Continuing our series of interviews held for Behind The Gate, the documentary series which is produced after every GP and aired immediately on MXGP-TV.com, here is the interview that we held for Episode Three of the 2026 season, “Ruling The Waves”.

Our first MX2 rider to be featured on Behind The Gate in 2026 was Valerio Lata, now the lone MX2 pilot for the Honda HRC Petronas squad. The powerhouse team has obviously taken on former multiple World Champions Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle, as well as retaining the services of Ruben Fernandez, who we followed at the same time, over the weekend of the MXGP of Andalucia, round two of the World Championship and the first stop of the season in Europe. Ruben’s interview is to be found elsewhere on this site.

Valerio was interviewed on the Friday before the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS, at our mobile studio on the edge of the circuit at Frauenfeld. Valerio had recovered from a big first lap crash in Argentina, that was no fault of his own as he landed on a short-jumping Jens Walvoort, then had Sacha Coenen plough into him and his bike on the ground. Bruised and not able to train fully between the first two rounds, the young Italian in his second year of MX2 came to Almonte with the hope of merely getting through the weekend, but emerged with a fine sixth overall after taking eighth and fourth in Sunday’s races, making it his best GP in Spain on his fourth such event in the country.

Valerio is always enthusiastic when the Behind The Gate crew are with him. For his first feature last year, he cheerfully quipped “Like and Subscribe!” on camera with a big grin, a moment that was too good to take out in the edit. Despite the pain from his Argentina crash, he was just as much fun this time around. Here’s what he had to say in interview:

BTG: Similar to what we asked Ruben before you, did you know of the track before the weekend, or were you expecting hard-pack? Did you know it was sandy, or were you surprised when you saw it?

VL18: Yeah, the track in Spain was new for me, new for all the other riders, so yeah, it was a really hard track and there were really big bumps on the whole track, so it was for me one of the best tracks on the calendar. It was also good for the difficulty, but yeah, it was a good weekend on the sand. It's not my favourite kind of track, the sand, but it was a really good race, especially for this show! I like Spain, I like the fans, it was really full of people, so this is important for the motor race.

BTG: The first race for you didn't quite go so well, starting and finishing in eighth position. You were kind of there from the start, then went forward, then went back. How did you feel after that first race?

VL18: Yeah, the feeling on the weekend was not really perfect, also because of the problem in Argentina after the big crash. So, I'm not 100 %, and yeah the lap time was really slow and the first race I was really trying to survive and not lose positions.

BTG: About the Argentina accident, we saw it was a nasty crash, you landed on Walvoort, completely not your fault but it can happen in racing. What injuries did you have? Before the GP, how did you feel physically before Spain?

VL18: Yeah, after the crash in Argentina, I jumped on the back of Walvoort, and Sacha Coenen hit me, with another rider, so yeah I have a completely black area on my left leg! So it was really hard to train, also without the bike, so I stay at home without training, without the bike for a week after Argentina, and I raced one week before, in Ottobiano in the Italian Championship. So I go directly to Spain from there, and yeah the conditions were not perfect but yeah, this is how it is.

BTG: So talk us through race two if you can please, because you had a good start and then you passed Camden Mc Lellan in between the second and third corners, so you moved forward well! So yeah, talk us through the start of that race and how you were able to hold on to so long.

VL18: The start was good in race two, and I passed Mc Lellan and Simon Längenfelder on the first or second corner. I took the second place behind Sacha, and I tried to follow him because Sacha is really fast for the whole race, but especially in the first minutes of the race. So, I tried to follow, and I took a small gap from Längenfelder, but yeah, I was a little bit tired after the first race and for the finish of the second race. So, Simon came past me on the last lap, so I lost the third position. I stayed second for most of the race and I finished fourth, so it was a really good experience, it was a good race, also for me in this moment. I prefer to ride without risk, but finished the race with the fourth position. So for me, it's a good position, and it's really important also for the mind for the next race.

BTG: The championship in general, of course, you've had the riders that have moved up to MXGP, like Kay de Wolf and Andrea Adamo. They’ve all gone up a class, but you still have the Reisulis brothers and a few other guys to deal with. So, in your position, you finished last year with a good podium in Australia. You had a Qualifying Race win there in Germany. So, is it like the podium is the goal and then anything else is just not so good? Is that how things are for you? Is that your main aim now?

VL18: Yeah, the goal is a victory. The goal is winning the race and winning the GP is really important, not only for me, but also for the team. And yeah, I have new riders on the team. I come into MX2 from the European Championship las year, and yeah this year without Adamo and De Wolf, Thibault Benistant, the class is really tight, the time is tight, especially in the Time Practice or the Qualifying Race, the gap is really, really close and other riders are all very close together. So it's really important to start in front, because when you start in front it's more easy to stay in the first two or three positions.

BTG: So with the changes in the team, of course now you are the only rider on a 250, does this make things tougher for you? The team is just talking to you only, about the 250. Then you've got these two new guys coming in. How different is it? Do you work with them? Do they talk to you and give you advice? What have you learned from them? And how do you feel about your place in the team, as the only 250 guy?

VL18: Yeah, of course, when you stay on the team, and you are only one rider in MX2, it's very important because when you have a test, all the people are with just you. So, it's really important for me, also for changing some things on the bike. And yeah, this year we have Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle. They are new riders on the team, and these two weeks I stay in Belgium, in Holland, with them! I was training with Tom and on the last bit of training this week, I stay with Jeffrey. So also for me it's really good preparation for the World Championship, to stay with these Champions, and yeah, I'm really happy for this.

Epilogue: Valerio followed up his Spanish result with fifth overall in Switzerland, and a season-best third in the Qualifying Race there. Scoring points in each Qualifying Race of his “home” GPs in Sardegna and Trentino, he struggled with results outside of the top 10 in both, leaving him ninth in the points standings after five rounds. He will look to bounce back on the hard-pack of Lacapelle Marival, where he took the EMX125 overall victory in 2021. Fifth at Ernée last year after a third in race one, he will hope that France proves to be a happy hunting ground for him once again.

Author: Infront Moto Racing - Ben Rumbold