Championship battle intensifies with Czech Republic up next
LoketAfter his one-one performance in Great Britain last weekend, Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Jeffrey Herlings heads to Loket, Czech Republic with increased motivation as the gap at the top of the 2026 MXGP World Championship sits at just 11 points now.
His 57-points over the weekend marks his joint-best effort and it came at the perfect time, capitalising to maximum extent and closing the gap to its smallest margin since after France, which was round six of the series. While the Dutchman has had success at Loket, he has also had some less enjoyable experiences there, so he knows he’ll have to be at his very best to keep this momentum and to bring even more pressure into the championship battle.
Ruben Fernandez also had his best points-tally of the season in Great Britain, winning the qualification race and just missing out on the podium after his four-four race results. It was a shame that he couldn’t stand on the box, but he was delighted to receive the chequered flag on Saturday, and having now moved into sixth place in the standings, he has his eyes set even higher, with fifth-place just 14 points away.
The 30-points that Tom Vialle scored don’t tell the full story, as the Frenchman was looking to follow-up his third place in the qualification race, with another third place in moto one. Unfortunately one mistake cost him that opportunity, just a few laps from the end and that then affected his chances in race two. Still, the speed was undoubtably on show over the course of the weekend and he’ll be aiming to stand on the podium which surprisingly would be his first-time in the Czech Republic.
Valerio Lata hasn’t been enjoying his best run of form recently, but last year he was able to finish second place in the qualifying race in Loket, so will be using that as a boost to get him fired up for this final third of the championship. Seven races in nine weekends will be tough for everyone, but with lots of points on offer, this is a real chance for all of the team to make some important moves in the title standings.
I feel like last weekend, is where I should be at every round – getting good starts, fighting for wins, battling for podium spots and just putting myself in strong positions. Of course, I wasn’t quite able to stand on the box, but a little bit of luck and I would have been there, so now I’m mostly over these small injuries, I’m hoping to really this season strongly.
I feel like last weekend, is where I should be at every round – getting good starts, fighting for wins, battling for podium spots and just putting myself in strong positions. Of course, I wasn’t quite able to stand on the box, but a little bit of luck and I would have been there, so now I’m mostly over these small injuries, I’m hoping to really this season strongly.
Definite good signs from Great Britain, and ones I can take into Loket and feel like I’m moving in the right direction. Although I haven’t even been on the podium before in Czech, I feel like things are coming together and this could be the year. My starts were really good last weekend and I think if I can repeat the same this weekend, I’ll put myself in position to finally make that podium happen.
Definite good signs from Great Britain, and ones I can take into Loket and feel like I’m moving in the right direction. Although I haven’t even been on the podium before in Czech, I feel like things are coming together and this could be the year. My starts were really good last weekend and I think if I can repeat the same this weekend, I’ll put myself in position to finally make that podium happen.
Great Britain went about as well as it could have gone, so now I just have to keep that going in Czech. I’d love to knock out two more holeshots there because that track can be tough going, but I think I’m riding well and even last week I made a lot of passes in the qualifying race so hopefully it can be another good round. I’ve got good and bad memories in Loket, so it’s definitely a track that can bite you. Just got to ride like I know I can ride and should be okay.
Great Britain went about as well as it could have gone, so now I just have to keep that going in Czech. I’d love to knock out two more holeshots there because that track can be tough going, but I think I’m riding well and even last week I made a lot of passes in the qualifying race so hopefully it can be another good round. I’ve got good and bad memories in Loket, so it’s definitely a track that can bite you. Just got to ride like I know I can ride and should be okay.
I had a good round here in 2025, so I’m looking forward to heading back and trying again this year. It is another old-school track, like Foxhills, but I think this one suits me slightly more and I’m hoping that it can be a strong round for me, and one that can kick-start my results for this last run of races.
I had a good round here in 2025, so I’m looking forward to heading back and trying again this year. It is another old-school track, like Foxhills, but I think this one suits me slightly more and I’m hoping that it can be a strong round for me, and one that can kick-start my results for this last run of races.
Obviously Great Britain was a great one for the team. Ruben winning the qualification race was awesome for him, and a great boost, and then Jeffrey going one-one in the two Sunday motos to close the championship gap to just 11 points means we are all very excited to get to Loket. It definitely isn’t an easy track, and with this run of races, we know that it’s another tough weekend for the whole team, but everyone is very motivated and I think all four guys can have good results here.
Obviously Great Britain was a great one for the team. Ruben winning the qualification race was awesome for him, and a great boost, and then Jeffrey going one-one in the two Sunday motos to close the championship gap to just 11 points means we are all very excited to get to Loket. It definitely isn’t an easy track, and with this run of races, we know that it’s another tough weekend for the whole team, but everyone is very motivated and I think all four guys can have good results here.
