2026 MOMENTUM BUILDING

As if the 2026 season wasn’t going to be exciting enough, with the new teams and colours for Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser, plus the addition of three former MX2 champions in Kay de Wolf, Tom Vialle and Andrea Adamo.

MXGP commentator, a former GP winner and MXoN winner Paul Malin is very excited for what is coming in 2026. Having been involved in the sport since he was a child, the former British racer knows that the return of Foxhills is also special. Malin actually won at the circuit back in the 1990s.

“There is a lot,” Malin said. “A lot in terms of 16 GP winners and 8 of those are world champions. If you count the riders who have won in MXGP alone and the world champions. We have a lot of team changes and class changes. Everyone knows where everyone is going. We have three world MX2 champions coming up in Vialle, De Wolf and Adamo, so a lot of talent and massively looking forward to it.”

We then have the Ducati team moving to Louis Vosters and Calvin Vlaanderen joining that team and the introduction of Ben Watson back on a formidable bike in the Triumph. Of course, the Romain Febvre vs Lucas Coenen battle could again be the highlight, but there is so much to look forward to and now we have the South African Grand Prix announced.

Vlaanderen knows that racing for the famous Ducati factory will be a big deal, but like Malin, he too is excited to see what happens in MXGP, with so many changes and new venues on the calendar.

“I think it’s good for the sport,” Vlaanderen said. “I hope MXGP does well in promoting it, getting it out to the people. I think for the fans, it is so cool to see so many riders in different bikes and in different colours. I am also super excited with this Ducati deal. When things were getting down the road (with Ducati), getting more organized and I was getting closer and closer to signing, I was getting really excited.”

Starting in what is going to be a very exciting circuit in Bariloche in Argentina and ending in Darwin, Australia, we already know the beginning and the end are going to be epic. Speaking to locals in Bariloche, the city will open its arms to the MXGP paddock and with a wide range of hotels and holidays resorts, this will be a much better setting than either of the previous venues in Argentina.

Darwin won the GP of the season, and while I had some question marks heading to Darwin, it blew my mind how good the Grand Prix was, and how big the crowd was. Expect 2026 to be even better and the crowd to be even bigger.

Now, as we also return to South Africa, many of us that were lucky to attend the rounds in 2004, 2005 and 2008 will know what this beautiful country brings, not only in a stunning motocross event, but also the national parks and hustle and bustle of Johannesburg.

When you consider Foxhills is also back on the MXGP calendar, for the first time in decades, and many of the old guard circuits like Lommel, Agueda, Montevarchi, Loket and Teutschenthal remain, it’s a great mix of traditional circuits, mixed with some very new facilities.

Photo credit: KTM