Darwin
Herlings wins in Australia for fitting finale to championship-winning campaign
Honda HRC PETRONAS rider Jeffrey Herlings capped off his championship-winning campaign with another one-one performance at the MXGP of Australia, winning his 13th GP of the season and just putting an exclamation point on what has been a record-breaking 2026 for both him and the team.
His third place in the qualification race was the first time since round 12 that he lost a session, but he quickly rebounded by winning both the motos today in what were some tough races in hot conditions at the Darwin circuit.
Race one saw Herlings follow his teammate Tom Vialle through the holeshot line, before quickly making a move into the lead. Despite pressure for a lot of the moto, he controlled the race and set himself up for yet another overall win if he could match that effort in race two. However things definitely didn’t go so smoothly around the first turn as a miscalculation meant he was mid-pack early-on. Some quicky passes moved him into second by the end of the first lap, behind Vialle who got another holeshot to secure the award for the most in the season.
As the laps ticked down, Herlings eventually made the move into the lead to take his eighth one-one in a row and prove once again that he is the best rider in this years’ MXGP World Championship.
For Vialle, he had to settle for fourth in the first race, but with fourth place in the championship up for grabs, he put in a really strong ride to lead for the majority of the race. This was enough to secure the championship fourth, a fifth podium in a row and a good finale to what has been an impressive debut season on 450cc machinery and under a Honda HRC awning.
After what has been a record-breaking season for the team, there is now just the Motocross of Nations to compete in, as both Herlings (Netherlands) and Vialle (France) will represent their countries on October 3-4 in Ernee, France, where both will be hoping that take home the Chamberlain Trophy.
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MXGP Race 1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:24.505; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:18.362; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:02.170; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +1:07.125; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +1:11.155; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:13.043; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:42.497; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), -1 lap(s); 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Beta), -1 lap(s); 10. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s);
MXGP Race 2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:45.558; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.600; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +0:07.742; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:49.372; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:53.702; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:07.131; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:12.735; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), +1:14.516; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Beta), +1:18.525; 10. Dylan Walsh (NZL, KTM), -1 lap(s);
MXGP Overall
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 44 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 38 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 38 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 32 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 30 p.; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), 26 p.; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, BET), 24 p.; 10. Dylan Walsh (NZL, KTM), 21 p.;
MXGP Championship
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 973 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 805 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 659 p.; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 641 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 637 p.; 6. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 566 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 523 p.; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 449 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 438 p.; 10. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 428 p.;
Tom Vialle 16 Honda HRC PETRONAS
Ever since I got to ride the track, I’ve enjoyed it. I wasn’t here last year but from the first practice it was fun to ride and I think that showed this weekend. Winning the qualification yesterday was great and it allowed me to have first gate-pick and that meant I was able to get both holeshots and that secured me the Holeshot Award for the season so another bonus. My riding was good today, I wasn’t able to push as much as I would have liked in race one, but I think I showed in race two that I was close to winning so overall, I’m pretty happy. I think it’s been a good year for me, on a new bike, with a new team and I think if I can have a good off-season I can fight for even more wins next year.
Jeffrey Herlings 84 Honda HRC PETRONAS
It’s been an amazing year, winning the world championship, winning 13 GPs, 22 race wins and all on a new team. I think this year I am smarter than in my previous titles, in the earlier rounds I wasn’t able to match the pace in some rounds and I accepted that. Sometimes you have to lose, to win and I think I’ve learnt that now and it’s paid off now because this run of eight GPs in a row is a really nice way to finish the championship and a good reward for myself and the entire team who have all worked so hard.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas - Honda HRC PETRONAS
That’s a wrap on the season, and what a season it’s been. Jeffrey has been absolutely incredible and a true example of hard-working paying off. Not everything went to plan and we certainly had to push through some tough times, but the effort from him and the team has been amazing and we are all extremely proud of this title-winning campaign. Tom also performed extremely well at the beginning and end of the season, and I think showed he will be a real threat next year, especially with the holeshots that he is consistently able to get. A big thank you to everyone involved with the team, both at the races and back in Japan. It’s been a great year and now the focus turns to trying to make 2027 equally as successful.
