into the next round in South Africa.
Romain Febvre again showed impressive consistency to finish third overall, while Tim Gajser and Ruben Fernandez rounded out the top five.
Ben Watson Shows Encouraging Pace
There were also plenty of positives for Britain’s Ben Watson and the Dirt Store Triumph Racing team.
Returning after a weekend away from MXGP action, Watson showed impressive speed throughout the Portuguese Grand Prix, running with the factory riders for much of the weekend.
A small crash on the opening lap of race one prevented a stronger overall result, but the former British Champion bounced back with a solid 12th place finish in race two after spending much of the moto battling inside the top ten.
The Dirt Store Triumph team were encouraged by the performance, saying afterwards:
“Steps in the right direction. After a weekend away from MXGP action, we returned in Águeda for round 10. Ben Watson showed strong pace all weekend long, gating well in both motos and putting himself in the mix with the factory riders. A small tip-over just a few turns into race one hurt his result, but Ben bounced back with P12 in race two, battling inside the top 10 for much of the race.
“We’re immensely proud of the team’s efforts this weekend. The MXGP class is stacked, and we were able to showcase what we can do against some of the biggest teams in the world. The hard work is paying off, and we know where we can be when it all comes together.”
Jeffrey Herlings
“I felt like me and Lucas were roughly the same speed all weekend. In race one I lost a lot of time with my teammate Ruben, I spent a long time trying to pass him and Lucas went ahead. In race two I was straight into second after one lap, and I felt I was a bit faster at some points, but it was very difficult to find a line to pass.
“I found one spot where I could do it, and I made sure to stop him from going around me. I pushed a few laps, made a nice little gap and managed to win. GP number 117, race win 221, the stats keep getting impressive, but it’s been a nice weekend and I look forward to South Africa.”
Lucas Coenen
“The key is to be smart. I think I did the best weekend I could to win the overall. In race one I was running pretty good and felt ready. In race two I was just trying to control it, I knew Jeffrey wanted to win and he needed to, so I felt like I was being smart and not really pushing.
“At one moment I made a mistake and didn’t jump the triple; I slowed down but Jeffrey went really close and I had to stop otherwise I was going down. Second overall, I gotta keep pushing and be consistent. I’m young, so I can learn from the best, and that’s the main thing.”
Romain Febvre
“I felt pretty good straight away from Saturday. It was good to have a nice track with a lot of grip and nice jumps, for two years in a row it was a muddy one, so I was glad to have a good weekend like this.
“The two guys at the front were faster in almost every session, so it’s hard, but I’m there and I try to close the gap every time. In race two my start was not good and I was quite far back, but I saw Gajser ahead and thought I need to make passes quick or I won’t catch him. Two times third, finally two good races. My riding was better and I’m really happy.”
Results
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 35:12.425; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), +0:03.672; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:28.435; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:30.512; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:37.194; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:52.973; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:02.418; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:10.489; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:13.153; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:17.288;
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 35:36.420; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:06.203; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.060; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:20.583; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:38.907; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:53.326; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:08.555; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:10.501; 9. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:16.188; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:16.552;
MXGP Overall – Classification:
MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 506 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 449 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 394 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 371 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 334 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 313 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 304 p.; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 273 p.; 9. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 265 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 234 p.
MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 532 points; 2. KTM, 526 p.; 3. Yamaha, 452 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 419 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 284 p.; 6. Ducati, 214 p.; 7. Fantic, 210 p.; 8. Beta, 90 p.; 9. Triumph, 70 p.; 10. GASGAS, 4 p
