The fifth round of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship took to the picturesque mountains of Trentino, Italy at the Pietramurata circuit for one of the most iconic venues in MXGP racing. Forecasted rains didn’t deter a packed house as eager fans came in droves to see their favorite riders do battle. Neither of the championship leaders scored victories as Jeffrey Herlings and Sacha Coenen won their overall divisions and closed ground in their respective championship fights.
MXGP
Jeffrey Herlings was the man to beat in Trentino. The Honda HRC Petronas rider is always a threat at the Italian venue and captured his sixth overall win at the Trentino circuit. Herlings’ ride in moto one set the tone as he started well outside the top 10 and slowly chipped away at the leaders. A number of decisive passes allowed him to close ground on the leaders, and he eventually forced his way around defending champion Romain Febvre. No one could stop Herlings in race one as he raced off to a six-second advantage. The Honda rider suffered another poor start in the second moto but put in another hard-fought effort. With his championship rival, Lucas Coenen crashing out late in the race, Herlings moved to second at the line and earned enough points to clinch the overall win. Maximum points now puts Herlings just four down from Coenen in the championship standings.
“I think the results don’t really show the speed I had this weekend,” Herlings said. “I had to come through the field in both races, from around 15th to first in the first one and again pushing hard in the second. Overall, a 1-2 on the day is good for the championship and I’m really thankful to the whole team for the work they put in.”
Tim Gajser had his best showing aboard his new Yamaha and finished second overall. Gajser ran up front in race one and battled with Tom Vialle for most of the moto. He eventually settled for fourth after being passed by Herlings and Vialle. The former champ fired back in race two and ran a close second with Coenen in the lead. Gajser capitalized late in the race when Coenen crashed out of the top spot and handed the lead over. This marked Gajser’s first win with the Factory Yamaha team and pushed him to second overall.
I’m super happy with this weekend, especially coming in with some broken ribs from last week and riding in a lot of pain,” Gajser said. “I didn’t expect much, so to come away with a race win and a podium means a lot.”
Tom Vialle finished third overall with 3-6 scores. The Honda HRC Petronas rider battled up front with Gajser during race one and held the spot through the checkers. A big crash in the second moto put Vialle outside the top five but he remounted quickly and salvaged sixth, still safely in third overall for the day. He remains third in the MXGP points standings.
Lucas Coenen took seventh overall after multiple crashes but still holds the red plate by four over Herlings.
MX2
Sacha Coenen dominated the MX2 division with his best ride of the year. The Factory Red Bull KTM rider won the Saturday Qualifying Race and later claimed both holeshots and both moto victories on Sunday’s overall sweep. Even with a crash in race two, the young Belgian rider still took the top spot and scored massive ground in the championship. With his fifth Grand Prix victory of his career, he’s now just three points down from KTM teammate Simon Laengenfelder.
“I’m really happy to win all three races this weekend, it’s the first time I’ve done that,” Coenen said.
Guillem Farres continued his upward trajectory with a second-place finish. The Factory Triumph rider was never outside the top three in any session during the weekend and bounced back nicely after crashing last weekend in Spain. He moved to third on the first lap of race one and remained there as the rains came down. The Spanish rider started outside the top 10 in race two but fought hard in the improved track conditions. By the time he passed into second, Coenen was too far gone and Farres took the runner-up spot in the race and for the weekend. The podium finish marks his third podium of the season and moves him up to third in the series standings.
“The track was really difficult, especially for passing, and in the first race I got stuck behind Mathis [Valin] and couldn’t find a way through,” said Farres. “In the second one I had a bad start and had to work really hard to come back to second. By the time I got there, the gap was already too big, but we salvaged good points.”
Kawasaki’s Mathin Valin logged his best ride of the year in third. A second-place result in race one saw Valin hold off many front-runners, and he crossed the line just six seconds down from winner Coenen. He overcame a poor start in race two but still earned seventh at the line, which earned him enough points for an overall podium. This is only the second podium of his young career and a great stepping stone for the Factory Kawasaki rider.
Points leader Simon Laengenfelder finished off the podium for the first time this year in sixth overall. He finished third in race two and still leads the MX2 points by three over Sacha Coenen. CN
2026 FIM MXGP Round 5 Results
MXGP Overall (Top 5)
- Jeffrey Herlings (Hon) 2-2
- Tim Gajser (Yam) 4-1
- Tom Vialle (Hon) 3-6
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 7-4
- Maxime Renaux (Yam) 5-5
MX2 Overall (Top 5)
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 2-1
- Guillem Farres (Tri) 3-2
- Mathin Valin (Kaw) 2-7
- Julius Mikula (KTM) 6-4
- Karlis Reisulis (Yam) 5-5
