Defending MXGP champion, Romain Febvre advanced to second in the series standings of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship after the fourteenth round at Lommel in Belgium. It was a rollercoaster day for the Frenchman, but still he has won championship before in conditions many expected him not to win, so anything is possible moving into the final five rounds of the 2026 MXGP championship.

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"Finally, I got a good start again in the second moto and I found a good rhythm, but I had used so much energy both on Saturday and in the first moto to come back through the pack. Two laps from the end I hit a soft spot in the waves and went over the bars; it was a big crash but I'm OK. The feeling right now could not be worse; the rest were so far behind, and I had given everything for the podium until the bike stopped in the last half lap."

On the Saturday, Febvre had a frustrating Qualifying for the Belgian round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at Lommel to finish seventh. The Frenchman had confirmed his speed in the deep Flemish sand during Timed Practice to post third-fastest time, headed only by the two acknowledged "kings of sand" but was again closed down on the run to turn one to emerge seventh.

He suffered a further disappointment on lap two as the bike stalled in deep sand to cost two positions. Adding further frustration, he needed four laps to repass a particularly awkward rival and then faced a long chase to move further up the leaderboard. A series of podium-pace laps saw him advance to what appeared to be a secure sixth on the penultimate lap but a slip on the final lap saw him take the chequered flag a frustrated seventh.

"I really enjoy riding the sand and I felt good in practice, but the starts are killing me at the moment. Then the bike stopped in a turn on the second lap. I felt I could ride faster than everybody except the front two, but I was just so far back. I came back to sixth, and I thought I might even be able to catch Vialle, but I tried to push just too much and made a mistake which cost me one position again on the last lap."

Sunday MXGP Lommel

The Frenchman quickly moved into the first six in the first moto of the opening moto on Sunday but then faced a frustrating next six laps as he sought a way past an obstructive rival, several attempts just coming up short. By the time he could make fifth his own there was a six-second gap to fourth, but, posting faster laps than anybody other than the runaway leader, he closed the gap to dive past on lap eleven and immediately set his sights on third.

With four laps remaining he had the moto podium in his reach but had to settle for fourth at the chequered flag after a couple of attempts to pass were repelled. The second moto saw the Kawasaki leader take his best start of recent weeks; third through turn one he was second after a few turns and immediately put his head down, posting a succession of sub-two-minute laps to break away from his chasers at three seconds a lap so that he had a comfortable cushion of nearly ten seconds by lap four.

The gap to third fluctuated back-and-forth until a poor lap four laps from the end led to suspense in the closing stages. With just over a lap to go Febvre suffered a horrifying crash at the end of the waves in which his chaser could only narrowly avoid running over him. Febvre bravely remounted and still had a secure lead of a quarter-of-a-minute over fourth, an advantage he maintained until a couple of hundred metres from the chequered flag when the bike ground to a halt and a frustrated Febvre was powerless as he was relegated to thirteenth in the moto result. Despite this misfortune he has now advanced to second in the series standings with five GPs remaining.