The opening Saturday of the MXGP season in Argentina delivered immediate storylines, with rookies making an impact and established stars facing early setbacks.
All eyes were initially on Jeffrey Herlings, who dominated both free practice and timed qualifying aboard his Honda HRC machine, posting a lap over a second faster than Lucas Coenen. Teammate and MXGP rookie Tom Vialle completed the top three in the timed session, ahead of Pauls Jonass and reigning world champion Romain Febvre, who suffered a minor late crash.
However, the Qualifying Race reshuffled the narrative. Herlings crashed on the opening lap and was forced to charge from the back, eventually recovering to 13th and missing the points.
That opened the door for Vialle, who seized the holeshot and controlled the race from start to finish to win the MXGP Qualifying Race in his debut in the premier class. Coenen kept the pressure on throughout but had to settle for second. Another impressive rookie performance came from Andrea Adamo, who rode a composed race to secure third place.
Behind them, Maxime Renaux finished fourth, while Febvre recovered from a poor start to claim fifth after passing Rubén Fernández, who ended sixth.
MX2: Perfect Saturday for Sacha Coenen
In MX2, Sacha Coenen was the dominant force throughout the day. The Red Bull KTM De Carli rider topped free practice, led the timed qualifying session with a 1:54.829 lap, and capped a flawless Saturday with victory in the Qualifying Race.
The race initially belonged to rookie Janis Reisulis, who grabbed the holeshot and led the opening two laps before fading to sixth by the finish. Once in front, Coenen controlled the race comfortably to secure the qualifying win.
Guillem Farrés delivered an impressive ride to take second for Triumph Factory Racing, holding off late pressure from Mathis Valin, who completed the podium in third.
Liam Everts and Camden McLellan rounded out the top five after both moved forward late in the race.
The biggest surprise came from reigning champion Simon Längenfelder, who crashed in the first corner and dropped to the back with a front-wheel issue, leaving him out of contention for points.
FULL QUALIFYING RACE RESULTS
MXGP QUALY RACE
MX2 QUALY RACE
TIME PRACTICE REPORT
MXGP: Herlings tops the timesheet!
New bike, same speed for Jeffrey Herlings. The new Honda HRC rider backed up his free practice pace by dominating the MXGP qualifying session, setting the fastest time by more than a full second over Lucas Coenen of Red Bull KTM De Carli in a relatively calm session.
Herlings’ teammate and fellow class rookie Tom Vialle placed third, making it a strong showing for the Honda squad.
Pauls Jonass finished fourth, ahead of reigning champion Romain Febvre, who suffered a late crash that interrupted his rhythm but did not cause any injury.
Among the MXGP rookies, Andrea Adamo placed seventh, while Spain’s Oriol Oliver ended the session in 17th position.
Meanwhile, Tim Gajser completed his first qualifying outing with Monster Energy Yamaha in eighth place, more than two seconds off the fastest lap. Just behind him came Rubén Fernández, followed by Calvin Vlaanderen on the factory Ducati to complete the top ten.
MX2: Sacha Coenen Set the Peace
After topping free practice, Sacha Coenen confirmed his speed by leading the MX2 qualifying session. The Red Bull KTM De Carli rider controlled the session from the early laps and delivered the decisive lap on his seventh tour with a time of 1:54.829.
In the closing minutes several riders tried to close the gap, but reigning champion Simon Längenfelder was the only one to get close, finishing just over seven-tenths behind for second. Camden McLellan secured third place to round out the top three.
FULL RESULTS TIME PRACTICE
MXGP TIME PRACTICE
MX2 TIME PRACTICE
