Forced to miss at least two Grands Prix per season since arriving in the premier class, Maxime Renaux is approaching the 2026 season with a greater focus on consistency, even if it means being slightly off the pace during the opening rounds of the year. So far, the Yamaha rider has followed his plan and remains in touch with the leading group in the championship. However, his long-term goals have not changed compared to previous seasons. Kevin Frelaud caught up with Renaux during the MXGP of France.
“It’s true that we didn’t put the cart before the horse. We started slowly but surely,” explained Renaux. “We lost a few points, so now we’re going to have to start pushing a little harder. I went through the opening Grands Prix more or less how I wanted. Of course, if we could have had a few more podiums, that would always be better. But overall, things have gone pretty well so far.”
On the podium in Switzerland and inside the top five in Spain, Italy and France, Maxime is now looking to build momentum as the season approaches its halfway point, with the clear objective of collecting more podium finishes.
“What’s missing to get more podiums? It’s a mix of things. Starts are part of it — I need to get away a bit better, and I’ve also been lacking a little bit of pace. I think it’s multifactorial. There’s a bit of outright speed missing, but there’s also been a lack of risk-taking. I’m planning to raise the level a little bit in this second part of the season. It’s a bit multifactorial, but those are mainly the key points.”
At the start of the season, Maxime opted to use a double holeshot device setup — the traditional front fork-lock system, but also a linkage device to lower the rear of his 450 YZ-F. The French rider abandoned the rear system at Lacapelle-Marival but has not ruled out using it again later this season.
“The rear holeshot device gave me quite a lot of traction. The margin for using it is very small depending on the gate, the bump coming out of the start gate, whether it rebounds or not… and it can quickly become a disadvantage. It really depends on the gates, actually. At Lacapelle this weekend, we saw that the gate had a big bump, so it definitely wasn’t the right plan to use it there. But it’s possible I’ll use it again at upcoming Grands Prix. You really have to analyse the gap between the metal and the gate, and also the surface texture — that’s what makes the difference. On certain surfaces, it can definitely be an advantage.”
With the arrival of Kay de Wolf, the rise of Andrea Adamo and the return of Tom Vialle to the World Championship paddock, there are no fewer than eight world champions on the MXGP starting gate this season. New arrivals that are once again raising the level of competition in the premier class.
“I think since I’ve been in MXGP, this is the strongest season… Well, maybe not the strongest, but the most competitive overall. There are seven or eight riders capable of winning motos, whereas in the past there were maybe two, three or four. It happened before, but not as often. The fact that young MX2 riders are moving up obviously strengthens the MXGP category a little more. It’s good. I think even for the fans it makes the races much more interesting. It’s not always the same riders at the front. There can also be huge swings in the championship. We’ve seen that 20 points can disappear in a single weekend depending on whether someone feels good on the track or not. I think the championship is going to be very lively.”
After the numerous injury setbacks and health problems he endured last year — and more generally over the past few seasons — Maxime Renaux says his physical condition is excellent during this first half of the MXGP championship, and that the official Monster Energy Yamaha rider is no longer troubled by his femoral head, hand or ankle injuries.
“At the moment, I feel pretty good physically. There are no physical issues to report. That’s good. We’ll try to keep it that way because you need to stay healthy and in shape all year long. The physical problems from last year are behind me, and we’ve started again with a clean slate. There’s no pain anywhere anymore, so that’s positive.”
Fifth overall at the French GP, Maxime Renaux has now recorded his fourth top-five finish of the season — including his Swiss podium. Sitting sixth in the championship standings ahead of Germany, he is just 13 points behind third-placed Romain Febvre, only five points behind Tim Gajser in fourth and one point behind Tom Vialle in fifth.
