Jeffrey Herlings Indicates 2026 Will Be Final Racing Season
Here's a report from MXGP scribe Geoff Meyer, who spotted a piece in a Dutch newspaper regarding Jeffrey Herlings. Last week we heard that Herlings would miss the 2025 MXGP opener as he recovers from ACL surgery. Herlings will return to racing at some point in 2025, but he indicated this could be his final season if he's not able to get a new contract for 2026, and, if he does re-up, he says (for now) that 2026 would be his last go-around.
Here's the report from Meyer:
Dutch media man, Ronald Strater from Omroep Brabant has reported that Red Bull KTM factory rider, Jeffrey Herlings might have already lost the 2025 MXGP championship as he could miss the first four rounds of the championship. We might now see Herlings, not we will see him go to America. Will we might now see Herlings head to America in May for the AMA Nationals? If he was to miss the first four rounds, he would be back after Sardinia on April 6, so his first round would be Trentino in Italy on April 13. The AMA Nationals begins on May 24 at Fox Raceway. Will we see somebody replace Herlings in the Red Bull KTM camp for the MXGP season if Herlings swapped to the AMA series? The five time World Motocross Champion has also said that 2026 will be his final year in the sport. If he races for KTM, that is still a question mark as the Austrian company fights its way through its financial problems.
Jeffrey Herlings: It’s not entirely certain yet, but I’ll probably miss the first three or four races in MXGP. Then you have to be realistic and know that the world title is simply gone. For many people this comes as a shock, but we didn’t announce it earlier because we hoped that the recovery would go faster. Of course it’s bitter, but I’ve known for three months. That's just part of the sport, otherwise I should have gone to play draughts or miniature golf. My father and brother got an artificial knee at a young age and I don't want that. I can actually do everything again, except cross-country. According to the doctor, the cruciate ligaments are not yet strong enough. I can start very tough -as usual- earlier, but I'm taking that risk now. I would like to go for the world title one more time in 2026, but if there is no new contract, this will be my last year.
