Today is the day for big signing announcements in the Monster Energy MXGP World Championship, as long-time Honda man Tim Gajser has moved to Monster Energy Yamaha and Jeffrey Herlings has ended a decade-plus partnership with Red Bull KTM to take Gajser's old spot at Honda HRC.
The Honda press release on Herlings is below.
Statement of Intent from Honda as Five-Time World Champion Jeffrey Herlings Signs.
Five-time world champion and the winningest GP rider in history, Jeffrey Herlings is joining Honda HRC in a multi-year deal, as he looks to add to his list of amazing achievements in the MXGP class. In a massive change for the Dutchman, he will be lining up on a Honda CRF450R for the first ever time in his career, and he’ll be expecting to continue to challenge at the very highest level in motocross.
Given that he’ll only have just over three months before the first round of the 2026 MXGP World Championship, it won’t be any easy task, but ‘The Bullet’ is determined not to waste any time and will begin riding his new steed today. From then onwards, he’ll be learning, testing and trying to get everything ready for the new track in Bariloche, Argentina, and the first gate-drop in this new chapter of what is a storied career.
Beginning with an 85cc world championship back in 2008, Herlings has won titles and broken records at an incredible rate, wowing fans with his sand-riding in particular, but also showing he can win GPs on any terrain and in any conditions, as he racked up 112 overall victories around the world. In fact, the #84 has won races in 15 out of his 16 years as a full-time professional and while the 2026 MXGP class is shaping up to be extremely competitive, the fact that he was able to step onto the top of the podium five times in 2025, should stand him in good stead.
Alongside him, in what is a triple-threat attack for Honda HRC, will be Tom Vialle and Ruben Fernandez, bringing back memories of the 1980s, when the HRC team dominated the 500cc championship, and together with Valerio Lata in the MX2 class, there is real excitement that 2026 could add another page or two into those history books.
Career Highlights
- 2025 – Increases GP wins record to 112 GP wins
- 2024 – 3rd FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship
- 2023 – Record for most GP wins in the FIM Motocross World Champion (103)
- 2021 – 1st FIM MXGP Motocross World Champion
- 2021 – 1st FIM Motocross of Nations Class Winner
- 2019 – 1st FIM Motocross of Nations Champion with Team Netherlands
- 2018 – 1st FIM MXGP Motocross World Champion
- 2017 – 1st FIM Motocross of Nations Class Winner
- 2016 – 1st FIM MX2 Motocross World Champion
- 2016 – 1st FIM Motocross of Nations Class Winner
- 2013 – 1st FIM MX2 Motocross World Champion
- 2012 – 1st FIM MX2 Motocross World Champion
- 2012 – 1st FIM Motocross of Nations Class Winner
- 2008 – 85cc FIM Junior Motocross World Champion
"Obviously this is a big change for me, but honestly, I am so excited to join Honda HRC and ride a CRF450R. Having been around the paddock for a long time, you get to see how different teams and people operate, so once I found out that they were interested in signing me, it wasn’t a hard decision to make because I knew that I’d be joining an extremely professional and organised operation, that does everything it can to help a rider succeed. From today, to the MXGP of Argentina is just over two months so I don’t have a lot of time to adapt to this brand-new machine, but we are going riding right now and I’m like a kid at Christmas, just waiting to unwrap a new toy. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be in this position, but now that I am, I can’t wait to get started as a factory HRC rider."
Marcus Preira de Freitas
HRC General Manager - MXGP
"The chance to sign a five-time world champion and leading GP winning doesn’t come about often, so we knew that when the opportunity arose, we had to make it happen. Immediately we could tell that Jeffrey was thrilled for the challenge and highly motivated to try and add to his list of accolades, so I think this is going to be a very exciting season for everyone on the team. It’s a new environment for Jeffrey and he won’t have as long as we all would have liked before the start of the season, but the #84 will be riding straight away and we can’t wait to see how he looks on a Honda CRF450R."
