Tim Gajser and Mathis Valin Claim Qualifying Victories At MXGP of Italy

The Tuscan hills turned up the heat on Saturday at Montevarchi, with temperatures climbing into the high 30s as the historic Crossdromo Miravalle circuit delivered exactly the kind of old-school challenge riders expected.

The hard-packed surface demanded precise throttle control and an ability to find traction on a slick, unforgiving track, setting the stage for a pair of dramatic qualifying races at round nine of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship.

Poor starts and first-turn incidents disrupted the plans of many championship contenders in both classes, creating opportunities for some unexpected names to shine while the sport’s biggest stars were forced into recovery rides.

In MXGP, Tim Gajser claimed his first qualifying race victory in more than a year and his first since joining Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP. The Slovenian also led home a remarkable Slovenian one-two, with privateer Jan Pancar producing the ride of his career to finish second, while former MX2 World Champion Andrea Adamo completed the podium.

MX2 belonged to Mathis Valin, who dominated proceedings to secure the third qualifying race victory of his career. Guillem Farres and Camden McLellan fought through first-lap adversity to finish second and third, respectively, with Farres moving into second place in the championship standings heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix races.

MX1

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP started the day strongly, locking out the top two positions in Free Practice with Gajser fastest ahead of teammate Maxime Renaux, while Romain Febvre was third.

The pace intensified during Time Practice as Febvre produced a late flyer to secure first gate pick for the qualifying race. Jeffrey Herlings put his Honda HRC Petronas machine second fastest ahead of Gajser, Renaux and surprise package Pancar. Championship leader Lucas Coenen raised some eyebrows after finishing only 13th.

When the gate dropped, returning rider Tom Vialle initially appeared to have grabbed the holeshot, but a wide line allowed Pancar to slip underneath and seize the lead. The Slovenian immediately found himself at the head of the field ahead of Alberto Forato, delighting the Italian fans lining the circuit.

Vialle briefly held third before Gajser charged through with an aggressive move in front of pit lane. The Yamaha rider then quickly disposed of Forato to move into second, while Adamo also worked his way past the Italian into third.

Further back, Renaux moved past Vialle, while Calvin Vlaanderen joined the battle.

Remarkably, the championship’s top three riders were nowhere near the front. Coenen, Febvre and Herlings completed the opening lap in 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively and struggled to make immediate progress on the slick circuit.

There was further drama after Time Practice incidents left both Kay de Wolf and Ruben Fernandez nursing injuries. Fernandez suffered a heavy crash, with de Wolf colliding with the fallen Spaniard. Both riders attempted to race after qualifying inside the top ten but eventually withdrew due to pain and remain doubtful for Sunday.

It took Gajser until lap four to finally get past Pancar, executing a clean inside move at the top of the circuit above the grandstands. Once in front, the Slovenian immediately stretched a gap while Adamo was unable to bridge the distance to the leading pair.

Behind them, Forato continued to hold fourth under constant pressure from Renaux. As Coenen, Febvre and Herlings steadily worked their way through the field, they capitalised on a small crash from Vlaanderen and moved into sixth, seventh and eighth positions by lap nine.

The trio remained locked together for two more laps before Renaux finally found a way past Forato for fourth.

Coenen then attempted his own move on the Italian, but as the Belgian was squeezed to the inside of a downhill right-hander, Febvre seized the opportunity and swept around the outside to steal sixth place. The Frenchman followed it up with a clever outside-to-inside move on Forato on the penultimate lap, eventually relegating the Fantic rider to eighth at the finish.

Forato still secured his equal-best result of the season and finished ahead of Vialle and Pauls Jonass.

Febvre closed rapidly on Renaux in the closing laps but could not find a way through, leaving the French pair fourth and fifth. Coenen finished sixth ahead of Herlings, gaining another valuable championship point on his title rival.

After several difficult Grands Prix, Gajser finally returned to the top step. Speaking after the race, the five-time world champion said, “I’m so happy. The first qualifying win with Yamaha is special, and to do it here in Italy. I was feeling good all day long. The track was not the easiest, so the start was really important. I got a solid start from the inside and then made a pass quite quickly at the beginning. Jan was riding really good, but once I made the pass I pushed for a couple of laps to make the gap, and that’s what I did, then just controlled the race. Tomorrow is going to be a hot one, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Pancar’s second place was comfortably the best result of his MXGP career, improving on the fourth-place finish he achieved in Germany last season. The privateer was delighted with his breakthrough performance, saying, “You could nearly say it was a Slovenian national championship out there. But yeah, I’m really happy to be in front. I got the holeshot. I was always saying I needed that start to be up front, and today I got it. The riding was good.”

Adamo matched his best MXGP qualifying result of the season and moved ahead of the injured Fernandez into seventh in the championship standings. The Italian praised Pancar’s performance before reflecting on his own race, saying, “First of all, congrats to Jan, who’s a privateer, to finish P2 so close to Tim. That’s amazing, so congrats to him. My race didn’t have the best start. I had a good jump, but in the first corner I didn’t make the right choices and had to fight my way back from P6 to P3. After that I had a solid race. Looking forward to tomorrow.”

The championship battle remains finely poised. Coenen continues to lead on 409 points ahead of Herlings on 346 and Febvre on 316, while Gajser closes to within 105 points of the red plate in fourth.

MX2

The MX2 class delivered just as much drama.

Farres set the pace in Free Practice by more than half a second over championship leader Sacha Coenen, while local favourite Ferruccio Zanchi impressed in third. Unfortunately, the rider from nearby Florence suffered a painful crash during Time Practice before a technical issue on the start line prevented him from even taking part in the qualifying race.

Coenen restored order in Time Practice, claiming first gate pick ahead of Liam Everts, making it a Belgian one-two. Farres was third, rookie Janis Reisulis fourth and McLellan fifth.

The start of the qualifying race turned everything upside down.

Reigning world champion Simon Längenfelder launched well but slid out in the opening turn, triggering a chain reaction that collected Coenen, Farres, Everts and Janis Reisulis. Several of the championship contenders found themselves on the ground before the race had properly begun.

Sixteen-year-old Italian Andrea Uccellini briefly found himself leading, proudly carrying the team’s special home-race livery. However, starting from the 11th gate pick, Valin swept into the lead through turn two and immediately began building an advantage.

Behind him, Jens Walvoort ran second ahead of Noel Zanocz, while Italian rider Morgan Bennati also enjoyed a strong early showing.

Coenen’s recovery was impressive as he charged to 10th by the completion of the first full lap. Farres wasn’t far behind in 12th, while Everts and Längenfelder languished down in 22nd and 27th respectively.

Uccellini eventually slipped backwards but still claimed an impressive 14th place finish.

Walvoort and Zanocz maintained their positions near the front until Farres produced one of the rides of the race. After making several decisive passes, including a move on Karlis Reisulis, the Spaniard surged into second place on lap seven.

McLellan followed his teammate through the field and secured third place, while Coenen’s charge was briefly halted by a rear-end slide near pit lane. The Belgian quickly remounted and continued forward, eventually passing both Zanocz and Walvoort with three laps remaining.

The move disrupted Walvoort’s momentum sufficiently for Zanocz to also get through, allowing the Hungarian to celebrate fifth place and his first-ever Saturday championship points.

Walvoort then lost sixth on the final lap to Janis Reisulis, while Karlis Reisulis finished eighth ahead of Everts and Kay Karssemakers. Längenfelder recovered strongly but narrowly missed the points in 11th.

Out front, Valin was untouchable. Despite difficult practice sessions and a problem before the gate dropped, the French teenager controlled the race from the front.

After the victory, Valin explained, “Timed practice and free practice were horrible for me today. And just before going into the gate I had a problem, so it was tough. That’s why I was a bit far back, but I managed a good start and took the holeshot, so I’m really proud of that. It was a good, consistent lap. I had to manage the race a bit because the heat is quite crazy and we need to save energy for tomorrow. See you tomorrow.”

The result moves Valin ahead of Everts into fifth in the championship standings, while Farres’ second-place finish sees the Spaniard leapfrog Längenfelder into second overall. Coenen still leads the championship with 387 points, but Farres has reduced the gap to 38 points and established himself as a genuine title contender heading into the second half of the season.

With championship contenders recovering from crashes, surprise podium finishers emerging and Montevarchi’s slippery hard-pack surface continuing to catch riders out, Sunday’s MXGP of Italy is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable Grands Prix of the year.

MXGP – Qualifying Race – MXGP of Italy
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1st	243	Tim Gajser	SLO	Yamaha	+0:00.000
2nd	253	Jan Pancar	SLO	KTM	+0:04.855
3rd	80	Andrea Adamo	ITA	KTM	+0:07.065
4th	959	Maxime Renaux	FRA	Yamaha	+0:10.800
5th	1	Romain Febvre	FRA	Kawasaki	+0:11.947
6th	5	Lucas Coenen	BEL	KTM	+0:14.911
7th	84	Jeffrey Herlings	NED	Honda	+0:17.335
8th	303	Alberto Forato	ITA	Fantic	+0:18.302
9th	16	Tom Vialle	FRA	Honda	+0:18.623
10th	41	Pauls Jonass	LAT	Kawasaki	+0:23.083
11th	10	Calvin Vlaanderen	NED	Ducati	+0:26.044
12th	24	Kevin Horgmo	NOR	Honda	+0:39.916
13th	93	Jago Geerts	BEL	Beta	+0:43.661
14th	83	Oriol Oliver	ESP	KTM	+0:45.490
15th	131	Cato Nickel	GER	Honda	+0:56.559
16th	4	Rick Elzinga	NED	KTM	+1:00.394
17th	811	Adam Sterry	GBR	KTM	+1:01.491
18th	87	Kevin Brumann	SUI	Husqvarna	+1:04.128
19th	21	Nicholas Lapucci	ITA	Honda	+1:05.993
20th	180	Leopold Ambjörnson	SWE	Honda	+1:22.786
21st	64	Romain Pape	FRA	Yamaha	+1:25.029
22nd	499	Emanuele Alberio	ITA	Husqvarna	+1:28.325
23rd	56	Matteo Puccinelli	ITA	Honda	+1:45.607
24th	174	Alessandro Valeri	ITA	Honda	+1:47.553
25th	123	Federico Tuani	ITA	Honda	+1:49.734
26th	120	Cedric Soubeyras	FRA	Honda	+1:50.239
27th	68	Luca Cardaccia	ITA	Yamaha	+2:00.857
28th	308	Lorenzo Albieri	ITA	Husqvarna	+2:28.590
29th	584	Cameron Anthony Durow	RSA	KTM	+1 lap
30th	328	Theo Praun	GER	Yamaha	+1 lap
31st	128	Ivo Monticelli	ITA	Kawasaki	+5 laps
32nd	70	Ruben Fernandez	ESP	Honda	+10 laps
33rd	74	Kay de Wolf	NED	Husqvarna	+11 laps

MXGP – Championship Standings After Qualifying – MXGP of Italy
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Total	Gap
1st	5	Lucas Coenen	BEL	KTM	409 Points	+0
2nd	84	Jeffrey Herlings	NED	HONDA	346 Points	+63
3rd	1	Romain Febvre	FRA	KAWASAKI	316 Points	+93
4th	243	Tim Gajser	SLO	YAMAHA	304 Points	+105
5th	74	Kay de Wolf	NED	HUSQVARNA	273 Points	+136
6th	959	Maxime Renaux	FRA	YAMAHA	268 Points	+141
7th	80	Andrea Adamo	ITA	KTM	249 Points	+160
8th	70	Ruben Fernandez	ESP	HONDA	247 Points	+162
9th	16	Tom Vialle	FRA	HONDA	221 Points	+188
10th	41	Pauls Jonass	LAT	KAWASAKI	176 Points	+233
11th	303	Alberto Forato	ITA	FANTIC	154 Points	+255
12th	10	Calvin Vlaanderen	NED	DUCATI	144 Points	+265
13th	24	Kevin Horgmo	NOR	HONDA	129 Points	+280
14th	83	Oriol Oliver	ESP	KTM	120 Points	+289
15th	253	Jan Pancar	SLO	KTM	92 Points	+317
16th	32	Brent Van doninck	BEL	FANTIC	74 Points	+335
17th	101	Mattia Guadagnini	ITA	KTM	69 Points	+340
18th	93	Jago Geerts	BEL	BETA	63 Points	+346
19th	919	Ben Watson	GBR	TRIUMPH	57 Points	+352
20th	39	Roan van de Moosdijk	NED	KTM	50 Points	+359

MX2 – Qualifying Race – MXGP of Italy
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1st	317	Mathis Valin	FRA	Kawasaki	+0:00.000
2nd	99	Guillem Farres	ESP	Triumph	+0:02.887
3rd	8	Camden Mc Lellan	RSA	Triumph	+0:04.002
4th	19	Sacha Coenen	BEL	KTM	+0:16.035
5th	716	Noel Zanocz	HUN	KTM	+0:20.380
6th	772	Janis Martins Reisulis	LAT	Yamaha	+0:21.235
7th	48	Jens Walvoort	NED	KTM	+0:23.273
8th	47	Karlis Alberts Reisulis	LAT	Yamaha	+0:30.071
9th	26	Liam Everts	BEL	Husqvarna	+0:32.516
10th	33	Kay Karssemakers	NED	Kawasaki	+0:37.917
11th	1	Simon Längenfelder	GER	KTM	+0:39.486
12th	20	Julius Mikula	CZE	KTM	+0:45.783
13th	83	Maxime Grau	FRA	Honda	+0:55.547
14th	353	Andrea Uccellini	ITA	TM	+1:00.412
15th	420	Andrea Rossi	ITA	KTM	+1:05.766
16th	71	Morgan Bennati	ITA	Triumph	+1:10.411
17th	23	Remo Schudel	SUI	KTM	+1:14.769
18th	44	Nike Korsbeck	SWE	Triumph	+1:23.577
19th	456	Ollie Colmer	GBR	KTM	+1:26.458
20th	18	Valerio Lata	ITA	Honda	+1:41.038
21st	651	Giovanni Meneghello	ITA	KTM	+1:48.096
22nd	336	Lorenzo Aglietti	ITA	Husqvarna	+1:49.309
23rd	284	Giorgio Orlando	ITA	Kawasaki	+1:50.271
24th	63	Jaka Peklaj	SLO	Husqvarna	+1:50.723
25th	125	Alessandro Sadovschi	ITA	Husqvarna	+1:53.607
26th	134	Iacopo Fabbri	ITA	Honda	+1:58.984
27th	298	Levi Chanton	SUI	KTM	+1 lap
28th	467	Jakub Zahradník	CZE	KTM	+1 lap
29th	938	Rodolfo Bicalho	BRA	KTM	+1 lap
30th	98	Alessandro Gaspari	ITA	KTM	+1 lap
31st	321	Alessandro Traversini	ITA	KTM	+1 lap
32nd	140	Tommaso Lodi	ITA	Kawasaki	+1 lap

MX2 – Championship Standings After Qualifying – MXGP of Italy
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Total	Gap
1st	19	Sacha Coenen	BEL	KTM	387 Points	+0
2nd	99	Guillem Farres	ESP	TRI	349 Points	+38
3rd	1	Simon Längenfelder	GER	KTM	343 Points	+44
4th	8	Camden Mc Lellan	RSA	TRI	334 Points	+53
5th	317	Mathis Valin	FRA	KAW	318 Points	+69
6th	26	Liam Everts	BEL	HUS	316 Points	+71
7th	772	Janis Martins Reisulis	LAT	YAM	285 Points	+102
8th	47	Karlis Alberts Reisulis	LAT	YAM	226 Points	+161
9th	18	Valerio Lata	ITA	HON	216 Points	+171
10th	33	Kay Karssemakers	NED	KAW	162 Points	+225
11th	20	Julius Mikula	CZE	KTM	144 Points	+243
12th	716	Noel Zanocz	HUN	KTM	114 Points	+273
13th	83	Ferruccio Zanchi	FRA	HON	114 Points	+273
14th	48	Jens Walvoort	NED	KTM	94 Points	+293
15th	172	Cas Valk	NED	TM	87 Points	+300
16th	73	Ferruccio Zanchi	ITA	DUC	67 Points	+320
17th	408	Scott Smulders	NED	HUS	57 Points	+330
18th	420	Andrea Rossi	ITA	KTM	52 Points	+335
19th	12	P. Gundersen	NOR	HUS	46 Points	+341
20th	29	F. Garcia	ESP	KAW	25 Points	+362