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Monday, March 23, 2026 at 1:22PM
With two rounds of the 2026 MXGP World Championship completed, the factory Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team has made a strong and consistent start to the season. Team manager Joel Smets, a five-time world champion himself, is overseeing a line-up that combines the reigning MX2 world champion Simon Längenfelder with the exciting step up of Andrea Adamo into the premier MXGP class.
After unfamiliar and technical tracks at the opening rounds in Argentina and Andalusia, both riders have delivered solid results as they build momentum early in the championship. Smets reflects on Längenfelder’s consistent start, Adamo’s impressive adaptation to the 450, and the dynamic of working with a reigning world champion for the first time.
The Belgian also shares insight into the challenge of defending a title, drawing from his own experience as a multiple world champion, and offers his thoughts on the sensational form of fellow countryman Lucas Coenen after a dominant performance in Spain.
We caught up with Smets as he discusses his riders’ early-season form, the process of learning how to win championships, and the evolving landscape of the MXGP paddock.
GateDrop: Joel, we are two rounds into the championship – steady and consistent, are you happy with both your riders so far this season?
Smets: Yes, absolutely happy how the season has been going for us so far. I just said to the riders also in our debriefing, two tracks we didn’t know, two tracks quite sketchy I would say, but our riders handled it very well. At these tracks, if you don’t have the feeling with it, you better be careful. In Argentina Simon had the feeling, he nailed it, he won it. This weekend he didn’t have that perfect feeling, he enjoyed himself going 3-3. I call it the Ryan Dungey result, that’s how you win championships, so really happy with that.
For Andrea coming into the season, it is his maiden season in the 450 class, we knew it was going to be… not everyone is like Lucas Coenen let’s say. You need to learn a little bit, but the way he’s coping with it, again on those two difficult tracks, even more on the 450, I think than on the 250, he did very well. I am really pleased with how the team has been going so far.
GateDrop: Obviously you’ve worked with Andrea for many years now, Simon, it’s the first time he’s been on your team, obviously he’s a world champion so you don’t need to teach him how to ride a bike, but what’s he been like to work with?
Smets: Every rider has his own character, so you need to get to know each other a little bit. Back in the days when Simon was with the German Diga Procross Gas Gas team, he was already kind of part of our training group, so he was not completely new to me. I knew him a little bit, but so far that’s going good. I really like to, let’s say, analyse characters and find out where I can bring something extra, how I can make them stronger and stuff like that. It’s clear that I’m still in that discovering phase, in the exploring phase. The results have shown that it’s working pretty good so far.
GateDrop: You know how to win world titles, you won five yourself, Simon’s only won one, but the second one would you say is harder to win than the first one? The last person to defend the title is Jorge Prado…
Smets: I think it’s a bit of common knowledge that winning a championship is not easy, but defending it and making it up is more difficult. I’m lucky enough to have experience with that, so I’ll definitely give him the right tips at the right moments.
GateDrop: With Andrea, how have you found him on the 450? I mean, sometimes I feel like Andrea maybe needs a year in a class before you see the best of him, but he’s really took to this 450cc well and he’s pretty much got the speed already…
Smets: We’re really pleased with how Andrea has adapted to the 450cc. To be honest, we were kind of worried, let’s say, because of his riding style on the 450cc, he was more the attacking guy, more the aggressive guy, more the guy that was revving the bike hard and stuff like that. I was kind of concerned like how that was going work, but of course over the winter, my first goal with him was to get him a bit lower with the RPM’s and to make him understand how a 450 is ridden. He’s a quick learner, he really listens very well, he analyses well, and I think the first races have shown that. I think we can even say that he rides the 450cc better than he did the 250cc.
GateDrop: And Lucas Coenen, a quick word on him, I mean he was on a different postcode today, unbelievable…
Smets: He’s shown that already last year at several locations, when I was talking earlier about feeling it and feeling it with the bike and the track, he felt it today and when he feels it, wow, he’s on another level. He’s Belgian so it makes me proud also.
Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 8:56PM Ferry Takes Out Brown: Penalized Five Championship Points, Goes into Negatives
Evan Ferry might have made history at the Birmingham Supercross, in a not-so-good way. The second-generation rider took out Pierce Brown in the 250SX East Division heat race in the turn after the finish line jump, sending both riders to the ground in the move. Neither rider would transfer directly to the 250SX East/West Showdown main event, both going to the last chance qualifier (LCQ) race.
In the LCQ, Brown finished second behind his rookie teammate Caden Dudney, qualifying into the main event. Unfortunately, Ferry finished 16th in the LCQ and did not qualify for the main event.
After the race, Ferry was given an aggressive riding penalty. He was fined and penalized two license points (again, those are new this year), as well as being penalized five championship points.
The only problem is, in his two main events so far this season (21st in Daytona and 20th in Indianapolis), Ferry only has three total points. So, this five-point penalty points him at negative two championship points on the season. This has to be the first time in history for this to happen, right?
Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 8:52PM Haiden Deegan Penalized One Position for Cutting Through Split Lane Section, Birmingham Showdown Win Credited to Cole Davies
We have a post-race shakeup from the first 250SX East/West Showdown race of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. In arguably his best 250cc race to date, Haiden Deegan charged from outside the top ten off the start to take the race win in our first showing of both 250SX divisions together. It was Deegan’s sixth straight win of the season and his second career 250SX East/West Showdown.
However, Deegan was caught on camera splitting and cutting through the track markers on the split lane section, which has been noted as not a legal move. Deegan was seen on the Peacock broadcast running over the white track markers moving from the left (outside) section into the right (inside) section, which was reviewed by the race direction crew of AMA officials. The results now show a one-position penalty for Deegan.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates Deegan and Cole Davies finished 1-2, with Deegan besting Davies, but the penalty to Deegan now credits Davies with the race win on the results page. This mean Davies is now on a two-race win streak in 250SX East.
Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 11:16AM Sensational teenager, Lucas Coenen has gone 1-1 and not only wins the Spanish GP, but also goes into rounds three with the red plate and championship lead. Second overall was Jeffrey Herlings with 2-2 results, but the Dutchman couldn’t get close to the Red Bull KTM factory rider. Third overall was Tim Gajser with 6-3 scores.
Lucas Coenen: I mean yes, it was a good weekend. Good starts, Jeffrey pushed hard. I won three motos, so a perfect weekend. All the years, I cannot believe I have the red plate my first ever. We try and keep it this way. We worked hard after Argentina. First race, I mean, feeling good, the start I had trouble (they held the gate extra long), but then I locked in and took second behind Tom, but I passed him and then I got a gap and controlled it. I am not thinking about the championship, just focusing on myself and I am loving it.
Jeffrey Herlings: Just not fast enough. To be honest, I had nothing for him and he did a good job. Hopefully I can get closer in the next one. Made a mess of Saturday again. Looking forward to the next one.
Championship points are now Lucas Coenen 102pts, Jeffrey Herlings 94pts, Tom Vialle 89pts, Romain Febvre 75pts, Maxime Renaux 75pts and Tim Gajser 74 pts.
MXGP Moto Two
Spaniard, Oriol Oliver led the second MXGP moto from Adamo, Coenen, Herlings, Vlaanderen, Febvre, Fernandez, Forato, Renaux, and Vialle 10th. Gajser 11th and Watson crashed in the start straight and is last. Coenen moved past Adamo, as did Herlings.
Coenen into the lead in the waves section and you just know Herlings needs to get close, or the Belgian takes 1-1 today. Coenen stalled the bike and that allowed Oliver back onto him and Herlings also right on the leader.
Lap five and the lead by Coenen over Herlings was nine seconds. Third was Febvre as he passed Oliver, then came Oliver, Adamo, Gajser, Fernandez, Vlaanderen, Vialle and Renaux. Coenen just brilliant as the lead is now 11 seconds over Herlings, with 15 minutes remaining. Gajser into fourth place as he also passed Adamo.
Gajser caught Febvre and they continued their battles of the past for third position. Lap eight and the lead by still 11 seconds, with 13 minutes and two laps remaining. Oliver back in 8th place as the heavy hitters begin to pass him.
Gajser moved into third place as Febvre went down hard and he looks a little hurt. Febvre dropping back through the field as he laid on the track, trying to recover from the heavy hit. Top ten was now Coenen, Herlings, Gajser, Adamo, Vlaanderen, Oliver, Fernandez, de Wolf, and Renaux 10th. Febvre still down as the medics get to him. He eventually got up and walked off the track.
On lap 12 the lead was still 12 seconds, and with eight minutes and two laps remaining, hard to see Herlings get to the front. Vialle up to fifth place as he tries to get on the podium. Top ten on lap 13 was Coenen, Herlings, Gajser, Adamo, Vialle, Vlaanderen, Oliver, Fernandez, de Wolf and Renaux. Coenen wins the moto and the GP. Herlings second in the moto and second in the GP.
Friday, March 20, 2026 at 7:56PM
Meanwhile Wil Hahn might be the busiest man in the paddock this weekend as he has six 250SX riders competing under the tent this weekend, and two of them (Haiden Deegan and Cole Davies) hold the red plate. Add in the SMX Next riders of Kayden Minear and Landen Gordon and that makes eight 250F riders! Hahn acknowledged that the schedule is a little hectic for him this weekend but he also focused on the positives of having a big team.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing tent is even more full than normal this weekend. Align Media
First, Hahn was asked what, if anything, Davies has done to achieve his speed through the whoops or if it just comes naturally.
Hahn replied, “No. At 14, I never seen anything like it. And I guess that's gotta be a tribute to Ben Townley and all the work they've done in New Zealand and to get him here. But no, it was right away at the test track at 14 and he was tiny even. He was really short and tiny and the way he'd hit whoops on a stock 250F, I was just like, 'Wow. It's unbelievable.'”
Wil continued though, commenting how having one guy on the team who excels in the whoops has helped everyone else.
“That's the beauty of, iron sharpens iron, right?" he said. "And I think everybody's seeing that. And I think with having four of our guys on the team winning races this year, I think four or five on the podium as well, all different rounds. I think we're reaping the benefits of all that, including Haiden. Like I said, iron sharpens iron, and when you're chasing everybody, it's pretty hard not to get better.”
Brandon Haas dropped the news that Max Vohland has re-signed with ClubMX for the 2027 season. Vohland hinted that he was "likely going to extend" his contract with the team while live on the Race Day Live qualifying broadcast at the Glendale SX, but now the deal is official. Haas also spoke on what it is like to have all of his riders competing this weekend, and how the team only asks of them to show what the bring during the week.
“The message across the board, and, really Chad's [Reed] carried this weight, has been, 'We're gonna show 'em on Saturday what they've been showing us during the week of training,'" Haas said. "We had a really good two weeks of really just raw scrimmaging that we normally shy away from. So, it'll be interesting to see how that translate translates. But having the two SMX Next guys, has been cool. Like, we're coming here with a full roster. All of our guys are racing. That's kinda, you know, selfishly everything you hope for, but also, I think it's a product of, again, ClubMX and the environment that they're in, trying to find this never ending balance that everybody faces with risk to reward, and that is challenging in this sport.”
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Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 11:20AM Ricky Carmichael explains his tactics racing Stewart and Reed!
Ricky Carmichael gave an interesting breakdown on how he approached racing Chad Reed and James Stewart in what was two very different ways of trying to beat two of his biggest rivals, underlining that RC was very tactical, probably more than he gets credit for!
Ricky said in a BYND podcast: “I raced scared and I never took anything for granted. i always knew I had a great chance of winning because of my preparation. But I never took anyone for granted except one time and it was one of the biggest regrets that I had. It was 2003 and I underrated Chad Reed, I got caught right there, he came out of nowhere and my mechanic had went to the WSX races and came back and said, ‘you need to keep an eye on Chad Reed, he looked really good over there. I kind of brushed him off, was more focused on Vuillemin at the time. And, yeah, he made my life miserable from that point on, he became household name. I learned another lesson to never underrate anyone.”
On how to beat Reed, Ricky said: “I knew where they were going to be, I knew what their qualities where and I knew what I could do. And, most importantly, I knew what I couldn’t do. I would position myself, whether it was bike set-up, starting position. I would make sure I would set myself up just right to take advantage of where they weren’t good. Knowing where you can’t win is part of being a great champion.
“When Stew was behind me, I knew that if I went faster he was going to go faster. So why should I ride over my head or faster than I know that I can go and then get arm pump? Then, instead of turning 20 laps of 53 second laps, why should I go 52.5 then only make it 16 laps because my arms are blown up?
“I knew when he was behind me, I am just going to cruise here, because if I go faster my arms are going to get tight and then I am going to go backwards. I need to be strong by the end of the race because most likely he is going to burn out, especially in outdoors, not as much in supercross. So that was how I approached racing James.
“When I was behind him, I never wanted to pass him! What would passing do? He is just going to follow my lines and make my life more miserable, I always wanted to be the hunter I never wanted to be the hunted. So if I was behind him I would try to run his pace and pressure him so he would fall down. I knew I couldn’t beat him on speed, majority of time, especially in Supercross. Lap for lap you would be fool to think i would be able to beat him on a fast lap, there is no shot. That was how I approached every single race, that was my game plan, pretty simply and you stick to it.
“Then Chad, his scenario and it’s why he was harder to beat, because if Chad was behind me, he was so good at picking stuff up mid-adjustment. He could be having the worst day, if he was behind me in the main event, he would instantly go from running 53s, if I was running 52.5 ,he would instantly be able to match it – he was an expert at that. Mid-race adjustments the guy was incredible.
“So, if he was behind me, I would always try to sprint over my level a little bit because I knew he wasn’t going to go into the redzone, he wasn’t going to let it swap out like I would and basically ride out of control. So I would try to get gap then settle in. I couldn’t do that with James because he could go the speed, whereas I could ride out of my comfort zone for a few laps and make a gap on Reedy.
“As far as being behind Chad, I knew he wasn’t going to get tired as easy as James was, so it was just following him and maybe make a late race pass. That was the biggest thing, not letting that guy learn from you, because if you did it was game over, he was so good at that! The thing about Chad that was very, very impressive, he didn’t do a lot of things wrong; he was great starter, great bike set-up, he was very good talking himself into being the guys and his speed was good.
“That mental capacity of being down in the dumps and the day not going right, he could reverse that. If you give that guy a crumb he is going to take the whole loaf. He didn’t really do anything bad and he was so consistent, very, very similar to McGrath. There were times I was in battles with Chad and it felt like the modern day MC…I was having flash backs of 2001 when i could finally battle with MC for 20 laps. It was like a clone, a cool experience but frightening!
