The opening gate drops of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship fired into life at the new Bariloche MX Race Track in Patagonia on Friday, with the MXGP of Argentina kicking off in front of packed hillsides of enthusiastic motocross fans.
The brand-new circuit proved an instant hit with both riders and spectators. Much like previous Argentine venues, Bariloche delivered a fast and technical layout, with long straights and sweeping corners that developed rough, rugged lines as the day progressed. By the time the Qualifying Races rolled around, the track had become a true test, producing plenty of drama for the local crowd and those watching around the world.
In the MXGP class, one of the biggest talking points came from Tom Vialle, who launched his new Honda HRC Petronas machine into the lead straight out of the gate and never looked back. The Frenchman held off a late challenge from Lucas Coenen to claim victory by more than five seconds, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Andrea Adamo completed the podium in third. Early signs in what has been dubbed the “Battle of the Ages” suggest the younger generation has the early upper hand.
The MX2 class saw Sacha Coenen continue his blistering form, fighting through the field to secure victory for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ahead of Triumph Racing Factory Team rider Guillem Farres and Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s Mathis Valin.
With several experienced contenders encountering trouble in both classes, the stage is set for a fascinating Grand Prix Sunday as riders look to bounce back.
MXGP
It was a strong start to the weekend for the new Honda HRC Petronas pairing of Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle, who topped Free Practice with a one-two finish ahead of early pace-setter Lucas Coenen. The young Belgian managed to split the two red machines during Time Practice, but on his second flying lap “The Bullet” delivered a blistering time that was more than a second faster than Coenen’s best.
Starting from the third gate pick, Vialle grabbed a commanding holeshot in his first MXGP start, while the Red Bull KTM duo of Coenen and Andrea Adamo battled over second place. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP riders Maxime Renaux and Tim Gajser were also in the early mix ahead of Herlings.
However, disaster struck for the Dutchman almost immediately. At the start of the first full lap, Herlings’ back wheel slid out under power heading onto the start straight, sending him to the ground and forcing him to begin a charge through the pack.
Despite working his way forward, Herlings couldn’t find a way past Andrea Bonacorsi, with the pair ultimately finishing just outside the points in 11th and 12th.
Meanwhile, reigning world champion Romain Febvre made a bold move around the outside of a downhill section to pass Gajser for sixth on lap two. The Frenchman then set his sights on Ruben Fernandez, who had inherited fifth following the crash of his teammate.
Photo: Juan Pablo Acevedo
Febvre eventually made his move on the Spaniard along the pit lane straight before chasing down Renaux. Both French riders closed on Adamo in the fight for third, but the brutal roost from the 450s made it difficult to attack. Adamo held firm to secure an impressive third place in his first MXGP Qualifying Race appearance.
Lap eight produced one of the most frightening moments of the race when Gajser committed to the huge uphill triple jump only to find a lapped rider directly in his landing zone. The Slovenian clipped the rider and went down, though thankfully escaped with only minor bruising before recovering to finish 10th.
Renaux and Febvre completed the race in fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Fernandez in sixth. Pauls Jonass delivered a strong ride to seventh, while Mattia Guadagnini scored points in eighth on his debut for Venrooy KTM Racing. Calvin Vlaanderen secured ninth to give Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing its only points of the race, with Gajser rounding out the top ten.
Out front, Vialle remained calm under pressure, using smart technical lines to keep Coenen at bay. The Frenchman crossed the line to secure his first-ever MXGP Qualifying Race win in Argentina and the seventh of his career.
The result also hands him the red plate heading into Sunday’s racing, the first time he has worn it since July 2022, and gives him a perfect start to life in the premier class.
Vialle said he was thrilled to open the season with a win, explaining, “Very happy to get the win, and a great start to the season. I didn’t know where I’d place coming into this year, so it is nice to see that my speed is good enough for the front of this field.”
He added that a strong winter had helped build the momentum behind the performance. “I had a good winter of work and I’d like to thank the team for all their effort and for trusting in me, and it is good to repay them so quickly. It is only one qualifying race but it is nice to be running the red-plate tomorrow where I’ll be trying to repeat today’s results.”
MX2
In MX2, the pace-setter across both Free Practice and Time Practice was once again Sacha Coenen, who topped both sessions and was never headed. Reigning world champion Simon Längenfelder was seven-tenths of a second behind in each outing for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, while Camden McLellan secured the third gate pick for the Triumph Racing Factory Team.
At the drop of the gate, Janis Reisulis charged into the lead, giving the team its second consecutive Qualifying Race holeshot following brother Karlis Reisulis achieving the feat at last year’s final round in Australia.
Farres quickly applied pressure while Valin battled with Liam Everts for third. Coenen then made a stunning move around the outside of both riders through the third corner to launch himself into the top three.
The Belgian teenager wasn’t done yet. Moments later, he swept around the outside of Farres at the top of the biggest uphill section, putting himself into second and immediately setting his sights on race leader Janis Reisulis.
Meanwhile, disaster struck for reigning champion Simon Längenfelder, who tangled with Kay Karssemakers in the opening corner. The incident damaged his front wheel, forcing the German to pit and change it before completing a lap. A second crash two laps later on the biggest downhill section pushed him even further back, leaving him out of points contention.
Elsewhere, Noel Zanocz made an eye-catching MX2 debut by passing Everts through the waves for fourth on lap one, but his race took a turn when McLellan moved him aside while pushing forward through the pack. The Hungarian ultimately slipped to 14th at the chequered flag.
It took until midway through lap two for Coenen to finally pass Janis Reisulis for the lead, with the EMX250 champion doing his best to stay within reach. Farres and Valin then worked their way past the Latvian on successive laps, dropping him to fourth by lap six before Everts and McLellan followed through on lap nine.
Even so, sixth place marked an impressive MX2 debut for Janis Reisulis, finishing ahead of Honda HRC Petronas rider Valerio Lata.
Julius Mikula delivered the second-best Qualifying Race result of his career with eighth for Osička KTM Racing, while Cas Valk scored points on debut for CRD Motosport TM Moto in ninth. Karlis Reisulis rounded out the top ten after passing Zanocz at the halfway mark.
Late in the race, Valin attempted to close down Farres, with Everts and McLellan also pushing hard behind him, but the Spaniard held firm to secure his best-ever Saturday result with second place.
Out front, Coenen eased slightly on the final lap but still cruised to victory by nearly five seconds. There was one final twist in the closing stages when Längenfelder briefly unlapped himself after Coenen had passed him earlier, a reminder that despite his early misfortune the reigning champion could still be a factor on Sunday despite having only the 22nd gate pick.
The win gives Coenen the red plate for just the second time in his young career, while Längenfelder already faces a ten-point deficit heading into the main races.
Reflecting on the performance, Coenen admitted there is still more to come despite the victory.
“I’m quite happy,” he said. “I won, but yeah, there’s always things to do better. I was not riding at my best, but you know, I’m quite happy to have the win here and to start on pole position for tomorrow. We feel confident.”
With the 2026 MXGP season now underway, the crowds around the Bariloche hillsides are expected to swell even further for Sunday’s racing, as the opening Grand Prix promises a blockbuster day of world championship motocross.
| MXGP – Qualifying Race – MXGP of Argentina | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Nat | Bike | Gap |
| 1st | 16 | Tom Vialle | FRA | Honda | +0:00.000 |
| 2nd | 5 | Lucas Coenen | BEL | KTM | +0:05.479 |
| 3rd | 80 | Andrea Adamo | ITA | KTM | +0:12.300 |
| 4th | 959 | Maxime Renaux | FRA | Yamaha | +0:14.278 |
| 5th | 1 | Romain Febvre | FRA | Kawasaki | +0:19.850 |
| 6th | 70 | Ruben Fernandez | ESP | Honda | +0:25.297 |
| 7th | 41 | Pauls Jonass | LAT | Kawasaki | +0:31.412 |
| 8th | 101 | Mattia Guadagnini | ITA | KTM | +0:40.323 |
| 9th | 10 | Calvin Vlaanderen | NED | Ducati | +0:41.770 |
| 10th | 243 | Tim Gajser | SLO | Yamaha | +0:43.524 |
| 11th | 132 | Andrea Bonacorsi | ITA | Ducati | +0:49.517 |
| 12th | 84 | Jeffrey Herlings | NED | Honda | +0:57.499 |
| 13th | 24 | Kevin Horgmo | NOR | Honda | +0:58.622 |
| 14th | 83 | Oriol Oliver | ESP | KTM | +0:45.781 |
| 15th | 32 | Brent Van doninck | BEL | Fantic | +1:05.054 |
| 16th | 91 | Jeremy Seewer | SUI | Ducati | +1:05.962 |
| 17th | 303 | Alberto Forato | ITA | Fantic | +1:19.851 |
| 18th | 9 | Thibault Benistant | FRA | Honda | +1:24.764 |
| 19th | 87 | Kevin Brumann | SUI | Husqvarna | +1:27.211 |
| 20th | 93 | Jago Geerts | BEL | Beta | +1:29.227 |
| 21st | 253 | Jan Pancar | SLO | KTM | +1:44.812 |
| 22nd | 107 | Lars van Berkel | NED | Fantic | +1:45.877 |
| 23rd | 179 | Joaquin Poli | ARG | Kawasaki | +1:59.717 |
| 24th | 789 | Marco Antezana | BOL | Yamaha | +1 lap |
| 25th | 176 | Sergio Villaronga Muga | CHI | Honda | +1 lap |
| 26th | 181 | Fermin Ciccimarra | ARG | Yamaha | +1 lap |
| 27th | 165 | Carlos Badiali | VEN | Yamaha | +1 lap |
| 28th | 85 | Agustin Carrasco | ARG | Yamaha | +1 lap |
| 29th | 151 | Tomas Montes Gadda | ARG | Kawasaki | +1 lap |
| 30th | 102 | Santiago Montero | ARG | GASGAS | +1 lap |
| 31st | 191 | Juan Ignacio Salgado | ARG | Fantic | +1 lap |
| 32nd | 494 | Flavio Nicolas Sastre | ARG | Honda | +1 lap |
| 33rd | 145 | Victor Francisco Garcia Hernandez | MEX | KTM | +9 laps |
| MX2 – Qualifying Race – MXGP of Argentina | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Nat | Bike | Gap |
| 1st | 19 | Sacha Coenen | BEL | KTM | +0:00.000 |
| 2nd | 99 | Guillem Farres | ESP | Triumph | +0:04.896 |
| 3rd | 317 | Mathis Valin | FRA | Kawasaki | +0:05.851 |
| 4th | 26 | Liam Everts | BEL | Husqvarna | +0:07.208 |
| 5th | 8 | Camden Mc Lellan | RSA | Triumph | +0:10.031 |
| 6th | 772 | Janis Martins Reisulis | LAT | Yamaha | +0:24.719 |
| 7th | 18 | Valerio Lata | ITA | Honda | +0:36.563 |
| 8th | 20 | Julius Mikula | CZE | KTM | +0:40.002 |
| 9th | 172 | Cas Valk | NED | TM | +0:41.708 |
| 10th | 47 | Karlis Alberts Reisulis | LAT | Yamaha | +0:46.935 |
| 11th | 48 | Jens Walvoort | NED | KTM | +0:55.712 |
| 12th | 33 | Kay Karssemakers | NED | Kawasaki | +0:58.906 |
| 13th | 398 | Benjamin Garib | CHI | Honda | +1:02.381 |
| 14th | 716 | Noel Zanocz | HUN | KTM | +1:05.274 |
| 15th | 22 | David Braceras | ESP | Triumph | +1:06.729 |
| 16th | 83 | Maxime Grau | FRA | Honda | +1:13.329 |
| 17th | 408 | Scott Smulders | NED | Husqvarna | +1:15.806 |
| 18th | 97 | Simone Mancini | ITA | Ducati | +1:31.526 |
| 19th | 104 | Jose Morera | VEN | Kawasaki | +2:01.597 |
| 20th | 154 | Carlos Andres Padilla Duran | BOL | GASGAS | +2:09.075 |
| 21st | 117 | Juan Felipe Garcia | ARG | Fantic | +2:26.329 |
| 22nd | 1 | Simon Längenfelder | GER | KTM | +1 lap |
| 23rd | 15 | Juan Ignacio Piermarini | ARG | Honda | +1 lap |
| 24th | 34 | Rodrigo Stuardo | CHI | Fantic | +1 lap |
| 25th | 204 | Felipe Quirno Costa | ARG | Honda | +1 lap |
| 26th | 66 | Miguel Rojas | COL | KTM | +1 lap |
| 27th | 13 | Manuel Torrado | ARG | GASGAS | +1 lap |
| 28th | 555 | Dante Paolo Poggio | MEX | GASGAS | +2 laps |
| 29th | 146 | Alfonso Bratschi | URU | KTM | +3 laps |
