The 2026 FIM Motocross World Championships resumes after a weekend off with the annual spring visit to the island of Sardegna, as the Crossodromo Comunale “Le Dune” circuit awaits the MXGP elite for round four of the series!

Ben Rumbold/MXGP Story Image Massimo Zanzani/MXGP

There has been no shortage of physical challenges already this season, but the deep sand of RIola Sardo will test even the fittest riders as it shifts every lap, sapping the power of both man and machine in what are usually hot conditions for this time of the year.The second-largest island in the Mediterannean Sea is on a similar latitude to that of Andalucia, and the climate, when added to the demanding nature of the circuit, always makes this GP a very tough one!

In the previous five MXGP events on this island, hosting a GP every year since 2021, no rider has won here more than twice, but three who have done that line up in MXGP this weekend. Jeffrey Herlings, now with the Honda HRC Petronas squad, won here in 2021 and ‘23, the latter success an emotional one due to him reaching his 100th GP victory.Kay de Wolf has taken the MX2 victory in each of the last two years for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, while Herlings’ teammate Tom Vialle took MX2 glory in 2021 & ’22.

Current MXGP red plate holder Lucas Coenen took his first ever MXGP race win here last year for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, but crashed out of the second outing.With his form in the shallower sands of Almonte, the teenage prodigy has to be a strong favourite this weekend, even though Romain Febvre took the first overall victory of his title-winning season last year for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP.

Reigning MX2 World Champion Simon Längenfelder took the first Qualifying Race win of his 2025 season here for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing,but he has yet to finish on the podium at Riola Sardo, despite spending a lot of time here in winter training.Nobody in the current MX2 line-up has even won a GP race here, so there are many out to change that situation!

The EMX250 European Championship class heads for Sardegna for the first time since 2023, and the sand specialists in the class will be keen to unseat the currently unbeaten Spaniard Francisco Garcia, who has a perfect 100-point total for Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki, with his Australian teammate Jake Cannon already 27 points back in second! Brazilian sensation Bernardo Tiburcio is third for the Yamaha 115 M78 Motorsport team, although he probably hasn’t sampled sand like he’ll find at Riola until now!

It’s a little tighter at the top of the EMX125 European Championship Presented by FMF Racing standings, as Norman KTM Factory Rookies teamster Moritz Ernecker holds just a five-point lead over his teammate and fellow Austrian Ricardo Bauer, who took the win in Switzerland. TMX Compétition KTM rider Liam Bruneau took the second race win at Frauenfeld, and sits third in the series, a point ahead of fellow Frenchman Sleny Goyer for Yamaha Europe Monster Energy MJC. Top Italian Andrea Uccellini will be the crowd favourite as he lies fifth for TM Moto CRD Motorsport.

The contrast between this GP and the previous one at Frauenfeld could not be bigger, as we prepare for a weekend of dancing in the dunes at the MXGP of Sardegna, bringing you the next chapter in the already epic 2026 season!

The mixed fortunes of the leading contenders in Switzerland kept things close at the top of the Championship table, as Lucas Coenen recovered from a zero score to win race two, giving him a seven-point advantage over Honda HRC Petronas’ first time MXGP victor Tom Vialle.While the Belgian has won the first GP race here at each of the previous two events, it’s the Frenchman who has come away with the winner’s trophy at both of his previous visits to Sardegna!Will he be able to match the pace of Lucas through the dunes?That’s a question that all of the contenders will be asking themselves!

Jeffrey Herlings’ speed in the sand is legendary, and “The Bullet” will be determined to hack down the 12-point gap to the series leader at the site of his 100th GP victory.He was fast on return from injury last year despite being way off his best physically, and a fighting fit Herlings is always a threat when the going is soft and heavy.Jeffrey had a perfect Easter weekend with four race wins out of four across two different national Championships, all in sandy conditions! He hasn’t won an individual race at Riola for five years, however, and never won on Saturday.The stats-mad Dutchman will want to change those numbers this weekend!

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP scored a double podium, their first for nearly four years, last time out in Switzerland, with Maxime Renaux and Tim Gajser fourth and fifth in the series, they will be hoping to at least maintain those positions on a surface that neither rider is known to excel on. The Frenchman’s best result in Sardegna came in MX2, during his 2021 title season, with second overall, and he has twice finished fourth overall in MXGP since then.The Slovenian has fared better with second overall, to the eventual Champion, in each of the last two years.He also took the Qualifying Race win last year, and has never finished lower than second on a Sardinian Saturday!

Romain Febvre only took a single podium trophy home from the island until his 4-1 score was enough for overall victory last season.The Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP leader is currently sixth in the Championship, but knows how long the season can be, and could well grind out solid results over the next two weekends on Italian ground.From a different Italian island comes Andrea Adamo, currently seventh for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.The Sicilian’s best weekend at Riola came last year, with third overall in MX2, and his consistent approach could pay dividends this weekend.

The third Honda HRC Petronas rider in the top ten is Ruben Fernandez in eighth, and he was third in the Qualifying Race last year before achieving sixth overall on Sunday. Behind him in the points is Calvin Vlaanderen, returning to the site of his only MXGP class overall victory, achieved over a perfect 1-1-1 weekend in 2022.His speed on the new Red Bull Ducati Factory MX Team machine is better than his Championship position would indicate, and he will be hungry for podium success once more.

Rounding out the top ten in the Championship is now Kay de Wolf, and after a further period of recovery from his thumb injury, the tall Dutchman could be a good outside bet for success at a circuit where he has won four MX2 GP races, one Qualifying Race, and the last two GP victories.As he showed in a domestic race over Easter, he will certainly be spectacular to watch on his Nestaan Husqvarna!

Red Bull Ducati Factory MX Team’s Italian youngster, Andrea Bonacorsi, returns from his Argentina injuries to a circuit where he won for two straight years in EMX250, and took fourth overall in MXGP last season.He will get the crowd behind him, as will Venrooy KTM’s Mattia Guadagnini, who last raced here three years ago!He has done a lot of preparation in this area, however.The same can be said of fellow Italian Alberto Forato, who is 12th in the series for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP, with home ground livery in the works for the Italian brand!

The only other active rider to claim a GP victory here is Jago Geerts, who took MX2 success in 2023, and after his zero score in Argentina for MRT Racing Team Beta, the Belgian lies 20th in the current standings, and should rise from there on his favourite surface.

That question will still be on everyone’s minds though when it comes to MXGP – can anyone live with the pace of Coenen, and will the Belgian finally make it count for overall victory around Riola Sardo?Find out this weekend!

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.

Defending MX2 World Champion Simon Längenfelder is the only rider in either class to have a 100% podium record in 2026, and he has finished in either first or third, equally so, in all six individual races this season! That consistency has given him a 22-point lead in the title chase already, and the pack need to make sure that gap doesn’t grow after the racing in Sardegna!The German has yet to score a podium at Riola Sardo, despite a Quali win last year, and his rivals will be keen to make sure that record stays in place!

Second in the standings is Guillem Farres, and the Spanish speedster will hope that his sand skills hold up at a venue that he hasn’t raced at since 2022!It’s his first GP start in Sardegna, and his only previous results are from an EMX250 round in 2022, when he took tenth overall.He is a different rider now!

Sacha Coenen has a 100% record in Qualifying Races for 2026, but despite taking a single second place finish on each Sunday for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, he has only climbed the podium once this year.His record in Sardegna has also been affected by crashes, with a best of fifth overall from his two visits here.He will be determined to correct that anomaly, but the rider behind him in the points could well be the favourite in MX2 this year!

Triumph Factory Racing Team athlete Camden Mclellan lost his first career red plate, that he said he “could look at all day”, with a big crash in Switzerland.He is reportedly unhurt, but now faces a 28-point deficit to Längenfelder.The South African has a perfect podium record on the island, taking third in 2024 and second in 2025.He will want to keep that pattern of progression towards the top spot in 2026!

Turning his season around in Switzerland with his first podium of the season was Liam Everts, putting himself up to fifth in the Championship for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing.Another whose record at Riola doesn’t seem to match up with his skills in sand, the Belgian is tied on points with McLellan and hoping to improve on his best of fifth overall at this track.His second in last year’s Qualifying Race should give him confidence in his pace.

Janis Reisulis has no such indication of his form at this track, as he has never raced here before at either GP or EMX level! The standout rookie of 2026 for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 is still sixth in the series, and not short of speed in the sand.Mathis Valin is in the same situation with regards to never racing at Riola, as he missed last year’s event due to injury, but after coming close to a race win in Switzerland, the Kawasaki Racing Team MX2 rider is out for redemption!

Honda HRC Petronas’ Valerio Lata has built up his fitness after a bruising crash in Argentina, and moved ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Karlis Reisulis to eighth in the series. SB Racing KTM sandfly Jens Walvoort is still tenth in the Championship, with fellow Dutchmen, Cas Valk for TM Moto CRD Motorsport, and DRT Racing Kawasaki’s Kay Karssemakers both snapping at his heels.All three will look to make their sand skills pay at “Riola Sand”!

Italian Ferruccio Zanchi returns from injury this weekend to make his debut for the Beddini Racing Ducati Factory MX2 Team. It will be his first full GP since France in May 2025, at a venue where he finished 11th last year.It will be great to see him, and the Desmo250 MX machine, back in action!

The MXGP of Sardegna never fails to deliver a gruelling GP, and when it gets tough, MXGP gets exciting! Be sure to join us in person, or on MXGP-TV for round four from rock n’ rollin’ Riola!

MX2 - World Championship Top 10 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.

TIMETABLE

SATURDAY: 07:30 EMX125 Group 1 Free Practice, 08:00 EMX125 Group 2 Free Practice, 08:30 EMX250 Group 1 Free Practice, 09:00 EMX250 Group 2 Free Practice, 09:40 EMX125 Group 1 Qualifying Practice, 11:50 EMX125 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 12:25 EMX250 Group 1 Qualifying Practice, 13:00 EMX250 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 10:20 MX2 Free Practice, 10:55 MXGP Free Practice, 13:40 MX2 Time Practice, 14:15 MXGP Time Practice, 15:00 EMX125 Race 1, 15:45 EMX250 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17:25 MXGP Qualifying Race.

SUNDAY: 09:40 EMX125 Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX250 Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.