MXGP just got a huge injection of adrenaline ahead of the 2026 season. Jeffrey Herlings will not be racing a KTM for the first time in his professional career after a stunning move to HRC Honda to replace long-term rival Tim Gajser on the team and machine that he has been competing against for the last decade in MXGP!
It was a move that never seemed likely, especially with Tim Gajser the main man at Honda, but sport is unpredictable and suddenly the timing was right, Gajser was leaving (another shock), Herlings contract was up and Honda quickly swooped in with an offer for the man who still might just be the fastest man in MXGP when he is on form and healthy.
When you look back at the last few years in both MXGP and AMA racing, the Honda machine seems to be the best bike on the line and everyone on it becomes a brilliant starter! Herlings, for years, has struggled with his starts and Bullet on a Honda may just solve that issue. Give him a top five start and Herlings is in business, give him regular holeshots and it could be good luck to everyone else!
After a spending his entire GP career from he was 15 at KTM, this is a huge change for Herlings, he is also only able to ride the bike from today. That gives him only 6 weeks until Hawkstone and eight weeks to the MXGP opener, there is not much time to adapt, but that appears to be the only negative in what, on paper, appears to be a brilliant move.
Everyone seems to be able to adapt to the Honda and a new team and new environment may just energise Herlings again, new people, new team, new colours, Fox gear, it’s like starting over – look how Tomac’s move to Yamaha totally refreshed his career!
We could see the same from Herlings and if he adapts to the bike quick enough, we could see a return of the old Herlings speed in 2026. The MXGP series is absolutely stacked with Honda also signing Tom Vialle, Gajser going to Yamaha alongside Renaux, Lucas Coenen in his second year on the 450, De Wolf in his debut year on the 450 along with Adamo while Romain Febvre won’t be making life easy for anyone as he tries to defend his World title, but if Herlings gels with that Honda, he could once again set the speed bar that everyone has to rise to.
Herlings said of the move: “Obviously this is a big change for me, but honestly, I am so excited to join Honda HRC and ride a CRF450R. Having been around the paddock for a long time, you get to see how different teams and people operate, so once I found out that they were interested in signing me, it wasn’t a hard decision to make because I knew that I’d be joining an extremely professional and organised operation, that does everything it can to help a rider succeed.
“From today, to the MXGP of Argentina is just over two months so I don’t have a lot of time to adapt to this brand-new machine, but we are going riding right now and I’m like a kid at Christmas, just waiting to unwrap a new toy. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be in this position, but now that I am, I can’t wait to get started as a factory HRC rider.“
Herlings on a Honda is the story of 2026 and probably the final chapter of his legendary career. Will the move get him a sixth world title? It probably gives him the best chance to get it!
