The tenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place at Portugal’s famed Crossódromo Internacional de Águeda, marking the halfway point of the 2026 season. Thousands of fans packed the hillsides of the red clay circuit to watch the championship leaders do battle. This weekend featured another exciting battle between Jeffrey Herlings and Lucas Coenen in MXGP, while Guillem Farres completed a perfect weekend in MX2 and significantly tightened the points fight.
Jeffrey Herlings continued his midseason resurgence by capturing his second consecutive Grand Prix victory for the Honda HRC Petronas team. After charging from outside the top five in race one, the Dutchman finished second to championship leader Lucas Coenen in race one. The two rivals went at it in a spectacular second moto before Herlings forced his way into the lead with a decisive inside block-pass. He never looked back and marched away to the 117th Grand Prix victory of his career. More importantly, the win cut Coenen’s championship advantage to 57 points as the series heads into the second half.
“I felt like me and Lucas were roughly the same speed all weekend,” Herlings said. “In race one I lost a lot of time with my teammate Ruben, I spent a long time trying to pass him and Lucas went ahead. In race two I was straight into second after one lap, and I felt I was a bit faster at some points, but it was very difficult to find a line to pass. I found one spot where I could do it, and I made sure to stop him from going around me. I pushed a few laps, made a nice little gap and managed to win. GP number 117, race win 221, the stats keep getting impressive, but it’s been a nice weekend and I look forward to South Africa.”
Lucas Coenen again proved why he’s controlled the championship for nearly all of 2026. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider took the lead early in both motos after Tom Vialle grabbed both holeshots and looked eager for another perfect weekend. A small crash while leading race one allowed Ruben Fernandez to briefly inherit the lead before Coenen immediately reclaimed the position and claimed the race win. The Belgian repeated the same start in race two, leading much of the moto before finally giving way to Herlings during an intense battle in the closing laps. Although he settled for second overall, Coenen maintains a comfortable lead in the championship standings.
“The key is to be smart,” Coenen said. “I think I did the best weekend I could to win the overall. In race one I was running pretty good and felt ready. In race two I was just trying to control it, I knew Jeffrey wanted to win and he needed to, so I felt like I was being smart and not really pushing. At one moment I made a mistake and didn’t jump the triple; I slowed down but Jeffrey went really close and I had to stop otherwise I was going down. Second overall, I gotta keep pushing and be consistent. I’m young, so I can learn from the best, and that’s the main thing.”
Romain Febvre rounded out the overall podium with a pair of consistent third-place finishes. The reigning world champion steadily worked his way forward in both motos and capitalized on mistakes from those around him. His consistency delivered a fourth-consecutive podium finish in Portugal and allowed him to remain in the championship hunt despite not being able to match the pace of Herlings and Coenen.
“I felt pretty good straight away from Saturday,” said Febvre. “It was good to have a nice track with a lot of grip and nice jumps, for two years in a row it was a muddy one, so I was glad to have a good weekend like this. The two guys at the front were faster in almost every session, so it’s hard, but I’m there and I try to close the gap every time. In race two my start was not good and I was quite far back, but I saw Gajser ahead and thought I need to make passes quick or I won’t catch him. Two times third, finally two good races. My riding was better and I’m really happy.”
Tim Gajser finished fourth overall after another solid weekend aboard his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory machine. The Slovenian rider recovered from mid-pack starts in both motos and logged fourth-place finishes each time. He briefly challenged for a podium position in race two but a small crash while under pressure from Febvre dropped him back one position.
Ruben Fernandez gave the Portuguese fans plenty to cheer about with one of his strongest weekends of the season. Racing just across the border from his native Spain, the Honda rider ran near the front all day and finished fifth overall after battling inside the lead group throughout both motos.
MX2
Guillem Farres delivered a flawless weekend for the Triumph Racing Factory Team, sweeping the qualifying race and both motos to earn his second career Grand Prix victory. The Spanish rider immediately took control on lap one of the opening moto after he made his way around early leader Julius Mikula and was never challenged from that point forward. He repeated the performance in race two, grabbing the holeshot and leading every lap to complete a perfect 1-1-1 weekend. The dominant performance cut the championship lead from 46 points entering the weekend to just 32 as the title fight continues to tighten.
“I feel great, it’s really nice to get a perfect weekend, and this is my first ever perfect weekend,” Farres said. “This GP is also special because it’s close to Spain, so I had my family here and a bunch of friends showed up as a surprise. I haven’t changed a thing the whole weekend, which gives me a lot of extra confidence when riding. We did a lot of work this winter and for some reason on hard pack tracks I haven’t touched a single clicker all year. The most important thing is not winning every weekend, it’s minimizing the bad days. On the good days everything is easier; on the bad days is when the real champion shows up.”
Janis Reisulis enjoyed the best finish of his career by finishing second overall for the Monster Energy Yamaha team. The Latvian rider showed impressive speed throughout the weekend, finishing second in the opening moto before backing it up with another strong ride in race two where he ran second for a majority of the moto. A fourth place finish at the checkers was still enough for a breakout performance and the first podium of his career. He now moves to sixth in the championship standings.
“It was a really good day and I’m incredibly happy with my result,” said Reisulis. “To claim my first Grand Prix podium in the MX2 class is a really special moment. I really enjoyed riding today. The pace was good, I felt comfortable on the bike, and being able to battle with the front-runners throughout the races gave me a lot of confidence. A huge thank you to the whole team, all of our sponsors, and everyone who has supported me. This is an important milestone, and now the goal is to keep working hard and build on this result.”
Championship leader Sacha Coenen salvaged an important podium after a disastrous opening moto nearly derailed his entire weekend. The Red Bull KTM rider crashed through the rhythm section on the opening lap of race one and was forced to charge from outside the top twenty before finishing an eventual sixth. He responded in race two with an aggressive ride to finish second place, limiting the championship damage against Farres’ perfect score. Although his lead was reduced significantly, Coenen remains firmly in control of the red plate heading into South Africa.
“I started not too bad in race one, was in third, but then I made a mistake and went down,” said Coenen. “came back from last to sixth which was quite difficult because the track was wet and slippery, you couldn’t make a mistake because it was really fast for everyone. In race two I had a not too bad start, stayed in third for quite a long time, made a move into second place and tried to come back, but Guillem passed me so I couldn’t catch him. Third overall was not really bad for a bad weekend, let’s say. I just had some issues dealing with the front at times, but it is what it is.”
Liam Everts narrowly missed the podium with a consistent fourth overall finish for Nestaan Husqvarna. The Belgian steadily worked his way through the field in both motos and made a late-race pass on Janis Reisulis in race two to secure third in the moto. A strong result, combined with Mathis Valin’s absence, allowed Everts to climb higher in the championship standings.
Simon Laengenfelder completed the top five overall after consistent rides in both motos. While the defending world champion lacked the pace to challenge Farres or Coenen, he minimized the damage with solid finishes and continues to hold third in the overall championship. Camden McLellan was forced to recover from poor starts all day and finished sixth overall, remaining just two points behind Laengenfelder in the battle for third.
One of the biggest championship stories came from Mathis Valin, who was unable to race after suffering injuries during Saturday’s qualifying race. His absence allowed both Everts and Janis Reisulis to move ahead in the standings.
Video Highlights
Results
MXGP
1. Jeffrey Herlings (Hon) 2-1
2. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 1-2
3. Romain Febvre (Kaw) 3-3
4. Tim Gajser (Yam) 4-4
5. Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 5-5
MX2
1. Guillem Farres (Tri) 1-1
2. Janis Reisulis (Yam) 2-4
3. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 6-2
4. Liam Everts (Hus) 5-3
5. Simon Laengenfelder (KTM) 3-6
