Herlings can count on Uddevalla, Febvre must attack.
Isak Gifting is racing his home Grand Prix in Uddevalla
Jeffrey Herlings starts the MXGP of Sweden with a 104-point lead over Romain Febvre. With four Grands Prix remaining in the season, the Honda rider finds himself in a position where not every race win matters anymore. Collecting points and avoiding mistakes will bring him closer to the title.
Febvre doesn't have that freedom. The reigning world champion must make up as many points as possible on his rival in Uddevalla if his mathematical chance is to turn into a closer world championship fight.
Herlings knows of major advantages in Sweden
Uddevalla and comfortable World Championship leads have long been associated with Herlings. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, the Dutchman traveled to Sweden with a lead of more than 100 points.
The results varied. In 2013, he went on to win the World Championship, while in 2014 and 2015, injuries prevented him from securing the title despite leading the standings. Back in 2012, Herlings arrived in Uddevalla as the World Championship leader and ultimately prevailed against Tommy Searle at the end of the season.
These experiences likely also explain why the now considerably more experienced Herlings isn't approaching every race in 2026 with maximum risk. In recent weeks, he's taken the lead where the situation allowed. If he didn't have to risk everything for a good result, he avoided unnecessary actions.
In Uddevalla, this approach might be sufficient.
Local hero Isak Gifting
Isak Gifting is also likely to attract some attention at his home GP. The Swede delivered one of his strongest performances of the season in Uddevalla in 2025 in front of his home crowd.
Especially in the second race, Gifting was in contention at the front and worked his way up to third place. What could have been the best result of his MXGP career was only lost one lap before the finish line when the Swede crashed.
Whether he can return to the leading group twelve months later will be revealed this weekend. A strong performance from Gifting would be significant for Herlings and Febvre: any rider who positions himself between the two World Championship rivals will also change the points distribution in the title fight.
Febvre has already won twice in Sweden
Romain Febvre needs to rethink his race strategy. With a 104-point deficit, a second or third place finish will hardly help him as long as Herlings finishes directly ahead of or behind him.
The Kawasaki rider certainly knows how to win in Uddevalla. In 2015, he took the Grand Prix victory there and became MXGP World Champion for the first time a few weeks later. In 2025, the Frenchman won again in Sweden and secured his second title at the end of the season.
His task for this weekend is therefore clear: start at the front, put Herlings under pressure, and ideally finish both motos ahead of the championship leader. However, even a 1-1 draw will only be enough to significantly change the standings if the Dutchman loses considerably more positions.
Seewer should always be on the bill in Uddevalla.
Jeremy Seewer brings a record to Sweden that surpasses even Herlings and Febvre. The Swiss rider has already won the Grand Prix in Uddevalla three times. The two championship leaders each have two victories.
Kay de Wolf, Tom Vialle, and Tim Gajser have joined the ranks of drivers capable of taking points away from the title contenders. This makes the starts particularly crucial. Anyone stuck in traffic after the initial uphill section will have to fight their way back up positions on the hard Swedish soil and will inevitably have to take more risks.
Herlings will likely want to avoid precisely such situations. A place directly behind Febvre costs him significantly less than a crash while desperately trying to secure a race win.
104 points change the approach
The current World Championship situation dictates to the Honda rider how much risk is reasonable. Even a perfect weekend for Febvre would only marginally change the title fight if number 84 finishes immediately behind him twice.
The pressure is therefore greater on the Kawasaki rider. Febvre needs wins and support from other riders who can get between him and Herlings.
After Uddevalla, there's hardly any time for calculations. Just one week later, the MXGP World Championship continues in Arnhem. On the deep Dutch sand, a track awaits where Herlings will have completely different opportunities to set the pace himself.
