Ferrandis out of Indianapolis Supercross – thumb injury

Corona, CA, March 5, 2026 — Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing rider Dylan Ferrandis will sit out this weekend’s Indianapolis round of the AMA Supercross Championship as he continues to recover from injuries sustained during last Saturday’s race in Daytona International Speedway.

Ferrandis crashed during his 450SX heat race in Daytona, hyperextending his thumb. Despite the injury, he attempted to compete in the evening’s main event but suffered another crash and was forced to retire early.

An MRI conducted earlier this week showed no broken bones or ligament damage. However, significant fluid buildup, inflammation, and bruising remain in the injured thumb. After attempting to ride during practice on Thursday, Ferrandis experienced weakness in his grip and determined he would be unable to safely compete in Indianapolis.

“I had an MRI on Tuesday and the results were positive with no broken bones and no ligament damage,” said Ferrandis. “I tried to ride today (Thursday) before I was planning to fly to Indy, but right away on the first lap I felt my thumb was not capable of pushing or holding onto the handlebars, so I have decided not to race this weekend. It is very frustrating and I am very bummed for myself and the team.”

Ferrandis will use this weekend and the upcoming off weekend to focus on rest, rehabilitation, and recovery with the goal of returning for Round 10 of the championship in Birmingham, Alabama.

MXGP 2026 analysis and favorites: the most evenly matched season ever?

Between who can win the championship and who can fight for a top-five finish the MXGP 2026 emerges as one of the most uncertain championships ever.

Putting aside prep races around Europe for MXGP riders, it’s time to put the same destination on the GPS. In fact,the 2026 season will kick off with the MXGP of Argentina on the weekend of March 7-8.

It has probably been years since there has been so much anticipation for the start of the World Motocross Championship. Indeed, 2026 will see eight World Champions representing 18 world titles lined up in MXGP. A figure that goes to create an – almost – unprecedented balance in the list of MXGP title favorites for 2026.

MXGP 2026: the favorites to win the world title

The entry list of the 2026 MXGP World Championship allows four riders to be pointed out as the biggest suspects for winning the rainbow crown: Lucas Coenen, Romain Febvre, Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings . The Belgian and the Frenchman, protagonists in the battle for the title in 2025 as well, will have one advantage in the first GPs of the championship: knowing their bikes 100 percent.

Gajser and Herlings, in fact, have switched manufacturers for 2026: from Honda to Yamaha the former and from KTM to Honda the latter. The process of refining to the new means, however, already seems well underway. The Slovenian won the Internazionali d’Italia Motocross; the Dutchman the first round of the Dutch Master MX in Lierop.

Starting a hair further back on our MXGP 2026 “tier list” are Tom Vialle and Maxime Renaux. The two Frenchmen, both title winners in MX2, come from opposite situations: the newly acquired Honda rider will have to get reacquainted with European tracks after three seasons in the United States; the Yamaha standard-bearer will have to stay away from injuries and for the first time since his move to MXGP he will not be the lead rider for the official team of the House of the Three Tuning Forks.

Speaking of who passes in MXGP: the two rookies Andrea Adamo and Kay de Wolf will certainly not stay away from the top group. The Italian showed great speed in the Internazionali d’Italia while the Dutchman is likely to be penalized by a hand injury in the first races of the World Championship.

Also playing a key role in the title fight will be all those riders who are ready to place in the top five or on the podium in some GPs of the season. A group, this one, that is resoundingly large: from Ruben Fernandez, third point of the stellar Honda HRC team to the Ducatis of Andrea Bonacorsi, Calvin Vlaanderen and Jeremy Seewer, via Alberto Forato ‘s Fantic and private team riders such as Isak Gifting, who will start the season as an injured rider, Mattia Guadagnini, Jan Pancar, Kevin Horgmo and Thibault Benistant.

A quantum leap is also expected from Beta, which, especially with Jago Geerts, is poised to appear in the top ranks of MXGP.

In short, there are at least 19 drivers capable of leading in GPs and at least 8 ready to fight for the Championship victory. Are you now convinced? It is the most balanced season ever!

Hunter + Works Connection = Holeshot

HOLESHOTS WIN RACES

Team Honda Depends on Works Connection

PRO LAUNCH START DEVICE

Lars Lindstrom..."Shame on me for not knowing that."

MXA... TONY CAIROLI LOOKS BACK AT THE SWITCH TO DUCATI

MXA

BY JIM KIMBALL

TONY, CAN WE BEGIN WITH YOU LEAVING KTM AND JOINING DUCATI? Yes. It was a very special opportunity to come to Ducati, but it was a very difficult one because KTM was like part of my family for so many years. In one way, I was very proud that the Italian brand Ducati was coming out with a motocross machine. Ducati is such an iconic brand.

I took the challenge, which was also a very difficult one because I know what I left with KTM, but I did not know what to expect from Ducati since they have no experience in motocross. So, it was quite a tough deal to leave KTM and sign with them, but I was very proud of it. It was a good decision.

MOVING TO DUCATI WAS A BIG CHANGE, AS YOU NO LONGER WORKED WITH THE DE CARLI TEAM. Yes, I was with the De Carli family from the beginning. We switched from Yamaha to KTM while there, and we accomplished so much together after winning that first 250 World Championship in 2005. Claudio De Carli and his family treated me like one of their own, and this helped me a lot after both my parents passed away. I was with the De Carlis for 18 years and 92 Grand Prix wins.

HOW HAS THE DUCATI CHANGED OR EVOLVED SINCE YOU JOINED THE BRAND? The first time I saw the bike was on a scratch pad! It was a very tough project working to making it arrive at what it is now. There was initially a lot of base riding, trying a lot of different things. It was tough but fun. Now we have a very good base. I think as a motocross bike, it is one of the best on the market.

HOW WAS IT RACING IN MXGP ON THE BIKE? Racing is tough always, especially when you have been retired for a few years and haven’t been training for racing. Initially, all I did at Ducati was to test; basically, you do one lap in and one lap out and change things—quite a lot of things. So, it is very different from when you are testing to develop your race bike. It is not easy getting back into racing shape, and with my age now 40, that is a big factor.

I had to play with many things, such as recuperation between motos. It is not the same as when I was younger. It is tough, but I still had a lot of fun, so I am really happy I have the potential to still do it.

 Tony’s Desmo450 needed a special waiver from the AMA to bypass the homologation rules that require 400 production bikes to be legal to race the Ducati in the USA. Photo by Kyle Berry.

NOW THAT DUCATI HAS AN MXGP TEAM, ARE YOU MAINLY INVOLVED WITH BIKE DEVELOPMENT OR DO YOU ALSO WORK WITH THE RIDERS? I only work with the motorcycle. There are so many aspects of the 450 that we are still working on. And of course we are also starting to develop the Ducati 250, so I am not working with the team riders. That is not my thing.

YOU RACED YAMAHAS FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE KTM. CAN YOU COMPARE HOW THE DUCATI FEELS? In all honesty, it rides a bit more like my Yamaha. Of course, the aluminum frame contributes to that. It is quite a different feeling than the chromoly steel frame on the KTM. It definitely feels more like a Japanese bike when you ride it.

TELL US ABOUT THE DECISION YOU MADE TO COME TO AMERICA TO DO A COUPLE AMA 450 NATIONALS. HOW DID THAT EVOLVE? It evolved because we know that the American market is very important for dirt bikes—maybe the most important market in the world for sure. So, I expressed my interest in coming to America to test with Factory Connection because I knew they had good knowledge in many areas. I think it was a good mix. We improved a lot in those AMA Nationals and got a lot of testing done.

Racing is important to see exactly where those changes are going to bring you. Of course, it was not easy because, to be honest, the racing level here is very high. For me, it is just a matter of showing the bike to the American fans and seeing if we can put some good laps in with it. The focus was to get in some gate drops and enjoy good racing—that is it.

“I TOOK THE CHALLENGE, WHICH WAS ALSO A VERY DIFFICULT ONE BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT I LEFT WITH KTM, BUT I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DUCATI SINCE THEY HAVE NO EXPERIENCE IN MOTOCROSS.”

YOU HAVE BEEN A WINNER FOR SO MANY YEARS. I IMAGINE YOUR MAIN PURPOSE IS TO TEST, BUT I’M SURE THAT AS A RACER YOU WANT TO WIN. For sure, it is not easy to accept when you are in the back, but I am a racer. I know that at my age, being 40 years old and battling against guys 20 years younger than me, it is very difficult, especially because I don’t train for racing. I train for testing mostly. However, I think that if I wanted to do a proper season, like going for a championship, I think I could probably still do it, fighting for the top five in the MXGP series, but it is not the case now. I am here to test all the things on the bike. I have not been training to win races for two, three or four years, since the end of 2021. When I stopped racing, I stopped all my training programs and just rode for testing or fun. But it is difficult to accept. Your mind wants you to be at the front, but your body has to accept that your physical condition is not good.

WHAT WILL YOU DO AFTER YOUR TRIP TO AMERICA? After this trip, we will need to settle down and evaluate what we learned here and what this brought to us here. Remember, we also have the MXGP team, and we can give them some better settings and parts to race with and to perform better. I will keep riding, of course. I would like to keep doing some MXGP rounds at the end of the series. Maybe the Motocross des Nations can be an option if I am riding well. It is an option since the MXDN is in the USA at Ironman in October. We have the bikes and everything else here already. It depends on the Italian Federation and what their thoughts are on this, but I would be open to it because I would love to race for Team Italy at the Motocross des Nations.  

 Even though he retired from racing in 2021, Tony racked up top-10 finishes at 40 years old in both the MXGP and AMA 450 Nationals this year.

YOU FINISHED SEVENTH AT AN MXGP EARLIER THIS YEAR. WERE YOU HAPPY WITH THAT? Yes, I was super happy. The only moto I did before that race was one moto to test some temperature stuff for the bike. But, I had not been doing motos for the last three years, so it was nice to see if my body could be pushed without training. Of course, I know that I cannot win because I would need refined technique, fitness and speed to win, but even if I don’t train, I can use my technique and experience to finish in the top seven.

Here in America, I was proud to be in the top 10. It is a different style of racing—different race tracks, a completely different race schedule from MXGP and on a production bike that we are testing a lot of different things on. I knew from being here a couple years ago on a KTM that the AMA riders are very fast in the beginning of the race, and I am not used to that since it has been so many years now. It has been a very good challenge.

“YES, I WAS SUPER HAPPY. THE ONLY MOTO I DID BEFORE THAT RACE WAS ONE MOTO TO TEST SOME TEMPERATURE STUFF FOR THE BIKE. BUT, I HAD NOT BEEN DOING MOTOS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, SO IT WAS NICE TO SEE IF MY BODY COULD BE PUSHED WITHOUT TRAINING.

WILL YOU COME BACK FOR PRE-SUPERCROSS TESTING? Yes, for sure. I will be involved more and more to check what the rider situation is. I’ll be very happy if I can help with testing. Of course, Supercross is not my thing, but I can still give a little advice. Hopefully the team will be announced soon so we can start working on the riders to see who to pick and who not so we can see what the situation is.

I KNOW STEFAN EVERTS WON TEN WORLD TITLES, BUT YOUR NINE WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE AGAINST TOUGHER COMPETITION. It is tough to win that many titles. Of course, Stefan Everts did an amazing job, but it was at a different time. There were times when he only raced one moto in a day. And one year, I think he won two championships because he was racing all the classes, so it was very different times of course. What I am mostly proud of is myself and my career. I was racing against Stefan in his time, and I am now racing with riders like Jett Lawrence and Lucas Coenen. It has been quite difficult during the years, but I am most proud of having the speed through those different generations.

 It takes a village.

“YES, WINNING ON THE 350 WAS VERY SPECIAL, AS WE WON FIVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN A ROW.”

AND MANY OF YOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE ON THE KTM 350! Yes, winning on the 350 was very special, as we won five championships in a row. That was also when KTM hired me to run the team in America. This was a big time in America for KTM. Roger DeCoster and Ryan Dungey helped make the brand what it is now.

WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST COMPETITOR THROUGHOUT YOUR RACING CAREER? I have raced against many generations of riders, even Stefan Everts as you mentioned, but it is probably Christophe Pourcel I think of the most when it comes to a career competitor. He was a very good rival. Of course, Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser were two other great competitors.

YOU MENTIONED JETT LAWRENCE A MINUTE AGO. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HIM? I believe that Jett Lawrence is something special in motocross. What he is doing is amazing. I think he is the best motocross rider in the world. There are some other young riders, including Lucas Coenen in MXGP and Haiden Deegan in America, who are fast as well. But now, Jett is on another level.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT SO MANY GP RIDERS WANTING TO COME TO AMERICA? Almost every rider had the big dream to come to America and race. Of course, Supercross was the big draw, but even the outdoor motocross tracks are so much nicer here in America than in the MXGP series. In the USA, they prepare the tracks between the motos, which makes them much safer in the States. At the GP races, the tracks are old school and not the best for high-level motocross. Also, on the GP weekend, they have too many different classes racing, so there is no time to fix the tracks. This makes the riders look slow. The GP tracks are too sketchy.

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR FUTURE? I would say that for probably the next couple of years, I will keep riding and helping with the bikes until my body cannot keep going. I am still fast, and I think you must be fast to make bikes better. I feel I can do this, and I would love to be involved with R&D in the future. After that, we will see. Most of all, I will enjoy life with my wife Jill and our children.

Anderson Takes A Break

Jason Anderson Steps Away From Racing To Address Personal Issues

Things aren’t looking good for the 2018 450SX Champion.

Ordinarily, Eli Tomac winning his eighth Daytona Supercross would’ve dominated headlines on Sunday. Instead, another star’s personal issues became the talk of the town. Vital MX forum users were attempting to uncover the reasons for Jason Anderson’s absence at Daytona, announced by the HEP Motorsports team as medical related. Anderson missed chunks of time during the 2025 season due to medical issues as well, prompting users to search for more information. In the process, some members discovered that Anderson has been involved in legal issues.

Anderson was arrested on December 15th and charged with Battery. A police report uncovered from the incident stated that Anderson and his wife got into an argument, which escalated. According to the document, Anderson “hit her in the side and grabbed her neck.” Another part of the document alleges that Anderson has a history of domestic violence.

In the light of the news, Pipes Motorsports Group released a statement on Monday evening. The full statement reads below.

“Pipes Motorsports Group announces that rider Jason Anderson will be stepping away from Supercross competition for an indefinite period to address personal, family, and ongoing medical matters. This decision was made jointly by Jason and his management team in coordination with the organization.

Pipes Motorsports Group respects Jason and his family’s privacy and fully supports his decision. No further statements will be made at this time.”

The HEP Motorsports team will now compete with two riders. Ken Roczen will continue representing the Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear ECSTAR Suzuki branch of the team, while Colt Nichols is left as the sole racer for the Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance side of the team. Stay with Motocross.com for more updates on the current situation.

Jason Anderson in the spotlight of court files & social media outage

In Supercross, it's usually all about starts, rhythm sections, and who's fastest on Saturday night. Sometimes, however, a story doesn't end up on the track – but in a court of law. That's exactly what's happening right now with... HEP Suzuki rider Jason Anderson the case.

Several documents from Orange County, FloridaThe files provide insight into an incident from December 2025. They show the complete sequence of events: from a police operation and an arrest to the subsequent dismissal of the case. The legal situation is clear at the end. No charges were filed, and the file has since been sealed..

A police operation in Orlando

The origin of the story lies at 15 December 2025 in Orlando against 14 pm Police were called to a residential complex after receiving an emergency call. The caller reported a situation in which a woman was allegedly being followed by a man.

According to the police report, the scene revealed an escalating argument between Anderson and his partner. The conflict reportedly stemmed from personal issues, including discussions about other women's contacts on his phone.

According to the woman, Anderson allegedly punched her in the side and grabbed her by the neck during the argument. The police arrested the then-current... AMA Supercross rider The arrest was made the same day. The accusation was... Battery (Domestic Violence) – i.e., bodily harm in the domestic environment.

The case is taking its legal course.

Following the arrest, the usual procedures of US criminal law were followed. A judge first determined that there was sufficient initial suspicion to initiate proceedings. At the same time, preliminary conditions were imposed – including a restraining order prohibiting contact with the alleged victim.

Shortly afterward, Anderson hired a lawyer. Through her, the driver filed a complaint. “Not Guilty” plea He submitted a request for access to the investigation files and any potential exculpatory evidence. A perfectly normal step in the American legal system – but one that often sets the course of a case.

One explanation changes the situation.

Just a few days later, the case took a new turn. On 22 December 2025 A so-called [case] was filed with the court. “Affidavit of Non-Prosecution” submitted. This means: The alleged victim officially declared, to avoid prosecution.

Such statements do not automatically lead to the discontinuation of proceedings. In cases of domestic violence, prosecutors can, in principle, continue their investigations even without the victim's cooperation. In practice, however, this becomes difficult when crucial statements or witnesses are missing.

The public prosecutor's office is not filing charges.

The final decision was made almost seven weeks after the incident. On February 9, 2026 the public prosecutor's office announced not to bring chargesThe reason given was that there was insufficient usable evidence, particularly because victims or potential witnesses were not cooperating. The proceedings were thus terminated.

The file will be sealed.

A few days later, the final formal step followed: The entry for the case was made in the criminal register. sealed. This means that the file is no longer accessible to the public and will not appear in normal background checks.

Social media suddenly silent

In parallel, something else has been noticed in recent days: Both the Jason Anderson's Instagram account as well as that of his wife Kenzie Meads have been since yesterday offlineIt is currently unclear whether this is a temporary deactivation or a permanent deletion. However, no direct connection to the legal proceedings can be inferred from this.

Officially, no connection to the Daytona exit.

But what actually triggered the current circulation of these court documents?

Shortly before the Daytona Supercross Promoter FeldEntertainment Anderson is known to have been due to persistent health problems the eighth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship would miss out.

Some self-proclaimed internet detectives used this news to draw a connection between the incident in December and the abandonment in Daytona.

It is known that Anderson already last year, she struggled with prolonged health problemsIt is therefore quite possible that these symptoms have recurred – however, there is no official confirmation of this yet.

Team responds to request

While Anderson himself has not yet publicly commented on the documents that have surfaced and his health problems, there has at least been an initial reaction from within his team.

The US journalist Steve Matthews published on the platform X a statement which he claims to have been made by Pipes Motorsports received upon request.

It says:

"We have recently received information regarding Jason Anderson. The Pipes Motorsports Group is investigating the matter and will not be making any further comments at this time."

No further details have been provided by the team so far.

Whether Jason Anderson himself will take part remains to be seen. The fact is: legally, the case from December 2025 is closed and the file sealed. From a sporting perspective, the official status remains unchanged. Health problems as the reason for the Daytona exitAnything beyond that currently falls into the category of speculation.

Cole Davies Full of Confidence!

A week ago, the 250SX East Division opener in Arlington sparked controversy when race leader Jo Shimoda rolled some jumps that he didn’t have to roll while leading the race—he thought the red lights were telling him to roll, but they were just warning lights. The AMA has now switched those warnings lights to yellow, from red, but that’s still not making folks like Jo, or his Honda bosses, or even the race fans, happy. For Pierce Brown, who won the race last week, he’s just tried to ignore it all.

“I tried not to think or look into the fan response,” said Brown. “There was a lot of unhappy people with the red light situation last weekend, but a lot of people were stoked [I got a win], too. It's one of those things, if you look into the comment section, it could get your head spinning. So, I try not to do that and just do my thing. We're going to keep doing me, and nothing else will change.”

For Brown, the challenge is to fight for a title over a full season for the first time in his career. To that end, he wasn’t blazing fast in Daytona, but was happy to salvage a third and retain the points lead.

“A podium was honestly my goal coming into the weekend,” he said. “It was one of those tracks in the main I struggled with. I felt great all day. Then in the main, as the track started breaking down, I kind of was all over the place with line choices and everything. Overall, I'm more than happy to walk away with the podium. Stacking the momentum from last weekend, too, feels really good.”

• Align Media
• Align Media

Even when he won last weekend, Brown made it clear that his real goal this year is to avoid the bad races more than focus on celebrating the good ones. Just stay consistent. He did that at Daytona. Consider that Drew Adams and Jo Shimoda crashed while running ahead of him. Pierce took what he could get.

“I rode around fifth for most of the race," he said. "Then a bunch of guys just started making mistakes, and I was there to capitalize, so it made it easy on me. But then, again, you have to be there, and that was the name of the game tonight. I feel like that's going to be really crucial next weekend, too, with the Triple Crown. Overall, I think my head's in a good spot. Bike's good, body's good, and I'm excited.”

One rider who will be tough to contend with is his teammate Cole Davies, who once again blew minds with outstanding speed. The start did him in again, though.

“I would say I rode good. I'm not 100 percent happy with the placing, but obviously I rode good,” Davies said. “I had good speed, but I didn't have a good start, and I need to figure that out. I would say my starts were very good last year. I had a lot of good starts, but this year, I guess, they're just not as good. So I just need to find what I was kind of doing last year and repeat that, and it should be good.”

With eye-opening whoop speed, Davies could hammer next weekend at Indy, where he was crazy fast in the rutted whoops last year. The young New Zealander is not short on confidence.

“If I ride like I know I can, I don't feel like anyone can touch me,” Davies said. "I just need to figure out these starts, and I'll be away.”

For the first time in 2026, a 250SX race has been won by someone not riding a Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine. Seth Hammaker got the W at Daytona on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, not a surprise considering he was a pre-season favorite to win races. The Yamaha YZ250F riders are still right in the hunt, though. Two different approaches here. The more veteran Brown is playing the long game and focused on consistency, Davies is showing incredible all-out speed and is a good start away from being able to turn that into a win.

“Yeah, it's going to be another hectic weekend, for sure,” says Brown. “Triple Crown always gets pretty gnarly. So that's going to be another one you got to be in it. Three starts is going to be the main goal, so we're going to work on that this week for next weekend. Honestly, I think we're in a good spot with the bike, the team. So there's not going to be much change going on this week. It'll just be doing the laps and staying fresh.” 

Febvre and Herlings ignite Lierop, MXGP season set to explode

Final warm-up events before the start of the 2026 Motocross World Championship. Here’s how the top contenders fared between the Netherlands and Spain.

Romain Febvre and Jeffrey Herlings headlining the battle at the top: a taste of 2026? And Tim Gajser, this year's new Yamaha ace, was missing—otherwise the answer could have been completely positive. Next weekend, Argentina will host the opening event of the new season; in the meantime, a good portion of the Motocross World Championship protagonists gathered on Sunday, March 1, for the Dutch MX Season Opener on the sand of Lierop. In the MX1 class, the home hero was clearly the most anticipated, taking on a new challenge with Honda HRC Petronas, but the reigning MXGP champion, loyal to Kawasaki, also put himself to the test in one last “preparation” event before beginning his title defense. In MX2, it was a solo performance at the top by Liam Everts (Nestaan Husqvarna Factory). But let’s also take a look at Spain, where the national Motocross Élite championship kicked off alongside some world-class names: Ruben Fernandez (Honda HRC Petronas) blew away the competition in MX1, while brothers Karlis and Janis Reisulis (Monster Energy Yamaha) set the pace in the MX2 class.

MX1: Febvre vs Herlings, then a gap to the rest

As anticipated, this category featured a head-to-head between two renowned international motocross stars. The first race was a runaway for Romain Febvre, who literally bolted from the start, leaving Jeffrey Herlings behind. The second moto was more adrenaline-fueled: the two immediately took the lead, serving the Dutch crowd a breathtaking duel until Herlings managed to prevail in the finale with a solid margin over his rival. The day ended tied on points; to the delight of the home fans, Herlings took the overall victory, while Febvre had to settle for 2nd overall due to his 2nd place in the deciding second race. No big deal—both the Kawasaki-mounted Frenchman and the Honda-mounted Dutchman showed they’re in superb shape, ready to spark fireworks in the new world championship season.

And the others? Hard to talk about “other contenders,” at least at this event: Calvin Vlaanderen, Ducati’s new signing, was a steady third, 30 seconds down in the first moto and essentially the same in the second and final race. One of the expected frontrunners, Kay De Wolf, was absent due to a thumb injury that required a minor procedure, while we also saw our own Alberto Forato (Fantic) and Andrea Bonacorsi (Ducati MX) in action, as well as Glenn Coldenhoff (ex-World Championship, which he officially bid farewell to at the end of 2025), Jago Geerts, Brent van Doninck, Roan van de Moosdijk, Max Nagl, Tom Koch, to name a few. All lined up behind the leading duo at this Dutch event, but we’ll get the true pecking order once the World Championship gets underway.

MX2: Liam Everts unchallenged

Several international category standouts were missing—most notably reigning champion Simon Laengenfelder—but that takes nothing away from Liam Everts’ talent, who has clearly shown he’s far more than just the son and grandson of legends. There was no better way to wrap up his preparation for the new world season than a double triumph in the two motos raced on the Dutch sand. An absolute domination right from Race 1, with runner-up Scott Smulders finishing 41 seconds adrift, after initially holding off the fierce Mathis Valin (Kawasaki), who then crashed and could do no better than 6th. In the second race, the gap grew to 45 seconds, this time over Dani Heitink, who capped a remarkable weekend with second overall before stepping up to EMX250 with Husqvarna.

Spain, Motocross Élite

Ruben Fernandez on top form, as were the Latvian brothers Karlis and Janis Reisulis. Final world-level tune-ups also took place on the Iberian Peninsula, which last weekend hosted the first round of the Spanish Motocross Élite Championship at the Calatayud circuit (a Roman-era town in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon). Let’s start with the MX1 class, where the Honda HRC Petronas Spanish rider was absolutely unbeatable: first pole position with victory in the qualifying race, then a holeshot and triumph in the first moto, and finally another holeshot and victory in the second race as well.

In MX2, the top positions were strictly a family affair—both because the two riders are brothers and because they both race for Yamaha. The weekend’s dominant force was the younger brother, Janis, who makes his class World Championship debut this year after winning the European 250 title with the same Iwata colors: pole position with brother Karlis very close but behind, then marching on with a holeshot and victory in the first moto, plus another holeshot and victory in the second and final race. Karlis Reisulis completed the family one-two in the first race, then ceded to Spain’s Adrià Monné in the last race to finish 3rd, but it changes little. The Reisulis brothers have wrapped up their preparations and are ready to make their mark in the MX2 World Championship against fierce competition.

Daytona

In what has become a highly regarded 2026 Supercross season, with close racing at all eight of the concluded Supercross events,  the Daytona Supercross was a total barn burner with Eli Tomac achieving all that a single rider could hope to do on this historic night. Tomac, who made the switch from Star Yamaha to the Red Bull KTM team over the winter, didn’t just dominate Saturday night’s Daytona race win (his fourth win out of the first eight 2016 AMA Supercross events, Eli also became the winningest racer in Daytona history with his eighth victory. Plus, he also edged closer to Jeremy McGrath’s record of 72 AMA Supercross wins, by winning his 57th AMA Supercross.