At Yamaha, there was plenty to smile about on the evening of the Swiss Grand Prix, with podium finishes from Maxime Renaux and Tim Gajser in the premier class: a double podium, the first since 2022.
On August 14, 2022, Yamaha achieved the feat in Finland by placing three riders on the podium at the Hyvinkää Grand Prix: Glenn Coldenhoff took the win ahead of Jeremy Seewer and Maxime Renaux. Since then, Yamaha has secured victories (5) and podiums (19) in the premier class, but had not seen two of its riders stand on the podium together again… until this weekend.
Since that 2022 triple podium, a lot has changed for Yamaha. At the end of 2023, Louis Vosters—via Wilvo—stepped away from the official Yamaha program (or vice versa) to take over Fantic’s, then Ducati’s program, while Hans Corvers—via Kemea—took over the MXGP program after managing Yamaha’s official MX2 effort for four years. Despite rider transfers and internal structural changes, Yamaha’s goals have remained the same: to bring home a new MXGP world title, the last having been won by Romain Febvre in 2015. To achieve this, Yamaha chose to scale back from three to two riders in 2026, placing its trust in Renaux—despite some setbacks with the French rider in 2025—and Gajser.
While Renaux had started his 2025 season in spectacular fashion with a win in Argentina, things quickly went downhill as he suffered a series of physical setbacks. New year, new approach: for the 2026 season, Maxime revised his strategy, aiming to build momentum over the course of the races. So far, mission accomplished: seventh in Argentina, fourth in Spain, and now second in Switzerland with 2-7 race finishes, taking revenge on a track where he fractured the head of his femur last year.
“The second race was a bit more complicated for me,” explained Renaux after the Swiss Grand Prix. “I got a good start, then I crashed. I didn’t have the best feeling on the bike. I also tensed up quite a bit because I was thinking about last year; I got tight. It wasn’t the best race, but the first one was good. This year, I’m trying to stay calm because I know I can sometimes rush things a bit too much, and that’s cost me a lot in recent years. I’m trying to take things step by step this season. I still don’t have the best feeling—I need to work on myself and the bike—but we’re getting closer. We’re working well, and there’s still good room for improvement. Little by little, we’re progressing. I hope that by mid-season, we’ll really be able to push the limits.”
Having joined Yamaha this winter after a long stint with Honda, Gajser did his best to adapt to the YZ450F in the limited time available—time he himself felt was too short, as he mentioned in Spain. Fourth at the opening GP in Argentina, he secured his first podium in Yamaha colors (3rd) in Andalucia and repeated the feat this weekend in Switzerland with 9-2 race finishes. The Slovenian also took revenge on the Swiss track, where he had injured his shoulder the previous year.
“I didn’t get a good start in the first race and I crashed twice. I’m not happy with my first race, but for the second, I knew I had to bounce back. The track was in better condition, with more lines. I didn’t get a good start, but I made some good passes,” said the Slovenian rider, whose season had been cut short at Frauenfeld a year earlier. “Getting on the podium is always a good thing. It’s nice to see consistency, and I feel like we’re improving. We’ll have 14 days before the Sardinia Grand Prix, so I hope we can do some testing and come in even better prepared. The bike is working well, Maxime and I are in good physical shape, and the team is working hard. We’re heading in the right direction.”
Both Renaux and Gajser leave Switzerland with 42 points each. The two Yamaha factory riders therefore achieved the best points haul of the weekend, ahead of Tom Vialle (40) and Kay de Wolf (39). They currently sit 4th and 5th in the MXGP World Championship standings ahead of Sardinia, trailing Lucas Coenen by 19 and 20 points respectively.
