Thibault Benistant made his first appearance of the season last Sunday in Pernes-les-Fontaines under his new colours, those of the Honda SR Motoblouz team. European Champion in both the 125cc and 250cc classes, and a Grand Prix winner in MX2, the French rider is preparing to take a major step forward in 2026 by moving up to the premier class, riding a brand-new machine: the Honda.
In conditions made tricky by the weather, Benistant delivered a solid performance throughout the day in Pernes, finishing the event in fourth place, just behind Renaux, Febvre and Jonass. An encouraging sign for what lies ahead. Kevin Frelaud caught up with Benistant after the event.
“I had three consistent motos. It wasn’t easy with the weather,” he explains. “I got good starts, except in the last one where I messed it up a bit and had a small issue with the fork assembly. But overall, it wasn’t too bad. The speed is more or less there. I’ll still need to improve my qualifying sessions. I didn’t manage that one very well and I wasn’t very comfortable. But over the motos as a whole, it wasn’t too bad overall.”
Asked about the real objective of these off-season races, Thibault takes a pragmatic approach. More than the final result, he sees these events as full-scale tests, useful for assessing the work done over the winter and fine-tuning the final settings before getting into the heart of the matter: the MXGP World Championship.
“First of all, we come here to look at the starts,” explains the Honda SR Motoblouz rider. “We also come to compare ourselves with the others, to see if we’ve worked in the right direction on the bikes. We want to see if we’re starting well, if we need to work more on starts, or if it’s something that’s more or less sorted and just needs maintaining. That’s really the idea. On a weekend like this, you don’t necessarily learn a huge amount. You learn a little bit and you take whatever there is to take.”
In 2026, Thibault Benistant will no longer carry factory rider status, a role he held with Yamaha during his MX2 World Championship seasons. Now a teammate of Kevin Horgmo within the Honda SR Motoblouz team, the Frenchman knows from experience that the “factory” label is not automatically synonymous with performance or success.
“Sometimes you realise that between a factory team and a non-factory team, the difference isn’t necessarily huge,” Thibault analyses, after a 2025 season spent struggling with a lack of power on the YZ250F. “Of course, it depends on each team, it’s not a general rule. But last year, we had problems with the bikes, and it’s not because we were a factory team that we managed to find solutions. Now, with the Honda, we have a bike that is already quite competitive as a base, and we’re able to line up against the factory riders. You can see, for example, Kevin [Horgmo] getting two good starts this weekend. You don’t necessarily need factory rider status to be competitive.”
Regarding his off-season, Benistant doesn’t mention any radical changes and is instead focusing on continuity. Once again working under Yves Demaria, the French rider has opted for stability while ensuring a smooth transition onto the CRF 450.
“Basically, the preparation hasn’t really changed,” he admits. “I was training with Yves last year, and we more or less picked up the same programme, just with a different bike. We started on a standard bike, and little by little we added parts to find the right compromise, and it’s gone really well. I feel good on the bike. I felt comfortable on the 450cc right from the start.”
As the 2026 season approaches, Benistant is not in the spotlight. The moves up to MXGP of Kay de Wolf and Andrea Adamo – MX2 World Champions in 2023 and 2024 – along with numerous off-season transfers, notably those of Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser, are capturing most of the attention. A relative lack of attention that suits the French rider just fine.
“Does it bother me? No. I like being in the shadows, working while people forget about you – that’s better for me. You tell yourself you can surprise people, that they might say ‘damn, we didn’t believe in him’ or ‘we forgot about him’. I like being in that position.”
Over five seasons in the MX2 World Championship, Benistant has never been able to complete a full campaign and knows that consistency will be one of the key factors in making his transition successful in 2026.
“I’ll need to get good starts and ride freely. For now, I just need to keep riding and spending hours on the bike. The goal will be to finish the season. If we start well and ride freely, I think the results won’t be bad.”
Benistant will be in Sommières on February 22 for a second preparation race.
