Mathis Valin opened his 2026 season this Sunday at Pernes-les-Fontaines, lining up against a handful of MXGP world championship frontrunners. A first warm-up outing for the official Kawasaki rider, who showed impressive top speed on a tough track. Forced to retire in the second moto, the final result doesn’t reflect the Frenchman’s true form. But the first stone of the 2026 season has been laid, and the objectives are crystal clear: the title. Interview by Kevin Frelaud.
Mathis, a mixed day, tricky conditions, and a retirement in the second moto. I can see you’re limping — what happened?
Valin: Nothing major, I just took a footpeg to the leg. It hurts the muscles a bit, but nothing serious. It’s true that the second moto was a bit complicated. First of all, it’s hard to get a good start on a 250 among the 450s, and even more so with the mud we had. In the first corner, Tonus braked because he was afraid someone in front might crash. I couldn’t do anything. I ran into him and went down. It was a great start to the race… After that, I had a few issues with my goggles. There were a lot of rocks, and I broke the roll-off film. Then I crashed a second time and got that famous footpeg hit… From there, I told myself there was no point in continuing. It’s a preparation race, there’s nothing at stake. I just wanted to get ready for the final moto.
There’s still a big positive from the weekend: a strong lap time against the 450s.
Valin: Yes, for sure. This morning I felt really comfortable, when the track was still more or less dry. I had really good speed. That’s definitely a positive, it was great. I would have liked the track to stay like that in the afternoon — we could have seen what we were really capable of. But hey, we’re probably going to have to race in the mud this year too, so we also need to train in those conditions.
You do these preparation races to get ready. Concretely, what are you looking for: feeling, data, answers? What’s the goal of these off-season races with no real stakes?
Valin: Yes, that’s exactly it. There’s no pressure. We mainly come to prepare. We’ve had a 3–4 month break without racing over the winter, so first of all it’s about getting back into race rhythm gradually.
Then we do preparation races to see where we are with starts, what works, what doesn’t, whether we’ve improved or not. Unfortunately, there was no metal starting gate this weekend.
After that, we’re especially there to evaluate suspension in race conditions. It’s always different compared to training. And we also gather some data with the bike to see what works and what doesn’t, to test new parts we’ve changed — whether they work or not, and so on.
So, in the hot debrief tonight, what would you change on the KX-F?
Valin: I’m not going to tell you that [laughs].
Had to try! You did your first MX2 season last year, finishing it at the Motocross of Nations. A long season, and now you’re getting ready to go again. That must be very different compared to your EMX years. Did you change how you approach the off-season — a longer break, adjustments?
Valin: No, I’d say the off-season break itself is pretty much the same as before. It’s just the dates that change slightly every year.
In terms of preparation, I’d already made quite a few changes last year. I did roughly the same preparation as last year. Let’s say it lines up quite well. Of course, it’s still more intensive because we’ve done a lot more riding on the bike overall.
You must have taken lessons from the 2025 season. Did you identify one particular area to work on?
Valin: Yes, I learned a lot in 2025. We identified one key point, and that’s mainly trying to get good starts and run up front, because that’s what matters most in MX2. Then I’d say I also learned from all the stupid mistakes I made — rushing things, trying to avoid crashing. We worked on quite a few things, and we’re also trying to see if that work has paid off in this type of off-season race.
We’re often our own biggest critics. Looking back, what was your biggest weakness in 2025?
Valin: I’d say the start of the season, with all those crashes. I think that really impacted my whole 2025 season. I got injured right away, and that cooled me off quite a bit. After that, I struggled to come back. So I’d mainly say it was down to rushing things.
Has the KX-F evolved a lot compared to last year?
Valin: Obviously, every year we try to move the bike in the right direction, even if it’s not easy. We’ve improved in quite a few areas, but there are still things to review, as always. Like I often say, nothing is ever perfect — whether it’s me or the bike. There’s always room for improvement. The important thing is trying to get as close as possible.
You remain the only MX2 rider at Kawasaki since the factory programme returned to the class last year. Not having a teammate to share feedback, help with testing and development — like Pauls and Romain can do — does that make things harder for you?
Valin: No, honestly, it’s fine. I manage to set up the bike pretty well, I think. We found quite a few small things over the winter. Actually, I even think it’s a good thing to be the only 250 rider in the team. At least I know that the entire budget and all the resources are focused on the bike. If there were another rider, it might be a bit different. With Kawasaki, we’re trying to compete as much as possible with the other bikes, which isn’t easy because they’ve been on the market for a long time. And for us, it hasn’t been that long at all. For Kawasaki, it’s not easy, but at least they’re putting the resources in. Now it’s up to us to step up!
Second year in MX2 in 2026. We’re no longer talking about a learning season. Is there more pressure because expectations are higher, or less pressure because you now have experience of the championship and the class?
Valin: No, it’s not more pressure. I tell myself I’ll have more experience, and that things should go well. After that, we’re heading into a 20-GP season. It’s a real marathon. First of all, you have to stay healthy, avoid injuries, stay on two wheels. Then we’ll see.
What are your objectives for the 2026 season?
Valin: The objectives? Very clearly, it’s to be world champion.
