Herlings and McLellan sweep Lommel | 2026 MXGP of Flanders Full Coverage

2026 MXGP World Championship
Round 14 – MXGP of Flanders, Belgium
Stedelijk Motorcrossterrein Lommel

The MXGP paddock went directly from Loket’s slick hardpack to the deep and continually shifting sand of Lommel for the third Grand Prix in as many weekends, with intense summer heat adding another layer to what is already regarded as one of the most physically demanding events on the calendar.

Jeffrey Herlings and Camden McLellan proved untouchable in their respective classes, each sweeping Saturday qualifying and both Sunday motos to complete perfect 1-1-1 weekends.

Herlings’ fifth Lommel Grand Prix victory was also the 120th GP win of his remarkable career. More significantly for the 2026 championship, the Honda rider left Belgium with a 104-point advantage after title rival Lucas Coenen was again unable to race.

McLellan recorded the first 1-1 Grand Prix scorecard of his career and moved firmly back into the MX2 title equation, while Triumph teammate Guillem Farres finished second overall and extended his championship lead.

Herlings and McLellan set the tone on Saturday

Herlings issued an immediate warning by topping MXGP Free Practice by 2.3 seconds, then headed Kay de Wolf by 0.867 seconds in Time Practice.

Isak Gifting initially launched his retro-liveried Yamaha into the lead of the Qualifying Race, but Herlings moved to the front during the opening lap and steadily drew clear.

De Wolf briefly reduced the margin before Herlings lifted his pace, while Andrea Adamo secured third ahead of Tim Gajser and Tom Vialle. Herlings tipped over during the final lap but had built enough of a buffer to win by 14.080 seconds.

It was Herlings’ fifth Qualifying Race victory of the season and the 75th of his career. The ten points increased his championship lead to 59 before Sunday’s motos had even begun.

McLellan was equally impressive in MX2. Sacha Coenen had topped Free Practice, but McLellan produced a blistering final lap in Time Practice to secure pole by more than 1.3 seconds.

Simon Längenfelder led the Qualifying Race from the opening corners while McLellan initially worked his way forward behind the leading group. The South African remained patient despite sitting almost six seconds behind Längenfelder, gradually reduced the margin and took control with an inside move on lap nine.

McLellan went on to win by 8.378 seconds from Längenfelder, with championship leader Farres third ahead of Sacha Coenen and Liam Everts.

MX2 Race One
McLellan charges from ninth

Everts claimed the holeshot in the opening MX2 moto, but Farres had moved through to complete the first lap in the lead. McLellan, meanwhile, finished that opening circulation down in ninth and faced a long afternoon of work.

Farres gradually established himself at the front and led the first 11 laps. Everts remained second through the opening half of the moto before McLellan’s charge carried him into the position during lap nine.

The South African was just 3.780 seconds behind Farres at the end of lap 11. A mistake from the Spaniard then opened the door, with McLellan emerging in front on lap 12 and quickly establishing a margin over Längenfelder.

McLellan controlled the final six laps to win by 5.898 seconds from Längenfelder, while Farres regrouped to finish third. Karlis Reisulis was only another 1.278 seconds behind in fourth, with brother Janis fifth.

Sacha Coenen produced one of the stronger recovery rides of the moto. A first-lap crash left the Belgian well outside the leading group, but he climbed all the way back to sixth while still recovering from surgery on his broken collarbone.

Everts’ strong home-race performance ended with a technical failure after he had spent most of the opening half inside the top three.

Farres recorded the fastest lap at 2m02.189s, but McLellan’s progression through the field and superior race management proved decisive.

“To get the overall win is an amazing feeling. It was a tough race and physically demanding, but luckily I was fit enough to keep pushing right to the end.” Camden McLellan

MXGP Race One
Herlings disappears into the distance

Herlings completed the opening lap of the first MXGP moto with a 2.054-second advantage and then systematically dismantled the field.

The Honda rider recorded the fastest lap of the race on his opening circulation at 1m59.324s. His advantage had grown beyond ten seconds by lap four, exceeded 20 seconds after seven laps and reached more than half a minute after lap ten.

De Wolf moved ahead of Gajser during the early laps and held second for the remainder of the moto, but there was no realistic prospect of catching Herlings. De Wolf and Gajser instead remained closely matched, with only 1.352 seconds separating them at the flag.

Romain Febvre spent much of the race fighting forward after starting behind the leading group. The Kawasaki rider eventually displaced Vialle to secure fourth, but by then the first three positions were out of reach.

Herlings completed all 17 laps without relinquishing the lead and won by 45.474 seconds from De Wolf. Gajser was third, Febvre fourth and Vialle fifth, while Adamo and Ruben Fernandez completed the top seven.

Such was Herlings’ pace that only the first 12 riders completed the full race distance.

MX2 Race Two
Three leaders, one familiar winner

Farres made the ideal start to the second MX2 moto and led the opening six laps, with Längenfelder and McLellan immediately behind him.

Längenfelder moved to the front on lap seven, but McLellan was already closing. The Triumph rider reduced the gap to just 0.335 seconds by lap nine and took over the lead on lap 11.

Once in front, McLellan opened a margin of more than seven seconds before managing the final laps. Farres worked his way back past Längenfelder to secure second, finishing 6.119 seconds behind his teammate, while Längenfelder completed the podium 13.125 seconds from the winner.

Karlis Reisulis again finished fourth after advancing from outside the leading group, while Everts rebounded from his opening-moto retirement to claim fifth ahead of Janis Reisulis.

Farres once again set the outright fastest lap, recording a 2m00.468s on lap two. McLellan, however, proved that being quickest over one lap and being the strongest rider across a full Lommel moto are not always the same thing.

The 1-1 result gave McLellan a maximum 50 points and his first double-moto victory. Farres and Längenfelder both scored 42, with Farres taking second overall through his stronger second-moto result.

Triumph therefore completed a commanding one-two at one of the most demanding rounds of the season, its sixth double-podium result of the 2026 campaign.

MXGP Race Two
Febvre heartbreak as Herlings completes the sweep

Herlings was even faster at the beginning of the second MXGP moto, recording a 1m56.951s opening lap as he immediately established himself at the front.

Febvre produced his best start of the weekend and moved into second during the opening corners. The defending World Champion could not match Herlings but rode clear of the group behind, holding the gap to the leader at between roughly 13 and 18 seconds through the middle of the race.

De Wolf had started fifth and methodically worked his way into third. He was closing on Febvre as the race entered its final laps, but the Kawasaki rider still appeared set to claim a comfortable second.

With just over a lap remaining, Febvre struck a soft section in the waves and was thrown over the handlebars in a heavy crash. De Wolf was immediately behind and had little room to avoid the incident, but both riders escaped serious injury.

Febvre remounted with enough of an advantage to remain ahead of the chasing pack, only for his Kawasaki to stop during the final half-lap. He was ultimately classified 13th.

De Wolf inherited second, while Vialle moved onto the moto podium in third ahead of Gajser. Adamo, Fernandez and Ben Watson completed the top seven.

Watson’s 9-7 scorecard delivered seventh overall and the best MXGP result yet for Triumph’s TF 450-X.

At the front, Herlings remained beyond reach. He won by 39.633 seconds from De Wolf and crossed the line 54.242 seconds ahead of Vialle. Combined with his first-moto margin, Herlings defeated his closest Sunday rival by a total of 85.107 seconds across the two races.

For the second time that afternoon, only the first 12 riders completed the full 17-lap distance.

“Another perfect weekend, perhaps even better than Loket because I was able to lead every lap. I could control the speed and pick my own lines.” Jeffrey Herlings

“I hit a soft spot in the waves and went over the bars. I remounted and had given everything for the podium, but the bike stopped in the last half-lap.” Romain Febvre

Herlings takes command of the MXGP title fight

Herlings’ perfect weekend delivered the eighth Grand Prix victory of his debut season with Honda HRC PETRONAS and the 120th overall win of his career.

He now leads the MXGP World Championship with 675 points. Despite the disastrous conclusion to Race Two, Febvre moved into second on 571 points, five ahead of the injured Lucas Coenen.

The championship advantage is therefore 104 points with five rounds and a maximum of 300 points still available.

Gajser’s 3-4 results secured his fifth podium of the season and lifted him to 534 points. Adamo moved into fifth in the standings on 450, only four ahead of Fernandez.

De Wolf’s 2-2 performance delivered his third MXGP podium of the season and came only days after confirmation of a new multi-year agreement with Husqvarna and Nestaan.

Vialle finished just two points short of the overall podium with a 5-3 scorecard, a strong result on his first Lommel appearance aboard a 450 since returning from the United States.

Andrea Bonacorsi also completed both motos on his return from the injury he suffered in Latvia. The Ducati rider finished 16th and 20th, treating the demanding Lommel weekend primarily as an opportunity to rebuild race fitness.

Farres extends MX2 advantage as McLellan closes in

Farres leaves Belgium with 668 points and a 47-point lead over Sacha Coenen, who limited the damage with sixth overall despite not yet being back to full fitness.

McLellan’s maximum haul lifted him to 608 points, only 13 behind Coenen and 60 from the championship lead. Längenfelder sits another ten points behind McLellan on 598.

The Reisulis brothers continued their strong form for Yamaha, with Karlis finishing fourth in both motos for fourth overall and Janis taking fifth overall with a 5-6 scorecard.

Everts was classified 12th overall after his Race One failure and fifth place in Race Two. The lost points leave him fifth in the championship on 542.

WMX World Champion Lotte van Drunen also took on the MX2 field as a wildcard. The 18-year-old finished 20th in Race One to score a World Championship point before placing 25th in Race Two.

EMX250
Skovbjerg closes on absent Garcia

Nicolai Skovbjerg delivered a major championship performance in the ninth round of the EMX250 series.

A poor Race One start left the Danish Husqvarna rider 11th after the opening lap, but he worked through the field, reached third on lap seven and passed Mads Fredsoe for the lead on lap nine.

Gyan Doensen had charged as high as second before crashing within sight of the finish, allowing Fredsoe and Francesco Bellei to complete the top three behind Skovbjerg.

Jarne Bervoets claimed the Race Two holeshot and led the opening four laps before Fredsoe took over. William Askew then passed Fredsoe on lap seven, shortly before what appeared to be a rear-wheel problem ended Fredsoe’s challenge.

Skovbjerg had again been buried in the field, this time running 15th after lap one. He recovered all the way to second but could not catch Askew, who secured his first EMX250 race victory.

Skovbjerg’s 1-2 scorecard delivered the overall win with 47 points. Askew was second overall and Bellei third.

Championship leader Francisco Garcia missed Lommel after suffering a minor leg injury in training. Skovbjerg capitalised by cutting Garcia’s lead from 104 to 74 points with three rounds remaining.

Australian Jake Cannon endured a difficult weekend. The Kawasaki rider crashed on the opening lap of Race One, was then collected by another competitor after remounting and eventually retired.

Cannon reached eighth during Race Two before two late falls dropped him to 11th. He remains third in the championship, 20 points behind Skovbjerg and 94 behind Garcia.

EMXOpen
Haavisto claims the title with perfect score

The 2026 EMXOpen European Championship was decided through a single two-race round at Lommel, with Jere Haavisto mastering the heat and deep sand to complete a perfect 1-1 weekend.

Damien Knuiman led the first race for six laps before Haavisto made his move and immediately opened a decisive margin. Knuiman again led at the end of the opening lap in Race Two, but Haavisto took control on lap two and was never seriously threatened.

Haavisto won the second race by almost 16 seconds and secured the championship with the maximum 50 points. Knuiman’s pair of second places earned him the runner-up position, while Peter Koenig completed the overall podium.

Victor Alonso produced a strong second half of Race Two on the Ducati, passing Koenig and then Albin Gerhardsson to secure third. The Spaniard finished tenth overall.

Next stop Sweden

After three consecutive Grands Prix, the championship now pauses for one weekend before resuming at Uddevalla for the MXGP of Sweden on August 15-16.

The Swedish hardpack will provide a complete contrast to Lommel before the series returns to sand one week later at Arnhem for the MXGP of the Netherlands.

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 MXGP Qualifying Race Results

MXGP Race One Results

MXGP Race Two Results

MXGP Round Points

MXGP Championship Standings

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MX2 Qualifying Race Results

MX2 Race One Results

MX2 Race Two Results

MX2 Round

MX2 Championship Standings