It is a young and dynamic team that will defend the colors of team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul, as Thibault Benistant joins us to race alongside Kevin Horgmo for the 2026 season.
As Kevin Horgmo was forced to do two years ago, Thibault Bénistant must leave the MX2 category to join the MXGP class after celebrating his 23rd birthday this year. A talented rider, two-time European champion, winner of three Grand Prix and nine MX2 races, and eighteen-time GP podium finisher, Thibault joins a team that he knows pretty well after choosing to train since last winter alongside Yves Demaria, the team’s coach for several seasons. Thibault has trained throughout the year alongside Kevin, with whom they have immediately bonded, and both Yves and Josse have high hopes for this pair of young riders – 23 years old for Thibault and 25 years old for Kevin – who will represent the team in the French and World Championships next season.
Thibault Bénistant:
“After so many years in blue and in the MX2 category, it’s time for me to change colours for this move to MXGP. I needed a change of scenery, and that’s why I came back to the south last winter to train alongside Yves. I’ve been working with the riders and staff of the Honda SR team throughout the season in training, and it went very well. I’m very happy to be joining a French team, made up of serious and very competent people, and I can’t wait to start training and have fun on the Honda for my MXGP debut.”
Josse Sallefranque:
“Very happy to see Thibault join us, it’s great to have a rider who was competing in the top 5 in MX2 trust us. It’s very rewarding for the team, and the fact that he’s a French rider is excellent for many of our partners. Thibault has great qualities that should allow him to achieve great performances in MXGP and we’re going to have a great duo of riders with Kevin; we know that this sport can have setbacks, we saw it this year, and we hope to achieve good results with them as it was at the beginning of the year before Kevin’s injury.”
Yves Demaria:
“We are very happy to welcome Thibault to the team. Working with him this year allowed me to discover him, and he has great qualities. He is French, we decided to make him an offer and it was a natural choice to have him alongside Kevin. They spent seven or eight months together, they get along well and that is important for the team’s cohesion. We have high hopes for this duo for 2026.”
