Farres eyes the MX2 crown, Herlings unstoppable: MXGP China amid major absences and thin grids

The Chinese GP kicks off, the penultimate round of the 2026 Motocross World Championship, with the kings of the two classes on top: report and standings from the qualifying races.

The already-crowned MXGP champion Jeffrey Herlings and MX2 leader Guillem Farres, edging ever closer to the title, prevail in a penultimate seasonal round with a thin gate, partly due to various injured riders. There’s been debate for some time about travel costs penalizing riders and teams; in several flyaway rounds we’ve seen really sparse gates... We’re also witnessing the historic first outing of a Chinese brand, JHL Moto, ahead of KOVE and ZXMOTO’s full-time debuts in 2027. Here’s how Saturday’s two qualifying races in Shanghai played out.

Little to argue about from the start: Guillem Farres knows exactly what he needs to do and quickly takes the lead of the qualifying race. The outgoing champion Laengenfelder tails him for a long time, though never finding the move to get past. Third is Coenen, coming back after losing a few positions off the gate, followed by Everts and McLellan, with everyone else further back. The situation stays frozen for a long time, until the closing laps when the chasers try to reel in the race leader, but without changes. In the end, within one second we have winner Guillem Farres (10 points), Sacha Coenen (9 points), and Camden McLellan (8 points), who charged late but couldn’t pip KTM’s Belgian. Here’s the overall picture; tomorrow’s two races will be decisive.

Various absences due to physical issues (Gajser, Bonacorsi, and as of yesterday the official word on Forato, just to name the latest). There’s also a welcome return mentioned earlier: Ivo Monticelli, called up at the last second by JK Racing Yamaha to replace the injured Gifting. We get underway with a two-faced Kawasaki start: Jonass is down in the first corner, while Febvre leads from Herlings, Vialle, Pancar, Adamo, and the rest. It doesn’t last long—after a few corners the 2026 world champion gets the better of the 2025 title-holder, though for a long stretch he doesn’t pull a big gap on his rival. The situation stays that way without shocks: Jeffrey Herlings wins the qualifying race in Shanghai ahead of Romain Febvre and Tom Vialle, with the best Italian, Andrea Adamo, in 5th.

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