AFYONKARAHISAR (Türkiye), 6th September 2026 – The western Asian sunshine beat down on the Afyon Motor Sport Centre today, as the MXGP of Türkiye saw round 17 of the 2026 FIM World Motocross Championships take place in hot conditions, that baked the clay of the hardpack circuit into a fast but testing surface for the MXGP elite.
History was made at the end of the first MXGP race, as Jeffrey Herlings became only the fourth rider in Motocross history to clinch his sixth World Championship, his third in the premier class and his first for Honda HRC Petronas. He did so with a perfect 1-1 performance to complete his fifth perfect weekend in a row, extending his winning streak to 17 individual races in succession!
After clinching the Championship at the earliest opportunity, at the end of race one, he was then chased hard to the line in race two by his Honda HRC Petronas teammate Tom Vialle, who took second overall for his third straight podium finish, while the outgoing World Champion Romain Febvre claimed third overall for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, his ninth podium of the season.
In MX2, the Championship battle took a massive swing to the Triumph Racing Factory Team, as Guillem Farres got back to winning ways with his sixth GP win, and the team are now 1-2 in the Championship after a disastrous day for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s leading challenger Sacha Coenen.
Reigning Champion Simon Längenfelder took his first Sunday race win since April for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, helping him to second overall ahead of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Liam Everts, who scored his third podium result in a row.
It was an emotional day for all concerned at the Afyon Motor Sports Center, and there is still a lot of great racing to come in the final two rounds of this year’s pulsating World Championship series!
Yet again, Jeffrey Herlings would let nobody gain a confidence boost from being faster than him in any session, and being one of just two riders to post seven laps in the session, his last lap put him three-tenths faster than his closest Championship rival, Romain Febvre. Andrea Adamo, enjoying Afyon far more on a 450 than he ever did on a 250, posted the third fastest time for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, with Team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul rider Kevin Horgmo a fine fourth ahead of the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team leader Tim Gajser.
Herlings knew that if he finished ahead of Febvre in the opening race, the Championship would be in his pocket, but as ever the merciless Dutchman was set on simply beating everybody on-track in order to be satisfied.
It’s been clear recently that a previous weakness for “The Bullet”, that being his starts, is a weakness no longer, and although Tom Vialle was slightly ahead at the entrance to the first corner, Herlings powered out of it to cross the Fox Holeshot line in the lead. Bad news for everybody else in the race!
Vialle was out-smarted on the exit to the second corner, as Gajser powered around the outside to put himself into second spot, while Adamo, in fifth behind Febvre, stumbled out of that corner and held up several riders, somehow holding onto the position! Pauls Jonass emerged in sixth for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, ahead of the returning Alberto Forato on the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP machine, and Red Bull Ducati Factory MXGP Team rider Calvin Vlaanderen. Venrooy KTM Racing’sJeremy Seewer was behind them, with Horgmo rounding out the top ten.
Horgmo would be passed on lap three by the third Honda HRC Petronas of Ruben Fernandez, but the Spaniard’s rough weekend, after a big Qualifying Race crash yesterday, would continue as he tipped over on lap 11, allowing Horgmo to finish in tenth. On lap two, Vlaanderen attempted to go around the outside of Forato in the split lane section, but left the door open for Seewer instead! The Swiss ace was unable to get past Forato, so that’s where they finished.
Up front, Herlings pressed on, setting what would be the Acerbis Fastest Lap of the whole day on lap nine. Gajser was able to keep him in sight, but Febvre was hounding his countryman Vialle, who finally ran wide in a left-handed corner to allow the Kawasaki man into third! Behind them, Adamo was able to score his equal-best race finish at this track with fifth ahead of Jonass.
Herlings was able to control the race and win by over three and a half seconds from Gajser, as the team and the Dutchman’s supporters gathered near the start line to celebrate his long-awaited sixth World Championship title, and his first for Honda!
Relieved to have clinched the title at the first possible chance, Jeffrey shared a few moments with his family and friends before preparing for race two, as the team fitted a World Champion number plate and graphics to his machine to compliment his special golden crash helmet!
He did the kit justice again, with an almost identical Fox Holeshot to his first one, and after grabbing only one of these awards in the previous four years, this one puts him on eight for 2026, only one behind Vialle at the top of that table!
Vialle himself was not about to allow Gajser to rail around the outside again, and pulled a spectacular scrub over the first jump of the lap to fend off the Slovenian for second! Jonass and Adamo disputed fourth and fifth while Febvre was on the edge of the top ten! By the end of the first full lap, the Frenchman was up to fifth ahead of Adamo, with Fernandez, Seewer, Vlaanderen, and the TEM JP253 KTM of Jan Pancar all in the initial top ten.
Gajser saved what could have been a big crash, but ran off-track in doing so, and lost two positions to the Kawasaki teammates just before the end of lap two! Vlaanderen also slipped back two spots to leave Horgmo in the top ten again, and the Norwegian then followed Pancar past Seewer to get to ninth.
Meanwhile, Vialle gave chase to his gold-plated teammate, as Febvre got past Jonass at the end of Pit Lane straight! Gajser went around the Latvian in the split lane section for fourth on lap four, but Febvre was able to hold him back for the rest of the race. From there, third place to sixth held fast in the order of Febvre, Gajser, Jonass, and Adamo. Gajser made a small mistake, tipping over in a corner with four laps to go, that cost him a shot at Febvre, and he was to finish fourth overall on the tie-break, while Jonass took fifth over Adamo, also due to the better second race.
Pancar was impressive as he went after Fernandez, and the Spaniard made a mistake that allowed both the Slovenian and Horgmo past into seventh and eighth in the race, which is where they would finish overall. Fernandez took ninth ahead of Vlaanderen and Seewer, giving the Ducati man his first top ten overall since his home GP two months ago, in ninth ahead of the Swiss Venrooy KTM rider.
Vialle was not letting Herlings have an easy Championship victory lap, pressing “The Bullet” to his maximum pace, and despite sliding outwards with two laps to go to lose a couple of seconds, he caught it back up! The pair finished over 28 seconds clear of Febvre by the flag, with the Frenchman just half a second shy of his teammate over the finish line!
There is no doubt that Herlings had dominated the weekend, but that late charge from Vialle will give the Frenchman some hope with his seventh podium and two rounds to go for another GP victory. Herlings lifts his record of GP wins to 123, with 233 GP race wins also another record. The biggest number, however, is that magic number six, that clearly puts him in the higher echelons of the greatest Champions in the sport, especially when you add three silver medals and several injury-destroyed seasons into the equation.
MXGP salutes the new World Champion, and we know that he will be up for a new challenge in defence of that crown in 2027! In the man’s own language, Gefeliciteerd Wereldkampioen!
Jeffrey Herlings: « It’s great, I’m really pleased. Even though I had such a points gap, I was really stressed the last couple of weeks, because I knew the only thing that could possibly ruin my championship was an injury, and I’ve been quite fragile in the past when I had crashes. I didn’t sleep much last night, I think I got three hours in. I was going through all kinds of scenarios, if this, if that, and just trying not to crash. Out of all of them, I never guessed I was going to take two holeshots and lead every single lap. It’s a sixth world championship, my 123rd GP win and my 11th of the year with Honda HRC Petronas. I just hate losing, and in the six championships I’ve won, every time I’ve won the race and the championship on the same day. The season isn’t over either, so I keep trying to get the record higher and higher, GP wins, race wins, whatsoever. »
Tom Vialle: « It was a great weekend overall. I was struggling a little bit in the last laps of the first race, so we made some bike changes for the second one, small things, but they helped me a lot and I felt way more comfortable. My first mistake was at the start. I had a really great jump out of the gate but I went a little too wide, and Jeffrey [Herlings] passed me right there in the pit lane. I gave everything I had all race and I didn’t know if I was going to make it, because Jeffrey was pushing hard. Every lap I told myself, okay, one more lap. I pushed until the last lap, but he didn’t make many mistakes, he stayed really strong. It’s still my first year, so these races are really important for me, seeing what Jeffrey does on the track, and I’m trying to learn as much as I can. »
Romain Febvre: « It was not a big surprise that Jeffrey [Herlings] got the title, but I’m still battling for second, which I’m happy with considering everything I had during the season. This weekend, from where I started, I felt I could not be better than third in each race. In the second race the two guys next to me went one, two and then they were gone. When I moved into P3 there was maybe 10 or 12 seconds to the front, so I was a little bit on my own. That’s all I had. The next month is going to be demanding, but I’m used to racing every weekend. Australia is always good, a little bit like here, not too hot. China is definitely the hardest, so we really have to manage it well. »
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:27.218; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +3.637; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +18.321; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +24.478; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +51.370; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +56.371; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, Fantic), +59.218; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), +1:05.096; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:06.311; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:08.424
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda); 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda); 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki); 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha); 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki); 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM); 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM); 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda); 9. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda); 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati)
MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 50 points; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), 40 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 40 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), 40 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), 31 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), 24 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), 23 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), 23 p.
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 855 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 699 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), 659 p.; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 566 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 559 p.; 6. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), 545 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), 523 p.; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), 449 p.; 9. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 428 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), 366 p.
MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 943 points; 2. KTM, 808 p.; 3. Yamaha, 754 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 728 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 461 p.; 6. Ducati, 339 p.; 7. Fantic, 317 p.; 8. Beta, 193 p.; 9. Triumph, 155 p.
As has often been the case in his rookie MX2 season, Latvian teenager Janis Reisulis set the fastest time in morning Warm-Up for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2, three tenths of a second ahead of Qualifying Race winner Guillem Farres. Sacha Coenen, in third, as well as the rest of the pack, were over two seconds further behind as many riders were clearly saving themselves for the afternoon’s races.
Much was said before the race about the three title contenders, who are all in the position of fighting for a world crown for the first time in their lives. How would it affect their nerves and emotions in today’s races?
We got the answer immediately, as Coenen hit the start gate just as it dropped for race one, causing his neighbour on the line, Farres, to flinch and nearly do the same! It was the other Red Bull KTM of Simon Längenfelder who took the Fox Holeshot Award, his seventh of the year, and the reigning Champion looked good as he charged into the second corner ahead of Liam Everts, Janis Reisulis, and Farres. That is, until a stunning move from Farres shot him between the Yamaha and the Husqvarna, and he was even able to scrub his way past the #1 to lead into the third corner!
His Triumph Racing Factory teammate Camden McLellan was sat in fifth, but he shifted up a place as Janis suffered a fast crash on the outside of a 90-degree left-hander! Julius Mikula held fifth for the Osi?ka KTM MX Team, but by the end of the first full lap Coenen had put on an incredible charge to pass the Maddii Racing Honda ABF Italia of Maxime Grau for sixth!
The second Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 of Karlis Reisulis held eighth by that time, ahead of the Dixon Racing Team Kawasaki of Kay Karssemakers and SixtySeven Racing Husqvarna’s Scott Smulders, rounding out the top ten on his first visit to Afyon.
Coenen was eyeing up a move on Mikula, but at the start of lap two he suffered a massive crash over one of the fastest jumps on the circuit, and he was obviously unable to restart after the massive impact that looked like it might have aggravated his already injured right collarbone.
Längenfelder was able to recover his composure and close back up to Farres at the front, as Karssemakers passed Karlis Reisulis for seventh on lap three. Janis also got past his brother into eighth after his first-lap crash, while on lap seven Längenfelder jumped alongside Farres and claimed the lead back from the Spaniard!
By lap eight, Janis Reisulis’ charge had put him past both Karssemakers and Grau to claim sixth, and he was after another privateer in the shape of Mikula. Meanwhile, McLellan was hassling Everts, as the precise Belgian frustrated several passing attempts. Finally, Liam slipped sideways, nearly down, through the corner at the end of the wave section, and Camden was able to take a deserved third place behind Längenfelder and Farres! The German’s race win was his first on a Sunday since Sardegna, as far back as round four!
Everts was able to rescue fourth, as Mikula held back Janis Reisulis to take his first top five finish since Trentino in April! Grau, Karssemakers, and Karlis Reisulis followed them through, while Noel Zanocz passed Smulders to take tenth for Venrooy KTM Racing as early as lap five.
Sacha Coenen was able to line up for race two despite being in some pain, and what a start it was as he rocketed to his fifteenth Fox Holeshot Award of the season! Everts, Längenfelder, Farres and Janis Reisulis gave chase, and the series leader was again super aggressive on the opening lap, passing the reigning Champ and the Belgian style king to challenge Coenen as they started the first full circulation!
With a committed double jump into a corner, the red plate was pushed into the lead, and although Coenen instantly looked to retaliate, he suddenly pulled off the circuit and into Pit Lane, reportedly in too much pain to continue racing. We await information from the team, but certainly wish the teenage Belgian well with whatever caused him to end his own race.
From there, Farres marched to an unassailable lead, winning by over six seconds to claim the sixth Grand Prix victory of his young career. Everts held off a brief challenge from Längenfelder, although the German’s first race win gave him second overall ahead of the Belgian. McLellan was unable to progress from fourth, the position he would take overall to end his podium streak at five GPs.
Janis Reisulis ran off track before the end of the first lap, and got help from marshalls to restart his bike, resulting in disqualification for outside assistance. The revelation of race two was Kay Karssemakers, after suffering such a horrendous Qualifying Race when the bike failed to make it around the first lap, the Dutchman fought to hold off several attacks from Grau to claim fifth place for that position overall, both of those results absolute career bests for the Dixon Kawasaki man!
Grau’s sixth place, in the race and overall, also matched his career highs, while Mikula recovered from a poor start to chase Karlis Reisulis over the line. Their overall positions would be the reverse order, the Czech rider seventh ahead of the Latvian. Zanocz and Smulders finished ninth and tenth to take those positions overall.
The thumping victory for Farres puts him in a prime position to take the title, holding a 50-point advantage now from his teammate McLellan, who leapfrogged the troubled Coenen to make it a factory Triumph 1-2 in the Championship for the first time ever! Coenen is ten points further back, and if he can make it to China he would need to defeat the points leader to keep his title chase alive. Even Längenfelder put himself up to just 20 points behind his fellow Red Bull KTM man.
The series now clocks up the air miles as it heads to Shanghai for the penultimate round, the MXGP of China in Shanghai! Join us there to see if Herlings can extend his unbeaten run, and if Farres can clinch the hotly-contested MX2 Championship!
Guillem Farres: « It definitely feels good. It was good to get a weekend off after Arnhem, my body really needed it. They were some tough weeks for me after the crash in Uddevalla, and Arnhem was a tough race for me also. I won the qualifying race yesterday, and I led some laps in the first race until Simon [Laengenfelder] passed me, and he was just faster than me in that race. In the second race I put myself in a good position from the beginning again, and from there I was setting my pace, riding comfortable, not making mistakes. I’m happy that I didn’t really make any big mistakes in any race. »
Simon Laengenfelder: « Those last few GPs were quite tough for me, so being back on the podium and especially taking that race win in race one felt good. Those past few races I’ve really been lacking on intensity, on speed, on everything, and I felt like, what is wrong? In the second race I was there in third position, and then everybody had their gap and the track was quite sketchy, so I think all of us just settled into those positions, and it was good enough for second overall. I’m for sure out of the championship fight, but I’m still trying to do my best. You never know what’s going to happen. »
Liam Everts: « In race one I was not where I wanted to be, I was just lacking that intensity and those little details just didn’t come to me. Camden [Mc Lellan] was really, really trying everywhere and I just didn’t get any breathing room. Then I had a little slip up with a lap to go and he passed me, so third was gone for me there. In the second one I made some small changes and that was better. Simon [Laengenfelder] was giving me some heat at one point but I could keep him behind, he made a mistake, and I ended up second. Obviously I’m really happy and pleased to be on the box again. I’d like a win, but I’ve still got two more chances to go. »
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 34:55.414; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +6.022; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +9.013; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +10.828; 5. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +44.152; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +44.604; 7. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +57.114; 8. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +58.994; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:11.017; 10. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), +1:18.696
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph); 2. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna); 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM); 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph); 5. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki); 6. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda); 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha); 8. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM); 9. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM); 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna)
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), 47 points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), 40 p.; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), 38 p.; 5. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), 29 p.; 6. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), 29 p.; 7. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 29 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), 26 p.; 9. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna), 21 p.
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), 806 points; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), 756 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 746 p.; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 726 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), 696 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), 607 p.; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), 502 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA), 414 p.; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 383 p.; 10. Mathis Valin (FRA), 352 p.
MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Triumph, 920 points; 2. KTM, 899 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 709 p.; 4. Yamaha, 663 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 513 p.; 6. Honda, 505 p.; 7. Ducati, 153 p.; 8. TM Moto, 87 p.; 9. GASGAS, 65 p.; 10. Fantic, 8 p.