Silly season is heating up as we look ahead to the 2026 Motocross World Championship, with factory contracts and team movements beginning to take shape within the paddock. With several high-profile riders either in the final year of their deals or already locked in for the future, there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding what the paddock might look like next year. From Red Bull KTM’s veteran leader Jeffrey Herlings to young stars like Kay de Wolf and Andrea Adamo, decisions made in the coming months could reshape both the MXGP and MX2 classes. Below, we break down the current contract situations across the main factory teams as they plan their rider line-ups for the 2026 season. We’ll continue to keep this update as and when announcements are made.
Red Bull Factory KTM:
MXGP:
Lucas Coenen: After an impressive rookie season in MXGP, Coenen will remain with KTM and really go for the title in 2026.
Andrea Adamo (TBC)
MX2:
Simon Langenfelder: Signed a multi-year contract in May 2023 which expires at the end of the current season. The German has until 2027 (inclusive) to contest the MX2 World Championship.
Sacha Coenen: Similar to his Brother, he signed a multi year contract with the group in November 2023. This contract takes them through to 2026.
Nestaan Husqvarna
MXGP:
Kay de Wolf: The team had an option to extend de Wolf’s contract be an additional year and decided to trigger it. The decision has been made that he’ll make the move up to the MXGP World Championship – it’ll be his rookie season in the class.
MX2:
Liam Everts: A multi year contract with the KTM Group was announced in July 2023. He has transitioned from KTM over to the Nestaan Husqvarna team in 2025. His contract expired at the end of this season but Husqvarna recently announced the Belgian has signed a multi-year contract extension so he’ll remain with Husqvarna. As de Wolf moves up to MXGP, Everts will be the sole rider the team has contesting the MX2 World Championship.
Honda HRC
MXGP:
Ruben Fernandez (TBC)
Jeffrey Herlings (TBC)
Tom Vialle (TBC)
MX2:
Valerio Lata: The Italian signed a multi year contract with the team coming into the 2025 so whilst it isn’t clear how long he has signed for he’ll remain under the awning in 2026.
Kawasaki Racing Team
MXGP:
Romain Febvre: The French rider has a contract through 2026 so will remain under the awning for the 2026 season. He’ll be hoping to deliver the MXGP World Championship this year.
Pauls Jonass: The Latvian is on a one year deal with Kawasaki so time will tell if it’ll get extended or if he’ll be on the look out for a new ride.
MX2:
Mathis Valin: The MX2 GP rookie is on a two year deal so will remain with the team in 2026 in what will his second season in the class.
Ducati
MXGP:
Jeremy Seewer: The Swiss talent signed a contract through 2026 so will remain with Ducati for the 2026 season.
Andrea Bonacorsi: The Italian makes the move over from Fantic and follows Louis Vosters over to the Ducati team. Bonacorsi has bags of talents and is a rider for the future so keep an eye on him.
Calvin Vlaanderen: After five years with Yamaha, Vlaanderen has inked a deal with the Ducati team in what will be a new chapter to his MXGP career.
MX2:
Ferruccio Zanchi (TBC)
Factory Yamaha
MXGP:
Maxime Renaux: After winning in Argentina, Renaux’s season hasn’t gone according to plan with injury after injury which is a real shame. The French talent’s current contract expires at the end of the 2026 season so will stay blue for another year.
Tim Gajser (TBC)
MX2:
Karlis Reisulis: The Latvian’s current contract expires at the end of 2025. There is probably a good chance this gets extended and he’ll be joined by his Brother, Janis under the awning – but that’s still to be confirmed.
Janis Reisulis (TBC)
Factory Fantic
MXGP:
Alberto Forato (TBC)
Brent van Doninck (TBC)
Triumph Racing
MX2:
Camden McLellan: The South African’s deal did expire at the end of the current season but Triumph have confirmed they’ve reached an agreement to extend the deal until the end of the 2027 season. The new deal will see McLellan race Triumph until the end of his MX2 GP career.
Guillem Farres: Signed a two year deal which will see him spend his final year of MX2 with the manufacturer.
MRT Beta Racing
MXGP:
Rick Elzinga: The young Dutch talent has made the move up from the MX2 World Championship. After being with the factory Yamaha squad, Elzinga has made the switch to Beta for 2026 which will be his rookie MXGP season.
Jago Geerts: After eight years with Yamaha, the talented Belgian has made the move to Beta in what will be a big change for him but he’ll hope to get back to his best.
TM
MX2:
Cas Valk: The talented Dutch rider has signed a two year deal with the Italian brand. He impressed during his rookie season in the MX2 World Championship so will hope to push on in 2026 and help get TM consistently back in the top five.
