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2026 MXGP of Argentina MXGP Race 1
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00:00.
00:20After clinching his second MXGP World Championship,
00:23ten years after winning his first,
00:26Kawasaki's Roman Fevre arrives in Argentina,
00:28having finally shaken that title-chasing monkey off his back.
00:32The Frenchman may be more relaxed than ever before,
00:35but don't be fooled by his cool, calm exterior.
00:38Fevre is here to win again in 2026.
00:41Lukas Kunen may have narrowly missed his opportunity to win last year,
00:45but the young Belgian is out to prove that 2025 was no fluke,
00:49as he hopes to kick things off the same way he ended last year's campaign,
00:52with a win.
00:53There'll also be a lot of eyeballs on the two five-time champions
00:56who switched teams in the off-season,
00:58with Jeffrey Hurlings from KTM to Honda,
01:00as Tim Geiser heads from Honda to Yamaha
01:03in what is the most heavily stacked line-up in MXGP ever.
01:07Eight world champions, 18 world titles between them.
01:102026 is going to be epic.
01:12This is the MXGP of Argentina, and we are live.
01:16And what a day we have in store for you.
01:19We've just had an absolutely cracking first race in MX2.
01:24Beautiful views over there, the Patagonian Andes,
01:27and the lake in the distance on the horizon.
01:30The Nahuel Huapi Lake right here in what is pretty much a natural park.
01:36Bariloche Airport just to the left, to the right of us, about 10km to the right,
01:40and then down the left in the bottom of the valley we've got the town of Bariloche itself.
01:44But we've got a good enthusiastic crowd here today,
01:47and they cannot wait to kick things off in this MXGP class.
01:53Now, obviously, there's been a lot of talk about certain riders, moving teams,
01:57and all the rest of it.
01:59We've also got rookies coming up from MX2 into MXGP.
02:02That's a quick look at the track if you're joining us for the first time.
02:04We are at altitude.
02:05That means the bikes, the factory bikes at least,
02:08are losing around about 5% of the power,
02:10maybe a bit more if you are on a privateer machine.
02:1418.50 long, over two-minute lap times,
02:16and it's wide, it's heavy, it's loamy,
02:19it's hard and edgy underneath in certain places as well.
02:21So it really is going to be very, very interesting to see how this one plays out.
02:27Anyway, we've had three rookies move into MXGP this year.
02:31Tom Vial returns from America, the two-time champ.
02:34Andrea Adamo, former MX2 champ, of course, Kai DeWolf.
02:36Kai DeWolf not lining up here this weekend due to injury,
02:39but let's take a look and listen about some of the things we can look forward to.
02:44Here's our rookies report for MXGP riders.
02:47Kai DeWolf, Andrea Adamo, Tom Vial.
03:02Perhaps one of the biggest stories in MXGP in 2026
03:04is the kind of entry into the premier class of former MX2 world champions.
03:10Kai DeWolf, of course.
03:12Andrea Adamo and the returning two-time champ, Tom Vial,
03:15who's had a stint for the past few years in the US.
03:18For Kai DeWolf, I think there was a stat out there recently
03:22that he's raced Jeffrey Hurlings twice on the 450 in the last couple of years
03:26and beat him twice.
03:27So that's going to be very, very interesting to see how that plays out in the first place anyway.
03:31Andrea Adamo in the pre-season races has actually looked very strong
03:35and surprised a few people on that 450.
03:37He's got to go to MXGP in 2027 anyway,
03:40so maybe get a year under his belt ahead of that sort of departure date into 2027.
03:46And then we've got Tom Vial, of course.
03:47All of his success, his two titles came at KTM.
03:49He now moves to a brand new team.
03:51We know how strong Andre HRC Petronas is.
03:54One thing we do know is that Tom Vial is one of the most prolific starters.
03:5961 foxhole shots in his time in MX2 before he went to the US.
04:03If he adds to that, we know he's going to be a rider that can lead from the front
04:07and make it difficult for some of those established aces.
04:20How's the feeling of being back at the GPS?
04:23Yeah, it feels nice.
04:26When we go overseas, always the fans are pretty close.
04:37Vial, it's an investment in the future because he's another one who won four titles
04:45and another one who can go for the titles.
04:47So, I mean, these two hopefully have the next champions for Honda.
05:01That report coming from our first episode of Behind the Gate then.
05:05New beginnings.
05:07Of course, I think the title speaks for itself.
05:09New beginnings for a lot of people.
05:10Switching from certain teams, moving class.
05:13And, of course, it's a brand new season as well.
05:15So, you can see that early next week, maybe Tuesday, on our platform if you are a subscriber.
05:21And, of course, a couple of weeks after that on our YouTube channel as well.
05:26So, props to the guys working behind the scenes on Behind the Gate, as always.
05:31Anyway, let's go down to the grid.
05:34Lisa Leland caught up with Andrea Adamo.
05:36One of the riders featured in that report, five-time champ, Tim Geiser.
05:41So, we're almost ready for the first MXGP race of the day.
05:44Let's grab a few words with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider, Tim Geiser.
05:49Tim, tough day at the office yesterday.
05:51Firstly, just tell us, are you okay?
05:54Yeah, I'm okay.
05:55I'm okay.
05:55I had a little bit of pain here in biceps on the arm.
05:59But, anyway, I feel okay.
06:00I feel decent.
06:01And, yeah, like you said, yesterday I was struggling big time on the track.
06:05Like, we're just setting up the bike a little bit.
06:07The track is quite weird, you know.
06:09There is not many, many traction.
06:12Burms that are like a powder.
06:14So, you really have to be smooth and try it easy.
06:17But today is a new day.
06:18So, I hope I can turn around things and enjoy today and have a good race.
06:23Absolutely.
06:23And how's the track differ from today than yesterday?
06:25How was warm up this morning?
06:27They put a little bit of water so there is a little bit more moisture on it.
06:32But, yeah, quite similar to yesterday.
06:34Best of luck.
06:35Have a good race.
06:35Thank you, Tim.
06:39Okay, I'd like to catch up with Red Bull KTM Factory MXGP rider Andrea Adamo.
06:44Andrea, in the off-season, pre-season, many people questioning your move up to the 450.
06:48Why don't you stay down a class?
06:51Potentially get another title.
06:52But you were looking really good yesterday and, I'm assuming, feeling good as well.
06:57Yeah, the feeling was really good.
06:58And I was looking good and felt good.
07:01So, yeah, let's hope to get a good start and to learn as much as possible.
07:07That's my goal.
07:07Because at the end, it's new class, new opponents.
07:10So, I have to learn a lot.
07:12So, the goal is to learn as much as possible in this first race.
07:16To try to be more competitive to the end of the championship, let's say.
07:20But, yeah, really happy.
07:21And just tell us, Andrea, how much of your decision was based on what we saw Lucas do last year?
07:27A bit, honestly.
07:29A little bit, but not too much.
07:30At the end, I always think about myself.
07:33I would have loved to be, again, to fight for another world title in MX2.
07:38But I had the feeling that for my career, this was the best decision.
07:42And that's why I took it.
07:44And I'm, till now, I would say I'm pretty happy about it.
07:47Have a good race.
07:48Thank you, Andrea Adamo there.
07:49Okay, good luck to the guys here on the grid.
07:51It's time for the first MXGP race of the day.
07:57Thank you, Lisa.
07:58Thank you, Lisa.
08:00Tim Geiser and, of course, Andrea Adamo.
08:03Tim Geiser just...
08:05You'll see the crash in a minute.
08:06He went down very hard.
08:09Obviously feeling a little bit battered and bruised, like you said, on the biceps.
08:13But let's take a look at that qualifying race now from MXGP.
08:16Gate dropped and there was some barbanging going on between the two Kawasaki's.
08:20Of course, Jonas and Roman Febvre, the defending champion on the number one.
08:22On board here with Iago Geert as he got out dragged.
08:28But look at that, over to the outside.
08:31That was Oriol Oliver just getting bumped around the outside of the track.
08:34He would eventually get docked at a few positions, three positions, in fact,
08:38for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
08:41Eventually came home in 14th place.
08:43But on board here with Andrea Bonacorsi on the Red Bull Ducati.
08:47He was sort of mid-pack-ish, around about 14th, 15th place on the opening lap.
08:51But see how dry it was at the end of the day yesterday.
08:55Meanwhile, Jeffrey Hurlings fell from 6th, whilst chasing his teammate Ruben Fernandes.
09:00He picked himself up in 21st place and would have to work hard just to get back to 12th.
09:06Tim Geiser got up the inside of Roman Febvre here as they battled over 6th.
09:12But it was short-lived because almost a lap later,
09:15Febvre found his way back around the outside of the Slovenian to take back that 6th position.
09:20Then Geiser landed on a back marker here.
09:24Jumping blind over the triple.
09:25Geiser went down hard.
09:27He eventually fell from that 6th to 10th position.
09:32As Lucas Kunin did his best to rattle down Tom Vial.
09:36Tom Vial, Honda HRC Petronas, 4x2 time champ of course, grabbed the whole shot.
09:41And led every step of the way.
09:44Then Kunin started to close in on him.
09:45And we wondered whether Kunin had something for the Frenchman in the end.
09:49Turned out Kunin, the flame just burnt out.
09:52Tom Vial went to win for the first time in 2026.
09:55His first qualifying win of the season, his ninth career pole.
09:59Tom Vial, Honda HRC Petronas, victorious in the first qualifying race of the 2026 season.
10:05He'll go to the line with the championship leaders red plate as well in today's races.
10:14Give you the results of the qualifying race or as the riders line up then in a moment.
10:19But yeah, it was a great ride for Tom Vial.
10:21Led every single one of the 12 laps on offer.
10:23Lucas Kunin and Andrea Adamo, they were second and third for Red Bull KTM.
10:28Maxime Renault, Monster Energy Yamaha was fourth.
10:31Roman Favre just before the midway point of the race got his Kawasaki racing team machine ahead of Ruben Fernandes
10:36to move into fifth.
10:37Fernandes was sixth, Fulzjonas seventh.
10:39Mattia Guadagnini for Venru, KTM was eighth.
10:42And then the Red Bull Ducati of Calvin Vallana was ninth.
10:45And then Tim Geiss, the tenth.
10:47Then we had Bonacorzi, Herlings, Kevin Haugmo.
10:49Kevin Haugmo has been sick for the last two weeks.
10:51Hasn't had any time on the bike, so he was feeling a little bit sort of,
10:55he said the body's okay, but just the sickness, just not having the fitness from riding.
11:00But he said the track was good, but it was fast.
11:02It was very intense and the intensity is what he was missing yesterday in that qualifying race,
11:06but he'll be hoping for better today.
11:08And Oriol Oliver coming over 14 for Gabriel SS 24 KTM.
11:12Then Fred Van Donen 15 for Fantec Factory Racing MXGP.
11:18Beautiful location here in Patagonia, isn't it?
11:21We're not here for a holiday.
11:23It's not a holiday.
11:24Although some people think it might be.
11:31Warm up this morning, Jeffrey Herlings.
11:33He was fastest in pre-practice yesterday and time practice.
11:35Had that qualifying crash yesterday.
11:38Came home in 12th, but just set things straight.
11:40He went fastest in warm up on his final lap today.
11:43Here's how the riders line up then.
11:44As they qualified, Tom Viau, Lucas Kunin, Andrea Adamo, Maximo Renault,
11:48Fevre Fernandes, Jonas Guadagnini,
11:51Vellandren, Geisse, Pono Corsi, Herlings and the rest.
11:54Herlings fastest in warm up today.
11:56Vellandren second, Lucas Kunin third, Jonas Horgmo, Fevre, Tom Viau seventh.
12:02What about two seconds off the pace, but don't read too much into that.
12:06It is exactly what it says on the tin.
12:07Warm up 15 minutes just to get yourself redialed into the circuit.
12:19Tom Viau lines up with the championship leaders red plate for the first time in 2026.
12:26And the Frenchman was absolutely top class yesterday in the qualifying race.
12:35It's his first red plate since the 17th of July 2022 at Lockett when he lost it to Iago Hirtz
12:41at round 13 in MX2.
12:42Obviously he gained it back, but it was gold when he picked it back up in Turkey, the final round
12:47of the season.
12:49Andre Adamo was solid in the qualifying race yesterday.
12:52Third for the former MX2 world champion in what promises to be a classic, doesn't it?
12:58Eight world champions, only seven here this weekend.
13:00No Kai DeWolf, who I'm sure is watching intently at home.
13:05Get well soon, Kai DeWolf.
13:08Maximo No, a study of concentration as he takes fourth position to the gates.
13:14And Roman Fevre arrived here all in red with the championship leaders red plate.
13:18That's lost it for now.
13:19Will he gain it back by the end of the weekend?
13:23Looking very relaxed, cool, calm and collected.
13:28Is the two-time world champion.
13:31Ruben Fernandez, a winner here just down the road at Bichalanga Store in 2023.
13:35Can he get another victory here this weekend in Argentina?
13:39He was sixth in qualifying.
13:41How much would he love to stand on the podium in front of native speaking fans here in South America?
13:49The bullet, Jeffrey Herlings, fell from sixth in the qualifying race.
13:53Picked himself up in 21st, found his way back to 12th.
13:55I think it was arm pump that got the better of him having to push hard on what was a
13:59very intense racetrack.
14:01High speed yesterday.
14:03Maybe a lot slower today with the ever more bumps that are starting to appear on this racetrack.
14:09Tim Geiser may be feeling a little bit second-hand and detuned after that big crash through no part of
14:15his own in the qualifying race yesterday.
14:16Backmarker not getting over the triple.
14:19And obviously Geiser wouldn't have seen that until he was airborne.
14:22Better luck for the Yamaha man today.
14:26But also Geiser, he's not one of those that needs to win in the first round, is he?
14:29So he'll build into this championship.
14:31Maybe that just takes the pressure off him a little bit.
14:33Who knows?
14:34Either way, we have got a massively stacked MXGP class lining up for race one and race two here in
14:42Argentina.
14:43As the fly racing 15 second board goes up.
14:47The YPF MXGP of Argentina about to burst into life here.
14:57Gates drop here in Argentina.
15:00Race one is underway for 2026.
15:02Roman Bevere with a better start.
15:04So too.
15:05Tom Vielle and Tim Geiser.
15:07Sorry, and Jeffrey Hurlings.
15:09Ruben Fernandes.
15:10Get him over the line here.
15:16Hurlings is who leads.
15:19Calls a foxhole shot.
15:21Jeffrey Hurlings can't say that too often for the bullet.
15:2732 in total in his career.
15:29But his last was Lommel race two last year.
15:32And that was his first in a long time.
15:34In almost three years, I believe.
15:39But it's Hurlings who leads the way.
15:41Adamo there second.
15:43Vielle third.
15:44Bonacorsi there in fourth.
15:45Vebra fifth as they drop downhill.
15:48For the first time.
15:49Jonas in sixth.
15:52And then Renault.
15:54Kunin.
15:54Beniston.
15:59Top end of the circuit.
16:01Through that long left turn 11.
16:05And drop him back downhill again.
16:07Jeffrey Hurlings leading from the front.
16:09What's been a great start for Honda HRC Petronas.
16:15First and third.
16:16A qualifying win yesterday with Tom Vielle.
16:19Ruben Fernandes a little bit further back.
16:21Just coming into shot in 12th position.
16:23Bottom of the hill now.
16:24Third rider around the outside.
16:30Bonacorsi on the Red Bull.
16:32Ducati going bar to bar with Romain Fevre.
16:35Fevre nips back up the inside.
16:37Takes that fourth position away.
16:46See those breaking bumps now.
16:47Pass pit lane.
16:49They said yesterday it was a high speed track.
16:51Remember we've only got MX2 and MXGP here this weekend.
16:53No European Championship support classes.
16:56I would say this race track is bedding in just nicely.
16:59Yes it's slick.
17:00Yes.
17:00The ground is unpredictable.
17:02Stony.
17:02But that's the beauty of MXGP.
17:04We have so many different types of terrain.
17:07All over the world.
17:08In which we have to become accustomed.
17:10And this is just another one of those on the list.
17:14Lucas Kunin trying desperately to find his way around.
17:18Paul Jonas here as he fights over that sixth place.
17:21Bonacorsi just ahead of them.
17:27The Italian Bonacorsi, Red Bull, Ducati, that deal being announced on Friday.
17:32All coming together very, very late for the team.
17:36But what a coup that has been for Louis Fosters and everybody over there.
17:42In Bergenk.
17:45I'll tell you what.
17:46Kunin just fighting the front end here.
17:48As Jonas fighting the back end.
17:51Loses a little bit of ground.
17:54Keeps a position just about.
17:57But Kunin digs in.
17:58Gets alongside the Latvian.
18:00Squeezes him at the top of the hill in turn 10.
18:03Kunin now up into sixth place.
18:16And immediately Lucas Kunin going after Andrea Bonacorsi here.
18:21Tries to come back to the inside.
18:24It works.
18:25Gets the power down.
18:26Gets alongside Bonacorsi.
18:27Looks across.
18:28He knows what's going to happen here.
18:30Thought about maybe Kunin was going to square back.
18:33So he was hesitant.
18:35Kunin pulled the trigger.
18:36Went the long way around to make the move into fifth position.
18:39Great riding by the Belgian.
18:47Fevera going after.
18:50Adamo.
18:53First four riders.
18:54First four positions.
18:55World champions.
18:56All of them.
18:57Hurlings with five.
18:58Bial with two.
18:59Adamo with one.
19:00Fevera with two.
19:03Jonas in seventh.
19:04Former world champion.
19:05Geiser in ninth.
19:06With his five.
19:12And Maximo there in eighth.
19:14Ahead of his teammate.
19:21Oh.
19:21Quite in the front end there.
19:23Roman Fevera.
19:26Turn four.
19:28Into those waves.
19:32Starting to bed down a little bit now.
19:35One or two little hooks on there as well.
19:37One or two of the takeoff areas.
19:40But they were quite big and high.
19:42When I did my track walk on.
19:44Friday.
19:46Got wider as you went through that kink at turn five.
19:52Seemed to be bedding down just nicely now.
19:59Hurlings.
20:001.7 seconds clear.
20:02Of his Honda HRC Petronas teammate.
20:04Tom Bial.
20:05That's those behind the.
20:07The result tower.
20:08On the left of his screen.
20:10Then we've got Adamo.
20:11Hitting the monster energy jump.
20:13Now.
20:13And then Fevera in red.
20:15Koonan.
20:16Behind him.
20:17On the big five.
20:19Red Bull KTM.
20:21New number for the Belgian here.
20:22Oh.
20:23Look at how.
20:24Easy.
20:25He's got himself back onto the rear wheel of Roman Fevera.
20:27It'll be a case of deja vu.
20:30For Lucas Koonan.
20:32In his battle.
20:33With Fevera for the championship last year.
20:41Koonan picking up 14 race wins.
20:44On his way to second.
20:45Comes to a temporary halt there though.
20:47In that left turn.
20:49Fevera with just nine race wins.
20:51But came away with the world championship.
20:53Don't forget.
21:00The fastest rider on track that time around.
21:02159.3 to jeffrey hurlings two minute zero seven eight 59 seven for adamo two minute point seven
21:12february 59.9 kunan i think february's realized lucas kunan is there knocking on the door
21:23so he decided you know what let's try second gear and put some distance between myself
21:28and the belgian try and go after adamo get yourself into the top three
21:40give you a rundown here at the top 20 in a moment but look at the gap closing
21:44down between hurlings and biao two teammates
21:54biao going after the bullet top of the hill
21:57top of your screen this is how he found his way pasadamo into second early on
22:01in the race turn two into turn three close the door there on the italian
22:19only got one thing on his mind hasn't he tom biao got that championship leaders red plate
22:25won the qualifying race on saturday picked up 10 points for that qualifying race win jeffrey hurlings
22:3312th didn't pick up any points yesterday look at the championship now tom biao on 32
22:39adamo would be on 28 with his third at the moment and third in the qualifying race
22:49and then hurlings would be third overall in the championship on 25 with these points right here so
22:55just goes to show big points mean big prizes but he's under pressure here
23:00and the opening round despite whatever jeffrey's contract is how much he's being paid and all the
23:06rest of it tom biao is also there to win he was nice through that corner yesterday it's equally impressive
23:14through there today there will definitely be no team orders here at the opening round herlings has
23:19definitely got his hands full oh lets him have it ready outside tom biao absolutely on fire here in race
23:27one
23:28oh i don't think jeffrey saw it coming did he
23:41wow talk about witnessing what might be possibly the changing of the guard in 2026
23:47for so long we've had the likes of and i'm not writing them off by any means not at all
23:52jeffrey hurlings and
23:54roman fevere in the mix
23:59tim geyser of course maxim renault
24:04but we've had new blood injected into mxgp in 2026 tom vial a two-time champ kyda wolf we don't
24:11know what he can do yet andrea adamo sitting in third place lucas kunan we saw what he was capable
24:16of
24:17in 2025 with second overall in the championship and currently fifth in race one
24:24here's geyser stand his way past maxim renault moves into eighth position
24:31as he looks to try and build his way into this race two monster and his yamaha here just
24:38inside the top 10 in this first race so far
24:44in the warm-up this morning paul's jonas just ahead of them did three four fast laps in succession just
24:51to
24:51get himself eyed in if you like
24:59maybe that's showing here whilst he is in that seventh position tom vial with that pass on hurlings
25:04one fifty eight three three nine fastest lap of the race so at the moment that would be the
25:07cherubis fastest lap of the race if it stays like that for the frenchman
25:12just wonder how much of this is jeffrey hurlings just saying you know what let's just sit here the
25:17race is still long
25:21a slight mistake there for jeffrey hurlings i think that's what allowed a little bit of ground
25:27on him and then all of a sudden
25:30snuck up the inside here then went around the outside in the next turn
25:33hurlings knew he was there didn't want to get into any kerfuffles here in this turn but
25:38once he was in there just got the power down swept around the outside that's all it took for tom
25:43vial to take over the lead
25:47through the waves bottom of his screen jonas heading uphill through the left
25:53he's there in that seventh and we've got geyser renault fernandez fernandez in 10th
25:58london on the redboard in cachi in 11th place jan panzer in 12th for 10 jp 253 ktm racing
26:07just at the top of the hill
26:11see the lines on that city step up about 25 meters from there there a nice sail over the top
26:16of there
26:17for the 450 riders 250 is having to work very very hard just to get that distance because the altitude
26:25silky smooth tom vial keep an eye on the gap so at the moment it's 2.86 between vial and
26:33hurlings
26:36check that gap over the line at the end of that five two corners from now
26:42as both honda hrc patronus riders go past pit lane five laps in the book so 59 082 from vial
26:50two
26:50minutes 061 for hurlings 3.023 seconds the gap between the two teammates and then adamo another 3.3 almost
26:59three and a half seconds further back
27:04here's how jeffrey hurlings stole the whole shot the foxhole shot from everybody gate from the
27:12middle watch this here swept across tom vial took to the outside as a couple of riders went down and
27:18swept wide talk about commitment watch this left of the doghouse gets the jump swings across
27:29and prior to his lomo foxhole shot last year jeffrey hurlings in race two
27:37his previous one to that was la capelle marivale race one 10th of october 2021
27:42mattia guadagnini getting caught out there in that first turn guadagnini now up in the 19th
27:48man is way past l argentina lars van burkel
27:53so vial leads hurling second adamo third febbra and kunan lucas kunan ran out the top five
28:00but bonacorsi six for ducati seventh jonas eight two yamahas of gaisette renault
28:06in ninth and then fernandez tenth milano and eleven
28:10bonacorsi is dropping down the leaderboard bonacorsi
28:21uh bonacorsi just there so the red bull ducati rider out of sixth place
28:32right oh and kunan's been down as well top of the hill turn what 14
28:41oh and brumann so kevin brumann picks himself back up and rejoins the race so a crazy lap six then
28:49as roman febvre finally finds the juice to get around the outside of andrea adamo
28:55just about gave him a set of handlebars width in which to operate febvre was committed what do we say
29:02start of the program he's not here to hang around he is here to win again picking his moment there
29:08adamo's been down in the corner picks himself up from fourth place just after febvre found his way by
29:23roman febvre all of a sudden coming to life with about 15 and a half minutes to go
29:41yeah watch this here look gets around the outside
29:47and then just as febvre gets around the outside here any moment now this was the pass
29:55but two corners later adamo went down just behind the the borders here and you'll see it now hopefully
30:04just folds the front we switch cameras at this point and then just there look so that was adamo falling
30:11from fourth but fortunate for him with lucas kunan's mistake kunan wasn't able to capitalize although
30:19kunan now is only about a half a second behind the italian
30:25febvre won't care too much about that though clear racetrack back marker and there's the battle in the
30:32next corner behind him
30:36adamo under attack from lucas kunan as they fight over fourth position
30:44and here they are
30:50i spy with my little eye somewhere we've got riders racing around this racetrack
30:56in the form of adamo and kunan here they are
31:02seven laps complete adamo hanging on to his fourth position
31:06lucas kunan bearing down on him though that gap at the second closer than it was a moment ago
31:15the outside puts you on the inside and lucas kunan working that majestically breezes by the italian into
31:22fourth
31:34here's how he did it switches to the outside look at those gnarly braking bumps
31:38adamo gets forced to the outside kunan outside inside cutback found a little gap utilized it
31:46perfectly executed move from the belgium who now has about nine and a half seconds to make up to roman
31:51febvre if he is to close down the defending champ and a move on third there's febvre in red a
31:58blob of red on the horizon
32:03and he's digging in as well putting in a shift
32:0628.9 fastest time in sector two for lucas kunan
32:13oh hello bonjour tom vial and jeffrey hurlings that gap is coming down it's not 2.1 seconds anymore
32:23jeffrey hurlings playing the waiting game the experience of a five-time champ really now starting to kick in
32:31he was prepared to let vial go around the outside sit back
32:37and then let his race come to him and all of a sudden he's going to be putting the pressure
32:42on the
32:42number 16 the championship the championship leader the red plate holder after his winning the qualifying
32:47race where he picked up 10 world championship points at the 25 where he is in the moment that's why
32:53he's on 35
32:59things have shaken up a little bit though because uh in terms of the championship you've got vial kunan
33:04febvre adamo and hurlings
33:12but of course qualifying race doesn't count for the overall grand prix classification which
33:17is duked out today a bit of an oj there for hurlings a bit of an over jump
33:29tom vial definitely opening a few eyes raising a few eyebrows snuck in under the radar with that
33:36quality race win yesterday hoping to come away with a race win here
33:43in the first race of 2026 but at the moment is being caught by the number 84 who's just chipping
33:51away
33:53at his former ktm teammate finds himself back in the same team with him at honda
34:04so two riders who know each other very well oh and oriel sorry jago kietz
34:10the mrt racing team beta rider jago kietz he's down
34:23so jago kietz in out of what 15th 16th place
34:38working our way towards the end of lap nine here
34:41gap shrinking between vial and his teammate down to about one and a half seconds at the last split we're
34:47about to hit the monster energy finish line now this is where jago kietz fell just there
34:55vial doing a great job of keeping that gap around one and a half 1.7 seconds at the moment
35:14the
35:15yeah so efficient through that turn herning's having two steps midterm
35:23nine and a half minutes plus two to go battle of the teammates here
35:28february only three and a half seconds further back you know he's been chipping away
35:36at the two hondas ahead of him
35:41so they can't afford to switch off can they here's adamo under attack from
35:47paul's jonas
35:52jonas the latvian 2017 mxg world champion gets the better of adamo
36:00adamo squares it back off thought about coming back at him but
36:05jonas up to fit
36:13tip geyser starting to spring into life as well maybe just riding off those knocks and
36:19bruises from yesterday's crash at the top of this hill with that back marker
36:22in the qualifying race there's february in the background in redland
36:26he believes eight and a half minutes to go he has a shot so too does jeffrey herlings
36:32who senses february closing on these two
36:37the bullet knows he can't afford yeah a nervous look over the shoulder there
36:41telltale sign that
36:43from the five-time champ
36:48what a race this is shaping up to be with eight minutes plus two laps to go
36:52vial continues to lead hurling second february closing in in third
37:05vial just pulls a couple of bike lengths on the exit of that
37:08tight left where adamo fell
37:12gap 2.2 seconds between february and hurlings now three seconds between the
37:17first three riders
37:20as vial continues to lead but he is the guinea pig he will be the first to
37:25attract or he'll be the first to come up on the back markers that one fell
37:30kindly for him not so much for hurlings though
37:39hurlings here nervous look over the shoulder sees that flash of red in the
37:43background closing in
37:47good responses from tom biel been in this position before already in the
37:51qualifying race with lucas kunan behind him in the end he dealt with the
37:57belgian threat now he's got to deal with the dutch and the french threats plural
38:12meanwhile back with tim geyser closing in on andrea adamo oh i tell you what he's gonna be down the
38:19inside here
38:21turn nine can't find a way through
38:26keeps all the way over to the left as he crests the summit adamo goes to the
38:31outside prevents the attack but geyser just says you know what get out of my way
38:36give you an elbow in the ribs and as easy as that geyser up in the sixth
38:49and this was a moment ago before that pass
38:53oh this is the pass
39:01so geyser now with clear track to try and close in on paul's jonas
39:06if you do that that'll be fifth position but he's running out of time just under six minutes to go
39:13pepper's gap not being bridged at the moment
39:18oh hurling spins up and all of a sudden there's a gift there for roman fevra
39:22who's got the honda man in his line of sight directly
39:26that'll spike the height the heart rate of hurlings
39:30because now he's under pressure from the defending champ
39:41fevra will look at this and say well
39:43you know i was a long way back from these guys at the start of the race but i've managed
39:47to chip away
39:48very very quietly watch this here hurlings
39:51the front tucked and then the back end just kicked around went the wrong side of some dirt there
39:57fortunate to stay on two wheels but
40:01be out benefits he's now two and a half seconds clear
40:05as roman fevra
40:08looks to try and capitalize on the bullets mistake
40:14nothing like a shot of adrenaline
40:16when you make a mistake like that just to catch your attention
40:20that's exactly what's happened here with jeffrey hurlings he's just pulled the pin
40:23and decided you know what don't want to fall for that one don't want to get involved
40:27let's just ran a few berms put some distance between myself and fevra
40:32that's exactly what he's done immediately he's got the gap back out at 2.1 seconds
40:41he's two and a half behind tom vial might have been the mistake that he needed actually just to
40:47give himself that little rocket up the backside
40:52oh wheelies over those breaking bumps nicely
40:562.3 the gap even with the mistake 2.017
41:05keep an eye on the sector times now sector one is from the finish line to
41:11the base of the monster jump coming out of turn two here
41:15this next right-hander so there's the first three there
41:18pretty much equity distance at the moment two seconds two seconds
41:24vial 29.075 sector one hurlings 29.3 so vial continues to gain 29.01
41:31fevra gapping hurlings once more
41:34sector two is to their left at the bottom of the
41:37the downhill before the long city climb
41:45i don't think tom vial's looked back has he yet
41:48just relying on his pit signals and just doing what he knows he can do
41:59there's calvin vallandran
42:01still circulating inside the top 10 benistan is up to 9th 11th
42:05just found his way past jan panza here's vallandran going after max and renault
42:10and andrea damo so this is 7th 8th and 9th on screen at the moment
42:25not a bad start to the championship for the rookie to the class andrea damo
42:34hurlings got the gap back down to 1.9 because his sector times it's sector 2
42:3830.8 29.9 getting the full second there but then sector 3 33.9 34.3
42:47still very very intense at the top between vial hurlings and fevra meanwhile
42:52max and renault doing his best to keep himself
42:57from being passed by the red bull ducati of calvin vallandran
43:01as he continues to go after adamo there just got pitched the wrong side of the
43:07the marker at the bottom of the hill
43:15oh renault trying to lay it down early gets alongside can he make the pass yes he can
43:20renault up to 7th
43:35adamo finds his way back though in quick succession
43:40frustrating the frenchman now
43:43who has to go the long way round
43:46almost got a little bit of help there from adamo
43:53again hot-blooded italian fiery frenchman
43:58going at it here
44:00the calm placid nature of the south african calvin vallandran
44:04just sitting there waiting for a mistake ahead of him
44:09he goes around the outside of renault here into turn 4
44:13can't quite make the pass there though
44:19vialan hurlings a second apart now at the head of the field
44:22these three riders here
44:24adamo renault vallandran fighting over 7th place
44:31fevra deciding you know what these guys can have it
44:33there's always race 2
44:37is it going to take 20 seconds to get to the finish line from here
44:41is it three or four laps to go
44:47sorry two or three laps to go
44:50it's going to be tight
44:53look at the clock on the top of the finish board here
44:55it's going to be marginal
44:57three seconds on the clock as they hit the line
45:00that might be a gift for hurlings it might be a nightmare for vial
45:09look at the urgency from number 84 now
45:14and the pass looks imminent
45:16the tempo all of a sudden
45:19going to 11
45:24hurlings looking to pick the pocket of his teammate
45:27goes around the outside and then down the inside
45:30hurlings leaves with two and a bit to go
45:34no reply
45:35same part of the racetrack that
45:37vial banners way past his teammate
45:41early on in the race
45:42on lap 4
45:44hurlings does something similar
45:46same part of the racetrack but
45:47instead of outside
45:49inside he went the opposite way
45:54hurlings leads once more
46:05will there be a charge from roman fevra
46:08or is he happy just to sit there in firm
46:11renault up to seven
46:12villana up to eight
46:13they've both found their way past adamo
46:16while all that was happening
46:17the challenge for the lead
46:21that mark is starting to be wary
46:23knowing the leaders are coming through
46:40fans loving this performance
46:42from both the honda hrc petronas riders
46:46looking to make it a one two
46:54giacomo garibaldi won't mind which one of these two
46:57wins have got fernandez down in 11th place
46:59the third rider of the team
47:01two laps to go
47:10vevra is getting closer
47:19so lap 4
47:21this was hurlings going outside
47:23vial inside and then outside in the next turn
47:26that's how he took the lead away from his teammate
47:31and then just a lap ago
47:34same positions for the riders
47:36but hurlings around the outside
47:38and then held the inside
47:39to make the move on vial
47:43as he took the lead with
47:44just under three laps to go
47:46vial not letting him out of his sight though
47:48the gap about a second
47:50between the dutch and the french rider
48:03but it's hurlings that's in control for now
48:05fevra has decided
48:07you know what
48:07i'll sit back save some energy
48:09might need it in race two
48:11on what might be an even rougher
48:12more rugged racetrack
48:14there's fevra there in red
48:15bottom of your screen
48:16two hondas top of your screen
48:18through the left hander
48:20turn 12
48:22as they launch down
48:24monster energy mountain once more
48:26we'll get another split
48:31in just a moment
48:341.6
48:351.8
48:36now the gap between first and second
48:47not a bad debut for the frenchman
48:53who will continue to lead the world championship
48:55heading into race two
48:56he's good at the bottom end of this circuit
48:58isn't he
48:58because 1.8
48:59it's not going to be that when they hit the line
49:01for the final lap
49:031.3
49:04vial still believes he can win it
49:07just trying to find all the inside lines
49:09and
49:10just cut the distance out
49:12he's good at the front end of this circuit
49:16Erlings knows he can't afford to switch off either
49:25ah mistake there in one of his favourite corners
49:28cost him a little bit of time
49:38efficient through the waves
49:42watch this here it just goes in too hot and then just has that little moment
49:47not as costly i don't think as the hurlings one earlier
49:57a little pitch over that single
49:59just there
50:03changes the trajectory of the bike doesn't it
50:06more than two and a half seconds now the gap between these two
50:08this is now hurlings race to lose
50:13simple little error if it's not careful
50:28tom vial just running out of time maybe the experience shining through yeah look over the shoulder there on the
50:35final incline for jeffrey hurlings he knows what time he's got to play in his pocket
51:10his teammate tom vial back in the championship as an mxgp rookie the former two-time world champion making him
51:18work every step of the way
51:20roma fevra the defending champion he'll go back to the drawing board he settled for third position didn't make the
51:27best start
51:29he will know he's got a fight on to defend that championship but he's not a million miles away
51:35he got close but just wasn't able to make make the difference when he got close to
51:42the hondas who responded by pushing each other on and in the end that was enough for roma fevra just
51:49to say you know what i'll just sit here calm my farm
51:54and we'll leave it at that lucas kunan crossing the line in fourth position which is better than he did
51:58in race one last year
52:02seventh and eighth a year ago for the belgian so hurlings vial fevra lucas kunan paul's jonas
52:09tim geyser six renault seven volana and eight peniston nine fernandez ten hopefully we get some
52:15news on andrea bonacorsi and iago kietz both riders not finishing kietz crashing after the finish line jump in
52:21the next right hander and andrea bonacorsi over on the far side of the circuit somewhere looked like
52:30he needed assistance but hopefully nothing too serious just a shock to the system adamo faded to
52:3811th in the end ahead of panzer brent van donick on the fantic orio oliver mattia guaranini for
52:45venri ktm there he is minus his front number plate
52:50and then we'll have horkmo see where polly van burkel and ferrato here's lisa with the bullet
52:55jeffrey hurlings that was very much battle of the teammates but you outsmarted tom in the end
53:00you got the job done and your first race win with your new team at the gps yeah exactly it's
53:05uh
53:05from the good position i was at it's uh kind of a god miracle i took the whole shot so
53:10uh
53:11quite special it took me uh i think it's been like five years since i took one with the kdm
53:15and i'm
53:15my first out with on i got a black plate so that's uh quite impressive but um you want to
53:19give it
53:19up to the team did a great job we uh had a short time on the bike once in january
53:23first so just over
53:24two months to get it on point but we're getting better and better and um yeah the speed was all
53:29weekend so yeah good to start off with the moto in your love for the second race thank you
53:38jeffrey hurlings doing what he did here in argentina 2018 back then it was a 2-1
53:47where he got his uh race win the first race victory on a honda first race with in this country
53:55since that
53:55race two victory back in 2018 jeffrey hurlings off to a flying start here in argentina
54:10take a look at the highlight shall we
54:21left of the box right as we look down that was jeffrey hurlings with space to his right
54:25and as everybody hit the brakes apart from tom vial to his inside it was jeffrey hurlings who grabbed his
54:31first foxhole shot of 2026 and his first in new colors lucas kunin was there sorry adamo was there
54:39around the outside in third as everybody else came charging through fevra right about fifth position
54:47fourth position early on in the race over the jump though that was vial moving into second
54:53going past adamo as we entered the second lap jeffrey hurlings then made a slight error here
55:00tom vial was closing in and then on lap four the number 16 went around the outside of the 84
55:05to take over the lead and from there he started to pull distance but of course he went out of
55:11sixth
55:11position at the same time as lucas kunin who fell from fifth but he was able to get himself back
55:17onto
55:17the rear wheel of andrea adamo so too was the number one of roman fevra fevra went through to move
55:24to the third and then just a couple of corners later adamo tipped over that brought him into the
55:29clutches of lucas kunin and a lap later the belgium was through
55:35jago keerts fell just after the finish line jump
55:38and would not finish the race jim geyser up the inside of a fading or maybe just out of rhythm
55:47andrea adamo meanwhile two lap boarded well three laps to go and all of a sudden hurlings outside
55:54inside finds his way back into the lead tom vial made him work every step of the way though but
55:58it
55:58was a race win for jeffrey hurlings his first since race two in argentina 2018.
56:07great ride that though from both honda hrc petronus riders let's give you the results then
56:16five race wins now for jeffrey hurlings in argentina he is among the 16 different race
56:22winners since 2015 25 points on the board fial second honda hrc petronus one two kawasaki racing
56:29team third red bull ktm four jonas five two monster energy yamahas six and seven red bull ducati for
56:36london in eight
56:38ninth for thibault benestan on the honda motor blues sr motor machine and ruben fernandez 10
56:44adamo pantser van donick oliver guaranini hogmo
56:49and then we had joaquin sorry jeremy see where joaquin poli lars van burkel alberto ferrato
57:01take a look at the foxhole shot
57:04for all of the uh
57:0932 foxhole shots that jeffrey hurlings had coming into this weekend
57:13he was always in a different brand of clothing this time he takes a fox
57:17hole shot black plate decked out in fox colors jeffrey hurlings his first black plate
57:25of the season his first since lommel race two 2025
57:30leads the way in the classification course just one of those being run so far
57:39well they're having a great time wind looks like it's picking up look how straight look how stiff that
57:43argentine flag is there on the horizon let's take a look at some of the best moments and there were
57:47quite
57:47a few from that first mxgp race
57:53so
58:00so
58:01so
58:01so
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