Valerio Lata and Honda HRC Petronas part ways; no final three MX2 races

Official: after his eighth Italian title, Valerio Lata and Honda HRC Petronas have confirmed the end of their collaboration in MX2.

The split comes after the eighth Italian title won last weekend. Valerio Lata has officially ended his collaboration with Honda HRC Petronas for the MX2 World Championship, a joint decision made after the last Dutch GP but revealed only on the eve of this weekend’s round in Turkey. The Golden Wing factory team will therefore continue only with the MXGP project led by Jeffrey Herlings, Tom Vialle, and Ruben Fernandez. Rumors of a possible early split had been circulating for some time; now it’s certain that the Italian will not contest the final three events of the 2026 season.

A season that didn’t meet expectations for either the rider (who had already expressed his frustration on several occasions) or for Honda, hence the decision to part ways. There’s no shortage of rumors about the Roman rider’s possible future: paddock whispers point to a move to Team De Carli, namely Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, where he could ride a factory KTM starting next season. With the Coenen twins moving to the United States, two seats remain open and the idea is enticing... But for now these are only unconfirmed rumors; we’ll see later what decision the newly crowned Italian champion of the class will make.

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