MXGP is an uphill climb not just for Ducati: Argentina proves jinxed for Fantic and Beta too

Fantic and Beta between unfortunate episodes and crashes: the 2026 MXGP season has not started in the best way for the Italian manufacturers.

We have already talked about Ducati’s season debut, but it’s not the only tricolor brand in the Motocross World Championship. Fantic and Beta too, like the Red one, did not experience a particularly memorable first round. Let’s start with the latter brand: with Rick Elzinga still out since last January due to injury (left kneecap, the result of a training collision), all hopes were pinned on Jago Geerts, seeking redemption in his third MXGP season, this time on the brand-new RX 450 after eight years with Yamaha. Unfortunately, the weekend in Argentina turned out tougher than expected... Ups and downs instead for the Lombard-Venetian company, which with Brent Van Doninck and Alberto Forato brought the factory team’s Fantic XXF 450 to 12th and 18th overall respectively: cautious for the former, particularly unlucky for the latter, for a final result that doesn’t satisfy and for which they’re seeking a swift rebound.

Alberto Forato was certainly the Fantic rider looking with great hope to the first 2026 MXGP outing: an Italian and Venetian pairing, so there was double determination to make a strong impression right from the first world GP. The hope is that he used up his entire quota of bad luck... In the winter prep races he had already shown a good feeling with the XXF 450, but in Argentina everything went wrong. Unlucky episodes in free practice, a stone to an eye and 17th place in qualifying, and things didn’t go better in Sunday’s two races, with messy starts in which he always got caught up. He finished the first moto in P20 and thus in the points, despite restarting from the back and with a damaged front brake.

Race 2, on the other hand, started oddly due to gate issues, followed by a red flag, but at the second restart he again got tangled in a crash in the first corners, with his bike trapped under two others. On the restart, once more from the back, he was 15th, which ultimately meant a particularly bitter 18th overall. "This is certainly not the season debut I wanted, let’s hope we’re luckier in Spain" was Forato’s comment. On the other side of the box came a "I know I’m a bit like a diesel, I always need a few races to find the right rhythm". Brent van Doninck brought home a 13th and an 11th in the motos to secure P12 overall: nothing to write home about, as he himself admitted, but a base to build on for a step forward already at the next round.

For Jago Geerts, we’re talking about a feeling still to be fully built with the Beta, as shown by a gloomy 20th in qualifying. The Beta MRT Racing Team standard-bearer was putting together a fine comeback in Sunday’s first moto. On lap eight, however, a violent landing from a jump onto a hidden rock caused a nasty crash, forcing him to retire and preventing him from lining up for Race 2. "It was a disastrous weekend," admitted the Belgian, without sugarcoating it. "In the race I felt better on the bike, but I hit a rock and had a bad crash. I’m feeling the effects, but luckily I didn’t suffer any serious consequences" Geerts reassured, as he works hard on recovery to be fully ready for the next round. We’ll see whether Beta can also get Elzinga back, or if his season debut will be postponed again.