Febvre and Herlings ignite Lierop; 'world‑class' show in Spain too: MX season set to explode

Final warm-up events before the start of the 2026 Motocross World Championship. Here’s how the top contenders fared between the Netherlands and Spain.

Romain Febvre and Jeffrey Herlings headlining the battle at the top: a taste of 2026? And Tim Gajser, this year's new Yamaha ace, was missing—otherwise the answer could have been completely positive. Next weekend, Argentina will host the opening event of the new season; in the meantime, a good portion of the Motocross World Championship protagonists gathered on Sunday, March 1, for the Dutch MX Season Opener on the sand of Lierop. In the MX1 class, the home hero was clearly the most anticipated, taking on a new challenge with Honda HRC Petronas, but the reigning MXGP champion, loyal to Kawasaki, also put himself to the test in one last “preparation” event before beginning his title defense. In MX2, it was a solo performance at the top by Liam Everts (Nestaan Husqvarna Factory). But let’s also take a look at Spain, where the national Motocross Élite championship kicked off alongside some world-class names: Ruben Fernandez (Honda HRC Petronas) blew away the competition in MX1, while brothers Karlis and Janis Reisulis (Monster Energy Yamaha) set the pace in the MX2 class.

As anticipated, this category featured a head-to-head between two renowned international motocross stars. The first race was a runaway for Romain Febvre, who literally bolted from the start, leaving Jeffrey Herlings behind. The second moto was more adrenaline-fueled: the two immediately took the lead, serving the Dutch crowd a breathtaking duel until Herlings managed to prevail in the finale with a solid margin over his rival. The day ended tied on points; to the delight of the home fans, Herlings took the overall victory, while Febvre had to settle for 2nd overall due to his 2nd place in the deciding second race. No big deal—both the Kawasaki-mounted Frenchman and the Honda-mounted Dutchman showed they’re in superb shape, ready to spark fireworks in the new world championship season.

And the others? Hard to talk about “other contenders,” at least at this event: Calvin Vlaanderen, Ducati’s new signing, was a steady third, 30 seconds down in the first moto and essentially the same in the second and final race. One of the expected frontrunners, Kay De Wolf, was absent due to a thumb injury that required a minor procedure, while we also saw our own Alberto Forato (Fantic) and Andrea Bonacorsi (Ducati MX) in action, as well as Glenn Coldenhoff (ex-World Championship, which he officially bid farewell to at the end of 2025), Jago Geerts, Brent van Doninck, Roan van de Moosdijk, Max Nagl, Tom Koch, to name a few. All lined up behind the leading duo at this Dutch event, but we’ll get the true pecking order once the World Championship gets underway.

Several international category standouts were missing—most notably reigning champion Simon Laengenfelder—but that takes nothing away from Liam Everts’ talent, who has clearly shown he’s far more than just the son and grandson of legends. There was no better way to wrap up his preparation for the new world season than a double triumph in the two motos raced on the Dutch sand. An absolute domination right from Race 1, with runner-up Scott Smulders finishing 41 seconds adrift, after initially holding off the fierce Mathis Valin (Kawasaki), who then crashed and could do no better than 6th. In the second race, the gap grew to 45 seconds, this time over Dani Heitink, who capped a remarkable weekend with second overall before stepping up to EMX250 with Husqvarna.

Ruben Fernandez on top form, as were the Latvian brothers Karlis and Janis Reisulis. Final world-level tune-ups also took place on the Iberian Peninsula, which last weekend hosted the first round of the Spanish Motocross Élite Championship at the Calatayud circuit (a Roman-era town in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon). Let’s start with the MX1 class, where the Honda HRC Petronas Spanish rider was absolutely unbeatable: first pole position with victory in the qualifying race, then a holeshot and triumph in the first moto, and finally another holeshot and victory in the second race as well.

In MX2, the top positions were strictly a family affair—both because the two riders are brothers and because they both race for Yamaha. The weekend’s dominant force was the younger brother, Janis, who makes his class World Championship debut this year after winning the European 250 title with the same Iwata colors: pole position with brother Karlis very close but behind, then marching on with a holeshot and victory in the first moto, plus another holeshot and victory in the second and final race. Karlis Reisulis completed the family one-two in the first race, then ceded to Spain’s Adrià Monné in the last race to finish 3rd, but it changes little. The Reisulis brothers have wrapped up their preparations and are ready to make their mark in the MX2 World Championship against fierce competition.