FRAUENFELD (Switzerland) 29th March 2026 – Round three of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championships was held under the first wet conditions of the season today, as the Schollenholz circuit was drenched with overnight rain that continued intermittently until the second half of Sunday’s GP race programme. The conditions made the tricky circuit all the more challenging and produced a uniquely dramatic day at the MXGP of Switzerland Presented by iXS!
Mastering the mud to take his first Grand Prix victory in the MXGP class was Tom Vialle, with a clear win in race one for Honda HRC Petronas, backing it up with a fight through the field in race two during a GP that was full of mixed fortunes across the board!
There was joy for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP with their first double podium since Finland in August 2022, as Maxime Renaux and Tim Gajser took second position in either moto and backed it up amongst the chaos to take second and third overall. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teenager Lucas Coenen kept the red plate as Championship leader thanks to a runaway win in race two.
The red plate in MX2 did change hands, however, as reigning World Champion Simon Längenfelder took it back for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing with a 1-3 scoreline, while the Triumph Factory Racing Team enjoyed another race win for Guillem Farres, who took second overall ahead of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Liam Everts, who scored his first podium result of the season.
There were strange stories everywhere in both classes, as enthusiastic fans braved the conditions to give us a fantastic atmosphere for the tenth MXGP event in this part of the country!
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Main Photo: Tom Vialle; Top Photo: MXGP Start Frauenfeld
The experienced riders topped the timings in the muddy Warm-Up session, with Tim Gajser fastest ahead of his long-time rival Romain Febvre on the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP machine. Norwegian Kevin Horgmo was a happy third for Team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul.
Lucas Coenen grabbed his first Fox Holeshot Award of the season as the pack fired into race one, but Tom Vialle was immediately alongside the Belgian, forcing into the lead through the second corner, a move that was to prove vital to the day’s outcome!
Determined not to follow, with Jeffrey Herlings snapping at their heels in third for Honda HRC Petronas, Coenen took an outside line into the third corner of the race, and it went badly wrong! The deep rut hooked his chain from its sprocket and sent the teenager flying over the handlebars! On picking up his machine, he saw that it was not going anywhere. The help required to refit the chain broke the long-standing regulation on outside assistance, and he was disqualified from the race, although he continued until the finish, clocking the fastest lap on his second angry circulation!
This made it a Honda HRC Petronas 1-2, as Herlings defended his second position from Febvre. Maxime Renaux was in fourth ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Andrea Adamo, although the third factory Honda of Ruben Fernandez used a fast line down the back straight to pass the Italian.
Amazingly, Herlings suffered a similar issue to Coenen, and although he didn’t crash, this was now another bike going nowhere fast. In a golden opportunity to make points on the series leader, “The Bullet” was relegated to a zero score of his own! Four laps later, it was Febvre’s turn to deal with adversity, as one of the deep ruts ripped his left foot off the peg through the corner after the finish line. He dropped to fourth behind Renaux and a flying Fernandez, and those positions were kept to the flag.
Kay de Wolf moved forward to take a fine fifth for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, and after Adamo suffered yet another chain problem, Alberto Forato took sixth for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP. Febvre’s Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP stablemate Pauls Jonass took seventh ahead of Horgmo, Gajser, and Calvin Vlaanderen in tenth, the top rider for the Red Bull Ducati Factory MX Team.
Vialle’s 45th career GP race win was his first in the MXGP class, and put him back on top of the Championship at the end of the race, as he finished over ten seconds clear of Renaux and Fernandez.
An obviously aggrieved Coenen blasted into the lead of race two, the first rider this season, in either class, to take a second Fox Holeshot Award of the year! Herlings was right with him, however, and in the drier conditions of the late afternoon, the chase was on! Jonass and Febvre packed the green bikes into third and fourth, before Febvre passed his teammate through a right-hand hairpin. Then Jonass came to a halt with a suspected brake issue, likely caused by a stone, because he rejoined to eventually finish 22nd.
Gajser, De Wolf, and Fernandez chased the remaining Kawasaki, and Renaux passed Vlaanderen on the second lap to take seventh, while home hero Jeremy Seewer was briefly tenth for Red Bull Ducati behind Adamo. Coenen’s pace at the front was absolutely blistering, however, and he set the Acerbis Fastest Lap of the day on lap four, pulling out to an astonishing ten second lead in the process!
Febvre looked to be in GP-winning position, however, with Vialle mired in the pack after a poor start. Gajser was on a mission, feeling good as he powered round the outside of the Kawasaki in the same corner that put paid to his title assault last season. Three laps later, De Wolf also passed the defending Champion, and looked to be in podium position, despite Vialle making progress to an eventual sixth in the race.
Herlings came under pressure from Gajser in a clash of the five-time World Champions, and the new Honda man lost control under braking into a downhill left-hander, tipping off the bike and receiving a whack from a lapped rider in the process. He remounted and only just held off a charge from De Wolf to claim third at the flag.
Gajser’s second sealed his second podium score in a row, with Vialle doing enough to win overall with a 1-6 card, ahead of Renaux both in the race and overall! Vlaanderen was eighth this time, Forato ninth, and Fernandez in tenth. This dropped the Spaniard to sixth overall, with the Fantic man’s seventh the best of his year so far. Vlaanderen took ninth overall between Coenen and Herlings with their single scores.
Coenen’s cruising final lap still left him with a 12-second gap, and his pace is genuinely scary as he retains the red plate at the first time of asking. However, Vialle took a deserved overall victory, his first since the end of the 2022 season in MX2. He also moves ahead of his teammate Herlings into second in the series, seven behind Coenen and five ahead of the Dutchman. The Yamaha men, Renaux and Gajser, come next in fourth and fifth as we head into a one-weekend break before the shifting sands of Sardegna!
The MXGP World Championship is shaping up to be just as tasty as expected, so you do not want to be missing the next round!
Tom Vialle: “I actually had a really bad Saturday. Not many people know, but my foot got stuck between the sprocket and the chain, so I had to stop and get it out. Today was completely different. The conditions helped with the start, and in the first race I led from the first lap to the end and felt great. The track was really tricky, but when you’re in front you can ride your own race. The second race was tougher, I had a bad start, a crash, and had to come back to sixth. I didn’t even realise I was winning overall, but it feels amazing. It was a tough weekend, so it’s good to bounce back like this.”
Maxime Renaux: “It was a good GP overall. The first race was solid I had a good start, good pace, and worked my way up to second. The second race was more difficult. I had another good start but then crashed, and after that I was riding quite tight. Maybe a bit of last year’s experience was still in my head. But I’m injury-free now, which feels great. We are building step by step, still improving the feeling, and moving in the right direction.”
Tim Gajser: “Overall it was decent. The first race wasn’t great, I didn’t have the best start and crashed twice, so I wasn’t happy with ninth. For the second race I regrouped and treated it like a new race. The track was a bit better with more lines, and I found some good ones, made some passes, and finished second. A podium is always positive, and it’s good to be consistent, but I still feel we are improving. Now we have some time before Sardinia to test and come back stronger.”
1. Maxime Renaux; 2.Tim Gajser
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), 35:18.303; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:10.335; 3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:13.705; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.134; 5. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:38.988; 6. Alberto Forato (ITA, Fantic), +0:46.149; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:55.826; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:57.854; 9. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +1:00.958; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:11.499
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 34:32.905; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:12.557; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), +0:15.996; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:18.649; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.231; 6. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +0:57.562; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:02.191; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:06.121; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, Fantic), +1:10.167; 10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +1:15.718
MXGP Overall - Top 10 Classification: 1. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 40 points; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 36 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 34 p.; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 34 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 31 p.; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, FAN), 27 p.; 8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 24 p.; 10. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 20 p.
MXGP - World Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 136 points; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 129 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 124 p.; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 117 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 116 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 113 p.; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 84 p.; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 83 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 73 p.; 10. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 63 p.
MXGP - Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 168 points; 2. KTM, 146 p.; 3. Yamaha, 140 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 125 p.; 5. Ducati, 75 p.; 6. Fantic, 69 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 63 p.; 8. Beta, 23 p.; 9. Triumph, 21 p.
MXGP Switzerland MXGP Podium
Simon Längenfelder
The established mud master did what was expected of him in the morning Warm-Up, as Liam Everts topped the timings, three-tenths ahead of last year’s GP winner Simon Längenfelder. Triumph Factory Racing Team’s incoming red plate holder Camden McLellan was third in the session.
Flying to his first Fox Holeshot Award of the season was the sole Kawasaki Racing Team MX2 pilot Mathis Valin, and while he crashed from a similar position early in the Qualifying Race, this time he steered the bike clear of issues and into a healthy early lead from second-placed Karlis Reisulis on the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 machine, with Guillem Farres third and Längenfelder getting around the Maddii Racing Honda of Maxime Grau for for fourth!
Honda HRC Petronas rider Valerio Lata, Everts, and Qualifying race master Sacha Coenen also got past Grau, although the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ace was lucky to escape an off-track excursion that prevented him moving up from seventh. Meanwhile, McLellan had suffered a mid-pack start and was only in 17th at the end of the first full lap.
It took a few laps for the top men to get to grips with the track before they really started to make moves, and it began with Farres and Längenfelder getting around Karlis Reisulis for second and third on laps seven and eight. Then suddenly they were in the first two positions as Valin became the first to suffer the sort of chain derailment that was to affect the MXGP race to come! The Frenchman was distraught as his clear lead, and whole race, was completely lost in a clunk of metal from the rear of his machine.
Things took a further turn for the bizarre two laps later, as Farres, under pressure for the lead from the reigning Champ, clipped a lapped rider’s arm coming into a left-hander and hit the ground! Längenfelder gratefully accepted the lead and the third race win of his season, with Coenen and Everts also moving up at the expense of the Spaniard, who finished fourth ahead of Lata and Karlis Reisulis.
Janis Reisulis finished directly behind his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 teammate and brother, just ahead of the race-long charge from McLellan in eighth, with Grau and the Dixon Racing Kawasaki of Kay Karssemakers completing the top ten. Längenfelder had retaken the series lead, eight ahead of McLellan heading into the second race.
A fired-up Farres took his first ever Fox Holeshot Award to start race two, and still nobody in the class has taken a second such prize this season! His Factory Triumph teammate was in the pack again, but worse was to come as the South African hit the ground hard at the end of the wave section on lap two, crashing out of ninth and only able to get up very slowly afterwards. Camden is thankfully not seriously injured and will fight towards reclaiming the red plate at one of his favourite tracks in round four.
Everts nearly passed Farres immediately but was unable to make a move stick, with Karlis Reisulis again amongst the leaders in third. Coenen was hassling Längenfelder for fourth, but hit the #1 KTM’s rear wheel in a right-hander and crashed down to eighth at the end of lap four!
Old EMX250 rivals Lata and Valin took fifth and sixth as a result, while Julius Mikula was having a great ride for Osička KTM in seventh. With overtaking difficult on the drying circuit, Everts simply could not budge Farres from the lead, and the Spaniard was in GP-winning position until Längenfelder was able to get around Karlis Reisulis with a sweeping outside pass before the Pit Lane straight! Lata and Valin both demoted the Latvian to sixth on lap 16 of 19, and that’s where they all stayed, as Coenen took seventh from Mikula, the Czech rider matching his best ever race result with eighth position. Janis Reisulis was again ninth, this time ahead of the SB Racing KTM of Jens Walvoort.
With the mixed results, Cas Valk took tenth overall with 11-12 finishes, behind fellow Dutchmen Walvoort ninth and Karssemakers eighth, the Kawasaki man matching the best GP result of his career! Karlis finished ahead of his brother for the first time this year as they finished sixth and seventh on the day. Lata took fifth with Sacha Coenen just off the podium in fourth.
Everts hounded Farres to the very end, especially as he was signalled that a pass would have given the Belgian the overall victory! He came up just three-tenths of a second short, as the Spaniard held on to take his second race victory of the year and second overall in both the GP and in the Championship standings!
The reigning Champion, however, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on the Friday before the GP, takes back the series red plate with a substantial 22-point lead over the Triumph rider, who turns 23 next Tuesday! Coenen and McLellan are close behind, and with the next round in the deep sand of Sardegna, they will feel confident of catching those points up, so this series has many competitive rounds to come!
We return after a weekend off for Easter to take on the rollers of Riola Sardo, so be sure to join us for round four of the electrifying 2026 MXGP World Championships!
Simon Längenfelder: “It was not a bad weekend overall. In the first race I was a bit lucky with the situation with a backmarker, but the backmarkers were quite tricky all weekend. The track itself was not easy, but I felt quite balanced and I enjoyed it. The key for me was to stay on the bike, because there were a lot of mistakes and even issues with chains coming off in the ruts. I was going through that section every lap quite deep, so I’m happy everything stayed together. It’s nice to have the red plate again, it feels good, but it’s still early in the season and we have many GPs coming up.”
Guillem Farres: “It feels really nice to bounce back like this. I was quite frustrated after what happened last week, but that’s part of the sport. Overall it was a good weekend. Yesterday I made a mistake in qualifying and could only get up to seventh, and the first race today was also a bit unfortunate, but we turned it around in the second one, which was great. This year we’ve improved the bike and changed our approach a bit. I feel like I’ve matured, also off the bike, and that’s helping me. I’m looking forward to Sardinia, it will be a new track for me, but we’ve been strong in the sand, so I’m excited for that.”
1. Guillem Farres; 2. Liam Everts
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 35:05.114; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:04.545; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:09.916; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:36.476; 5. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:41.381; 6. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:43.606; 7. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:49.573; 8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:56.614; 9. Maxime Grau (FRA, Honda), +1:25.672; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +1:39.128
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), 34:50.386; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:00.332; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:11.850; 4. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:13.813; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:14.431; 6. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:25.810; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:47.433; 8. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +0:53.373; 9. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:59.441; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:02.785
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 45 points; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 43 p.; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 42 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 34 p.; 6. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 26 p.; 8. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 21 p.; 9. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 20 p.; 10. Cas Valk (NED, TM), 19 p.
MX2 - World Championship Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 149 points; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 127 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 124 p.; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 121 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 121 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 105 p.; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 98 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 90 p.; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 88 p.; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 60 p.
MX2 - Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 167 points; 2. Triumph, 162 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 121 p.; 4. Yamaha, 110 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 109 p.; 6. Honda, 99 p.; 7. TM, 58 p.; 8. GASGAS, 13 p.; 9. Ducati, 9 p.; 10. Fantic, 8 p.;
MXGP Switzerland MX2 Podium
All the photos from the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS will be available HERE.
You can find the complete results HERE.
MXGP OF SWITZERLAND QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1530m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 4°
Weather conditions: Rainy/Cloudy
Crowd Attendance: 25,351
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