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Motocross

After 16 years on KTM and Austrian machinery — 112 GP wins, five world titles — Jeffrey Herlings lines up in 2026 on a Honda CRF450R for the HRC Petronas squad. The most decorated active GP racer in history, on a Japanese machine for the first time. Nobody knows what to expect. That's exactly what makes it compelling.

Tim Gajser was Honda HRC for 12 years. Five world titles. The most wins of any Honda rider in MXGP history. And then he signed with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory for 2026. The Slovenian has looked fast in preseason and arrives in Argentina with three career GP wins there — the best record of any rider at that venue. The Yamaha blue suits him.

Through thirteen rounds the momentum has flipped. Lucas Coenen led for most of the year, but a sciatic-nerve injury cost him the last two Grands Prix — and Jeffrey Herlings pounced, sweeping Loket to turn an 11-point deficit into a 49-point lead. Herlings sits on 615, Coenen 566, Febvre 541. Six rounds remain, starting in the Lommel sand where Herlings is nearly untouchable. Latvia Preview →

Tom Vialle spent time racing in America before returning to the MXGP paddock for 2026 alongside Herlings at Honda HRC Petronas. The two-time MX2 World Champion is now a full-time MXGP contender, and through four rounds he's third in the championship with 162 points. The deep sand of Sardegna tested every rider in the field.

Romain Febvre won the 2025 MXGP World Championship — his second title, a decade after his first — and became the first Kawasaki rider to claim the premier class crown. He enters 2026 defending the #1 plate on the same green machine, sixth in the standings through round four but within striking distance of the top. When Febvre gets going, he's capable of winning anywhere.

Calvin Vlaanderen lines up for the Ducati Factory MX team — the Italian manufacturer's first serious factory MXGP effort. It's the same story playing out simultaneously in AMA Supercross with the TLD Red Bull Ducati program. The Desmo450 MX is the most talked-about new machine in the paddock, and Vlaanderen's results will tell everyone whether the Italian manufacturer is here to win or here to learn.