Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) wins the Grand Prix of Portugal ahead of Lucas Coenen

French HRC factory rider Tom Vialle also took the holeshot in the second MXGP race and led the race ahead of Lucas Coenen (KTM) and Pauls Jonass (Kawasaki). He was followed by the other two HRC factory riders, Ruben Fernandez and Jeffrey Herlings. Lucas Coenen used the outside lines to build up momentum and overtake the Frenchman to take the lead.

Tom Vialle falls back

Tom Vialle, who is still dealing with the aftermath of his crash in France, fell well behind in the second race too and ended the day in 12th place overall with a 15-13 result.

Herlings attacked with determination

“In the first race, it took me too long to get past my team-mate,” explained ‘The Bullet’ after the race. “But Lucas is simply too fast at the front. I didn’t want to give him too much time to build up a lead.” Herlings finished second, having spent seven laps behind Coenen. Suddenly, he found himself right on Coenen’s tail and seized the first opportunity that presented itself to take the lead.

Was Herlings’ overtaking manoeuvre unfair?

Coenen himself described Herlings’ manoeuvre after the race as ‘dirty’. In a right-hand bend, Herlings took the inside line, pushed Coenen outwards, cut in front of Coenen’s front wheel, braked and completely cut off the Belgian’s path, forcing him to slam on the brakes as well. “I don’t actually like dirty moves,” said Herlings after the race, “but I couldn’t find any other way past him.” Much like a week ago in Montevarchi, Herlings and Coenen were level on points at the end of Sunday’s race. The tiebreaker in the Dutchman’s favour was his better performance in the second race.

No revenge for Lucas Coenen

With the bigger picture in mind, Coenen avoided confrontation, allowing Herlings to secure the 117th Grand Prix victory of his career. In total, Lucas Coenen scored 57 points in Portugal, including the qualifying race, compared to Herlings’ 56 points. Lucas Coenen was therefore even able to extend his lead in the World Championship standings by one point. His frustration at missing out on the race and Grand Prix victory was thus kept in check.

Podium for Romain Febvre

Defending champion Romain Febvre had to fight his way up the field from 7th place after a poor start. In the closing stages of the race, he put pressure on Tim Gajser (Yamaha) in third place. Gajser crashed, his airbag deployed and, under these circumstances, the Slovenian was naturally unable to do much more. Gajser finished the second race in fourth place once again.

World Championship points for Kevin Brumann

The only rider from the German-speaking world, Kevin Brumann (Husqvarna) from Switzerland, scored a total of 6 World Championship points by finishing 18th in both races, marking his best result of the season. In the World Championship standings, Kevin Brumann is in 28th place with 19 points.

Next Grand Prix: South Africa

This coming weekend, the 2026 Motocross World Championship continues with the 11th round in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Results: Grand Prix of Portugal, Águeda

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 47 points, 2-1

2. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 47, 1-2

3. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 40, 3-3

4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 36, 4-4

5. Ruben Fernandez (E), Honda, 32, 5-5

6. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, 30, 6-6

7. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 27, 8-7

8. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 26, 7-9

9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NL), Ducati, 24, 10-8

10. Kevin Horgmo (N), Honda, 20, 12-10

11. Jan Pancar (SLO), KTM, 20, 11-11

12. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 14, 15-13

13. Alberto Forato (I), Fantic, 14, 13-15

14. Ben Watson (GB), Triumph, 13, 17-12

15. Jago Geerts (B), Beta, 12, 16-14

16. Brent van Doninck (B), Fantic, 12, 14-16

17. Oriol Oliver (E), KTM, 12, 9-DNF

18. Kevin Brumann (CH), Husqvarna, 6, 18-18

19. Rick Elzinga (NL), KTM, 5, 20-17

20. Victor Alonso (E), Ducati, 2, 23-19

World Championship standings after round 10 of 19:

1. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 506

2. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 449 (-57)

3. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 394 (-112)

4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 371 (-135)

5. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 334 (-172)

6. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 313 (-193)

7. Ruben Fernandez (E), Honda, 304 (-202)

8. Kay de Wolf (NL), Husqvarna, 273 (-233)

9. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 265 (-241)

10. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, 234 (-272)

11. Calvin Vlaanderen (NL), Ducati, 198 (-308)