With memories of last year’s downpour still fresh, there were no weather issues this time for the MXGP of Australia as the Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex near Darwin was bathed in bright sunshine for the whole of the day on Sunday.
It was a hot, full, and frantic race programme that saw the MX2 World champion crowned and the FIM Motocross World Championship season sign off in style, even if the MXGP and MX2 classes were much smaller than the usual 40-bike grid allows.
Only 16 riders lined up in the MXGP class and just 15 individuals were there in the starting gates for the MX2 races.
There was little left to do for Spain’s Guillem Farres to seal the deal on Sunday, and the Triumph Factory Racing Team rider completed just his second GP season by becoming world champion with a spirited first race performance, delivering the title for the British manufacturer in just their third year since returning to world championship motocross.
The nation of Spain celebrated their second world champion of the day, and their first male champ since Jorge Prado in 2024.
Despite having to deal with challenges from both of his major French competitors, Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings completed his sixth world championship-winning season with a perfect final Sunday for Honda HRC Petronas, going 1-1 for the eighth straight GP to bring his career total to a massive 125 GP victories and 237 GP race wins. It’s been a stellar year for Herlings.
Second on the day was the outgoing world champion Romain Febvre, taking second in both races after having to move forward on each occasion in his final GP for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP.
Fellow Frenchman Tom Vialle sealed the holeshot for the season on his way to third overall, his fifth straight podium for Honda HRC Petronas which sealed fourth in the championship, the top MXGP class rookie for the year.
Seeing his good friend and team-mate become world champion was only part of the story for South African Camden McLellan, as he took back-to-back GP wins for the first time in his career, and his fifth in total for the Triumph Racing Factory Team.
He also secured second in the world championship, making it an historic 1-2 for the British manufacturer.
Belgium’s Liam Everts took second overall with a fine second race win for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, his fifth podium in a row lifting him to fourth in the final championship standings.
The season’s top rookie Janis Reisulis finished the season with third overall for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2, his third podium of what has been a solid first year in Grand Prix racing. Farres took fourth overall after clinching the title at the end of race one.
The Grand Prix season ended with a great day of racing here in Australia, and the paddock partied at the MXGP Awards in Darwin on Sunday evening to celebrate the achievements of what has been a brilliant season of world championship motocross.
After his run of 40 consecutive sessions or races at the top was brought to a halt in Saturday’s qualifying race, Herlings re-asserted his authority with the top time in morning warm-up, by nearly half a second from Febvre.
Andrea Adamo was a further second back in third for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, with Vialle in fourth.
Vialle made sure of the holeshot for the season by bolting into the early lead of race one, but Herlings was right with him and made a rapid move up the inside of his team-mate to grab the lead through the fifth corner of the opening lap.
Febvre saw it happen in third after skating around Ivo Monticelli, who had a great start for JK Racing Yamaha ahead of Adamo and the second Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP machine of Pauls Jonass.
Febvre took second with a decisive shift in line to pass Vialle through the tight section before pit lane, giving the outgoing world champion every chance to chase down his successor for the lead.
Meanwhile, Adamo and Jonass quickly got past Monticelli, as did Calvin Vlaanderen to grab sixth for the Red Bull Ducati Factory MXGP Team.
By lap six, the Italian had dropped to tenth behind Jeremy Seewer on the Venrooy KTM, Jan Pancar on his TEM JP253 KTM, and the MRT Racing Team Beta of Jago Geerts.
On lap seven, as Febvre did all he could to stay with Herlings, Vialle appeared to have an issue with his machine, gesturing towards his crew in pit lane and allowing Adamo through to third with ease. He was not to drop any further positions, however, as Jonass and Vlaanderen stayed close to each other, but held station to finish fifth and sixth.
Pancar put together a good charge from a poor start to pass Seewer for seventh with four laps to go. Geerts dropped the bike briefly but retook Monticelli quickly to finish ninth, with the JK man in tenth.
Febvre got fans into it by closing to within a second of Herlings, but Herlings hates losing, and put the hammer down with five minutes on the clock and pulled out a 15-second lead, surviving a tricky moment on the final lap to come home 18 seconds clear.
Febvre himself was 43 seconds ahead of Adamo, who got inside the top three in a GP race for the second time this year, closing the gap between him and Vialle to two points for the honour of top rookie, as well as fourth in the championship.
Whatever issue was plaguing him was clearly rectified by the start of race two, as he claimed a twelfth holeshot of the season by a distance from Jonass and Adamo, while Herlings was initially fifth behind Vlaanderen.
Herlings got around the Ducati in the second corner, while Febvre was dealing with Monticelli back in eighth.
Adamo powered up the inside of Jonass to take second through turn five, then Herlings split them at the bottom of the Sitzler downhill section to move into third.
The Dutchman’s fight-back was completed with an inside move on Adamo for second through the left-right corners before pit lane, as Febvre followed in his wake, getting up to fourth at the end of the first full lap.
After a few laps of trying to get around Adamo, Febvre hustled up the inside at the bottom of an uphill section to take third on lap four, and Herlings was again on the defensive as Febvre closed in.
Pancar again had a less-than-ideal start, and worked his way forward throughout the race, passing Seewer again for seventh on lap 16, giving him that position overall ahead of the Swiss veteran, with Geerts ninth, while a second race tenth spot for KTM Australia’s wildcard New Zealand rider Dylan Walsh gave him that spot overall as Monticelli suffered an unfortunate DNF on lap six.
Vlaanderen had a lonely ride to take sixth again for sixth overall, and Jonass was again ahead of him to take fifth overall, and the Latvian scored enough points to move past the absent Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Kay de Wolf for ninth in the world championship.
At the front, Vialle, Herlings, and Febvre traded fastest lap times and even segment times as the battle swung back and forth between them. As Febvre got close, Herlings turned up the pressure on his team-mate, who did not yield easily, even taking a little bit of contact before the champ powered around the outside of the corner after Pit Lane, bouncing through the waves and forcing the Frenchman wide.
Five laps later, and after withstanding a passing attempt from Febvre in the same corner as Herlings’ initial attack, Vialle made his own mistake through the following turn to give his countryman a far easier overtaking chance.
Third for Vialle still kept him ahead of Adamo in their battle for fourth in the series, as they finished third and fourth overall in Australia.
Herlings went on to a 3.6 second victory over Febvre, as the pair take first and second in the 2026 world championship, ahead of the absent Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP pilot Tim Gajser.
The 125th GP win of Herling’s career is his first in Australia, meaning that he has now won in every country he has ever competed in.
It’s also the 250th win by all Dutch riders in motocross history, and yes that means that Herlings has won exactly half of those.
It’s been a stellar season for Herlings, and he looks forward to the challenge of defending the title next year.
Recent GPs have shown that Vialle, De Wolf, Gajser, and Febvre will still be threats next year, as will the new MX2 world champion as he moves up to the premiere class.
Jeffrey Herlings: “Since Foxhills I think we are seven or eight races back, with the Belgian, French and Dutch races in there too, and I have only been beaten once, so that is no big shame. I have had a really good year and the whole team did a good job. It was a big gamble for me to make that switch after 17 years on KTM, and so far it has paid out to be quite a successful story.
“Thirteen GP wins, 16 podiums and the Dutch championship as well, so it is a great achievement. I was faster in 2018, but I am smarter in 2026. I do not have that pure speed and aggressiveness any more, and I am not willing to take the risks I took back then. Sometimes you have to lose to win eventually.”
Photo courtesy Infront Moto Racing
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RESULTS AND STANDINGS:
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:24.505; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:18.362; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:02.170; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +1:07.125; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +1:11.155; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:13.043; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:42.497; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), +1 Lap; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Beta), +1 Lap; 10. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Yamaha), +1 Lap
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:45.558; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.600; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +0:07.742; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:49.372; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:53.702; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:07.131; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:12.735; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), +1:14.516; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Beta), +1:18.525; 10. Dylan Walsh (NZL, KTM), +1 Lap
MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 44 points; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 38 points; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 38 points; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 32 points; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 30 points; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 28 points; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), 26 points; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, BET), 24 points; 10. Dylan Walsh (NZL, KTM), 21 points
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 973 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 805 points; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 659 points; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 641 points; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 637 points; 6. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 566 points; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 523 points; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 449 points; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 438 points; 10. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 428 points
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Camden McLellan (RSA, Triumph), 33:23.805; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:01.367; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:02.168; 4. Janis Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:17.635; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:26.107; 6. Byron Dennis (AUS, KTM), +0:31.044; 7. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +0:39.062; 8. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +0:45.270; 9. Karlis Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:47.661; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Ducati), +1:35.433
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), 33:31.260; 2. Camden McLellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:11.166; 3. Janis Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:14.418; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:22.488; 5. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:32.261; 6. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +0:35.387; 7. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +0:38.666; 8. Byron Dennis (AUS, KTM), +0:39.986; 9. Karlis Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:41.190; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Ducati), +1 Lap
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification:
1. Camden McLellan (RSA, TRI), 47 points; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 45 points; 3. Janis Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 38 points; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 38 points; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 34 points; 6. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 29 points; 7. Byron Dennis (AUS, KTM), 28 points; 8. Maxime Grau (FRA, HON), 27 points; 9. Karlis Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 24 points; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, DUC), 22 points
MX2 – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 904 points; 2. Camden McLellan (RSA, TRI), 868 points; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 814 points; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 795 points; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 768 points; 6. Janis Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 691 points; 7. Karlis Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 555 points; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 414 points; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 401 points; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 388 points.