The second round of the 2026 FIM World Motocross Championships saw the series ignite in Europe for the first time, and the local Spanish fans filled the revamped facility of the Circuito di Motocross di Almonte, an atypical circuit for this country with a sandy surface that made for a tough day’s racing for the MXGP elite.
Race Report and Images by Infront Moto Racing
After rain hit the track earlier in the week, Sunday’s weather was dry and overcast, giving near enough perfect conditions for both racers and spectators, who created an incredible atmosphere as they got behind their local riders in particular!
One rider completely dominated the event in MXGP, as Lucas Coenen went 1-1-1 across the weekend to take his 17th career Grand Prix victory, his seventh in the premier class, and he now leads the Championship for the first time in his career!
Jeffrey Herlings gave chase all day to claim a brace of seconds for Honda HRC Petronas, while Tim Gajser moved forward through both races to take his first podium finish for his new team Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP.
Right until the end of the MXGP Warm-Up, it looked like Jeffrey Herlings had kept his perfect record for the season of the fastest time in every session, until the very closing seconds of the session when a shock lap from Alberto Forato put him to the top of the timesheets for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP by four-tenths of a second! Tim Gajser was third behind Herlings, while Forato’s teammate Brent van Doninck took fourth!
As the pack tore into first corner of race one, Tom Vialle took his first Fox Holeshot Award in the MXGP class for Honda HRC Petronas, while his teammate Herlings survived a flirtation with the outside of the circuit and rounded turn two in third position behind the Frenchman and Qualifying Race winner Coenen. Andrea Adamo snapped his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine into fourth ahead of defending Champion Romain Febvre for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP.
READ MORE: MXGP NEWS
Behind them, there was a pile-up on the exit of turn one as Calvin Vlaanderen tangled with Gajser, putting the Red Bull Ducati Factory MX Team rider on the ground and collecting the MRT Racing Team Beta of Jago Geerts, plus Honda HRC Petronas’ home hero Ruben Fernandez, to the anguish of the crowd!
Vialle held on to lead into the first full lap, under pressure from Coenen and Herlings. Then the trio hit the wave section almost bar-to-bar-to-bar, the Belgian using a fast outside line to dive into the lead, but “The Bullet” was frustrated in his first effort to get past his teammate. He had to wait for another full lap to make the move, by which time Coenen had already started to get the hammer down.
Maxime Renaux was ahead of his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP teammate Gajser outside the top five, with Kay de Wolf in eighth for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing. Coenen hit his top pace with a blazing Acerbis Fastest Lap of the whole day on lap four of the race, rapidly extending his lead but never looking like he was pushing too hard, too soon.
Renaux started to move up the order, passing Adamo at the end of the longest jump section on lap seven, and as he started to look interested in the next spot, Febvre passed Vialle for third with a big double jump that only the 450cc machines could attempt, right in front of the packed grandstands! Renaux was able to get up to fourth with three laps to go, a confidence-boosting ride for the Yamaha man.
Gajser also got past Adamo over a big tabletop jump on lap 15, leaving the Italian in seventh, while Ben Watson claimed his best MXGP result in Spain with a solid ride to eighth for Dirt Store Triumph Racing. Mattia Guadagnini took ninth for Venrooy KTM, and De Wolf faded to tenth in his first race back from injury.
Coenen took his 38th GP race win by over 20 seconds, and left his competition scratching their heads as he also took the Championship lead from Vialle.
Straight out of the gate in the second race, Watson’s good weekend took an unfortunate turn as he clashed with Herlings and hit the floor! Flashing round the outside was his domestic Championship rival Oriol Oliver, taking his first Fox Holeshot Award in MXGP for Gabriel SS24 KTM to the roar of his countrymen in the crowd! The two Red Bull KTMs of Adamo and Coenen were in his wake, and this time Vlaanderen started will in fourth, although he was passed by Herlings for that spot after a third of a lap!
Before they crossed the finish line for the first time, both Coenen and Herlings had got past Adamo, then in successive laps the top two blitzed past the Spaniard through the waves, as Herlings tried grimly to hang on to the pace of the teenager. Even a momentary stall for Lucas didn’t give his rivals any hope, and while Herlings kept the gap to a slightly lower 12 seconds at the close, it was still a dominant performance for Coenen.
Febvre got up to third by lap five, but Gajser looked to have found more speed and was closing on his long-time rival. On a fast right-hand corner the Frenchman got crossed up and went down hard, unable to get upright for several minutes and was helped off the circuit, not looking seriously hurt but too far down to contemplate returning to action. It was his first non-score in a full GP race since July 2024.
Behind Gajser, Adamo took a season-best fourth, and Vlaanderen a fine fifth after passing Vialle. Renaux also passed his fellow Frenchman for the second time in the GP, giving him sixth in the race and fourth in the GP behind his teammate Gajser. Adamo was fifth overall ahead of Vialle and De Wolf, who improved to a steady eighth in race two. Pauls Jonass, a non-scorer after a crash in race one, took ninth in the second outing ahead of Forato. The Italian took tenth overall behind Vlaanderen. Febvre’s single result was still enough for eighth overall.
Fernandez had a better second race, still feeling unwell but struggling to eleventh in both race two and the overall, and the fast-starting Oliver ended the race in twelfth.
For the first time ever, Lucas Coenen was presented with a red plate on a GP podium. He had worn a red plate after the first MX2 Qualifying Race of 2024, but swiftly lost it with a crash that day. He now leads the series by eight points over Herlings, with Vialle another five further back. Febvre remains in fourth, level with Renaux and with Gajser just one point behind.
There is still everything to play for, but Coenen’s sheer pace on the tough Spanish track will worry his rivals, and we now head to the track where he took his first victory in the class less than twelve months ago. Will he go on a rampage, or will his many titled rivals step up to the plate? Find out next weekend!
Lucas Coenen: “Overall, the track really suited me this weekend. I found some good lines and had a good flow, and the starts helped a lot, I was up front every time. Once I got into the lead, I could just do my own thing and manage the races. It was a perfect weekend where everything clicked. Even with the pain in the second race [blister], I just kept going, it’s worth it for the win. And having the red plate for the first time since I started is an amazing feeling, but it’s still a long season, so we need to stay consistent.”
Jeffrey Herlings: “Yesterday (Saturday) was tough. I had a crash at the start and hurt my back and neck quite badly, so I was pretty sore all weekend. That cost me some points again, like in Argentina. But on Sunday I felt better, got good starts and was there fighting near the front. Lucas was the best this weekend, no excuses, he was faster. I think even without the crash, it would have been difficult to beat him. There are still a lot of races to go, and anything can happen. The level is really high, so it’s going to be an exciting season.”
Tim Gajser: “It feels good to be on the podium. We are still testing things and making changes, especially with the suspension, but I felt much better as the weekend went on. The starts didn’t help, I was outside the top ten both races, but in the second race I could push more, make passes and ride more aggressively. We are moving in the right direction, but there is still work to do. We will keep improving and try to take another step in the next races.”
Race 1
FIMMWC_MXGP_GPR1_RaceClassification-4102_1_9_351_1_3179C5C7F8F6C14A5ACBB6F9E6056760Race 2
FIMMWC_MXGP_GPR2_RaceClassification-4102_1_9_352_1_FEEA871C28D0C71DF131570EBBE0554AOverall
Standings
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 102 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 94 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 89 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 75 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 75 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 74 p.; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 69 p.; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 51 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 49 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 40 p.
MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 113 points; 2. KTM, 102 p.; 3. Yamaha, 88 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 87 p.; 5. Ducati, 51 p.; 6. Fantic, 40 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 24 p.; 8. Triumph, 20 p.; 9. Beta, 15 p.
