The 13th round of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship took place at the legendary Loketske Serpentiny circuit in Czechia, July 25-26, with hot summer temperatures and packed hillsides for another action-filled race weekend. The hard-pack circuit challenged everyone, but it was Jeffrey Herlings who seized complete control of the MXGP Championship with his first perfect weekend of the season. In MX2, Guillem Farres continued his midseason surge with a fourth consecutive GP victory for five wins so far this season.
MXGP
Herlings delivered arguably his most impressive performance of the season aboard the Honda HRC Petronas machine, sweeping the qualifying race and both Sunday motos to claim his 119th career Grand Prix victory. The Dutchman worked past teammate Tom Vialle early in race one before pulling away from the field and repeated the performance in race two with another decisive charge to the front. Herlings was untouchable all weekend, extending his race-win total to 225 career moto victories while matching the all-time Loket wins record with his fourth overall victory at the Czech venue. More importantly, with Lucas Coenen sidelined by a sciatic-nerve injury for the second straight weekend, Herlings assumed control of the MXGP Championship and opened up a 49-point lead.
“Three starts in a row helped a lot,” Herlings said. “Racing Tom was clean. We’ve known each other long enough not to touch. The bike is incredible on this kind of track. It just sticks to the ground and lets me do what I want with it. But for me, there’s only one thing that matters, and that’s the gold plate. White, black or red, it doesn’t change anything at the moment, so we keep fighting for that.”
Tom Vialle returned to the podium for the first time since Trentino with an impressive runner-up finish, securing a Honda HRC Petronas 1-2. The Frenchman showed his trademark start by grabbing the holeshot in the opening moto and leading early ahead of Herlings. Vialle repeated the feat in race two and stayed in the lead group throughout the afternoon. His consistent 3-2 moto scores earned him second overall and capped a strong weekend for the Honda squad.
“It was great to get back on the podium after a tough stretch of races, including missing a few rounds due to injury,” Vialle said. “It was hard after that because the guys are running so fast, and it is still my first season back in the GPs and on a 450, so I’ve been working extremely hard, and now the work has paid off.”
Romain Febvre continued his recent run of consistency by finishing third overall for the Kawasaki Racing team. After charging from outside the top five in race one to finish second behind Herlings, the reigning World Champion faced a bigger challenge in moto two after being caught in a first-turn pileup. Febvre carved through the field with one of the day’s best rides, climbing to fifth at the finish. His 2-5 scores were enough to secure another overall podium and prevent a Honda podium sweep.
“I’m happy and disappointed at the same time,” Febvre said. “I crashed on the first turn, got stuck under another bike, and thought the podium was gone. Somehow I came back to finish fifth; I still can’t believe it. My starts were not great all weekend, so with a better start I think I could have fought for the win.”
Ruben Fernandez secured another strong result, finishing fourth overall with 5-4 scores ahead of former champ Tim Gajser, who rounded out the top five after crashing in both motos.
One of the biggest championship storylines centered around a rider who didn’t grid up for the race, namely Lucas Coenen, who is still recovering from a leg injury sustained last weekend. The Red Bull KTM rider elected to sit out the Czech Grand Prix entirely, allowing Herlings to erase the points deficit and leave Loket with a 49-point championship advantage.
“I did what I could to be ready for Loket: physio, massage,” Coenen said. “But I was in pain all day. It’s tough to take. I can only hope I will feel a bit better with each day, and we can think about Lommel [the next round].”
MX2
Guillem Farres continued to cement his status as the championship favorite by capturing his fifth win and fourth consecutive Grand Prix victory for the Triumph Racing Factory team. Farres came under fire as he debuted the red plate, but he survived multiple attacks and came out unscathed with the moto win in race one. His streak of seven straight moto wins came to an end in race two, but the Spanish rider again proved to be the most complete rider on track. Another overall victory extended his championship lead to 33 points.
“The bike has been working well over the last three races, so I’m happy about that,” Farres said. “This isn’t one of my favorite tracks, but after some not-so-great starts, I made it happen anyway. The red plate doesn’t change anything for me; if anything, it just makes me hungrier to win.”
Camden McLellan made it another outstanding weekend for the Triumph team, finishing second overall. The South African fought through the pack in both motos after less-than-ideal starts and nearly stole the win in race one, only to crash on the last lap after an aggressive pass attempt. McLellan rebounded with another strong charge in race two to finish fourth, securing another Triumph 1-2 overall and moving into third in the championship standings.
“With all due respect to everyone else, I think I was the best rider all weekend,” McLellan said. “In control, fast, smooth, no mistakes. This weekend I took a big step. I got the elbows out and was aggressive with everyone. I know I have the speed to be up there. I just need to sort out the starts and the rest will come together.”
Karlis Reisulis celebrated the first Grand Prix podium of his career with third overall. The Yamaha rider strung together two great rides, finishing fourth in race one before battling his way onto the podium with a third-place finish in race two. His breakthrough result saw one of the most consistent weekends of his young career and marked another milestone for the Yamaha program.
“The podium is one thing, but I was just happy I could ride two good races today,” Reisulis said. “Battling with my brother [Janis Reisulis] isn’t easy; he was really trying not to let me pass. But it’s nice to race against him. I’ve been waiting a long time for this, and I’m just looking forward to the next rounds.”
Janis Reisulis narrowly missed joining his brother on the podium after going 3-5 on the day. Liam Everts scored his first moto win of the season and rounded out the top five overall.
More championship-altering developments came from the Red Bull KTM camp. Simon Laengenfelder suffered a DNF in the second moto after a failed pass attempt on Farres left him with an apparent arm injury. The DNF and a fifth in moto one dropped the early-season points leader to fourth in the championship standings behind McLellan by a single point (547 to 548). Sacha Coenen is still recovering from a broken collarbone but managed a 7-7 scorecard for seventh overall. The former points leader retains second in the championship points—after dropping from the lead at the previous round—and he now trails Farres by 33 points.
“Ten days post-surgery, it was not too bad,” Coenen said. “I just did two solid motos today, but I was missing some energy and was just trying to survive. I’m looking forward to our home GP next weekend, and I’ll try to do my best.”CN
2026 MXGP of Czechia Video Highlights
2026 FIM MXGP Round 13 Results
MXGP (Top 10)
- Jeffrey Herlings (Hon) 1-1
- Tom Vialle (Hon) 3-2
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-5
- Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 5-4
- Tim Gajser (Yam) 10-3
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 4-10
- Jago Geerts (Bet) 8-9
- Jan Pancar (KTM) 12-7
- Roan Van De Moosdijk (KTM) 11-8
- Isak Gifting (Yam) 9-14
MX2 (Top 10)
- Guillem Farres (Tri) 1-2
- Camden McLellan (Tri) 2-4
- Karlis Reisulis (Yam) 4-3
- Janis Reisulis (Yam) 3-5
- Liam Everts (Hus) 12-1
- Maxime Grau (Hon) 8-6
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 7-7
- Julius Mikula (KTM) 6-9
- Gyan Doensen (KTM) 10-10
- Kay Karssemakers (Kaw) 13-8
