Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) wins the Foxhills Grand Prix; World Championship wide open again

Round 12 of the MXGP Motocross World Championship at Foxhills (England): World Championship leader Lucas Coenen did start the second race, but on lap 4 the Belgian was forced to retire in frustration. He dismounted his bike in the pits and could barely walk due to severe pain in his left leg. As a result, Lucas finished this Grand Prix without a single World Championship point. His closest rival, Jeffrey Herlings (HRC), made no mistakes, securing the maximum 50 World Championship points in both races and thereby closing the gap to the top of the standings. The Dutchman managed to reduce his deficit from 68 points to 11 points in Britain. This means the 2026 World Championship is once again wide open.

Lucas Coenen beendete auch den zweiten Lauf an der Box

Foto: MXGP-TV

Herlings takes the holeshot

Jeffrey Herlings also took the holeshot in the second race ahead of Tom Vialle, Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre. Gajser moved into second place on the very first lap and put ‘The Bullet’ under pressure right from the start.

Mass crash at the start of the race

In the rhythm section during the first lap, a mass crash occurred in the midfield, involving, amongst others, Ducati factory rider Calvin Vlaanderen and local hero Ben Watson (Triumph). Vlaanderen was pinned under his bike, but Ben Watson managed to free the South African from his predicament. Vlaanderen was subsequently unable to continue the race.

Herlings withstood the pressure

Tim Gajser never let the gap to the leading Dutchman get too big at any stage and set about attacking ‘The Bullet’. In lap 11, however, the Slovenian made a minor mistake: he went down over his front wheel, thereby clearing the way for Romain Febvre. The Frenchman then closed the gap on Herlings and attacked right up to the finish, but Herlings retained control and won the second race as well, by a margin of 1.3 seconds. Febvre and Gajser finished level on 42 points. The tiebreaker in Febvre’s favour was his better performance in the second race.

Tim Gajser stürzte im zweiten Lauf von Foxhills

Foto: MXGP-TV

Jeremy Seewer finishes 6th on his KTM debut

With a 8-7 result, Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer finished his first outing on a KTM in 6th place in the day’s standings. Cato Nickel (Honda) picked up two World Championship points in 19th place in the second race

Serious crash for Pauls Jonass

Latvian Kawasaki factory rider Pauls Jonass crashed in the second race and required medical attention. The red cross flag was waved at the scene of the accident for several laps. No information is currently available regarding the nature or severity of his injuries.

Next stop: Loket

In a week’s time, the World Championship continues in Loket with Round 13, which is also on a classic hard-pack track. The big question is: just how badly injured is Lucas Coenen, and will those few days be enough for him to be fully fit again? The top of the World Championship standings is tightening up once more and things are set to get really exciting in the second half of the season.

MXGP Grand Prix of Great Britain:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 1-1, 50 points

2. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 3-2, 42 (-8)

3. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 2-3, 42 (-8)

4. Rubén Fernández (E), Honda, 4-4, 36 (-14)

5. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 5-5, 32 (-18)

6. Jeremy Seewer (CH), KTM, 8-7, 27 (-23)

7. Kevin Horgmo (N), Honda, 9-8, 25 (-25)

8. Jan Pancar (SLO), KTM, 7-11, 24 (-26)

9. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 6-12, 24 (-26)

10. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 14-6, 22 (-28)

MXGP World Championship standings after round 12 of 19

1. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 566 points

2. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 555 (-11)

3. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 494 (-72)

4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 452 (-114)

5. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 392 (-174)

6. Rubén Fernández (E), Honda, 378 (-188)

7. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 375 (-191)

8. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 317 (-249)

9. Kay de Wolf (NL), Husqvarna, 273 (-293)

10. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, 273 (-293)