Legendary American media guy and a friend for over 30 years, Eric Johnson chats with two time World Motocross Champion, Romain Febvre about the 2025 season and what to expect in 2026.

Having won the 1983 AMA 125cc National Motocross Championship as well as the 1984 AMA Supercross Championship and serving as coach and mentor to Jett and Hunter Lawrence, Johnny O’Mara has seen a few things along the way during his extraordinary career in the sport. But perhaps one of the most profound items O’Mara has cast his eyes upon came at the recent Motocross of Nations at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Ind.

“I wanted to see the world champion from France, and I had my eyes on Romain Febvre at the Motocross of Nations,” explained O’Mara. “I thought he looked and rode great. He rode like a world champion. He was really good and really fast. Jett was great and Hunter had a career day and Febvre was there with them with his speed. He rode with a lot of heart.”

In 2015, in Lierop, Netherlands, Yamaha’s Romain Febvre secured the FIM MXGP Motocross world championship. A decade later, on Sept. 21, 2025 in Darwin, Australia, Febvre guided his Kawasaki KX450-SR to his second MXGP championship. Setting a record for career time span between titles, Febvre delivered Kawasaki its very first championship in the modern four-stroke era.

Recently powering to five-five moto scores and helping shove Team France to an excellent third place podium finish at the 2025 Motocross of Nations, Febvre is now in testing and training mode for 2026, which he hopes will bring him MXGP title number three.

“It’s been good,” said the 33-year-old. "It’s been a little bit busy with the Motocross of Nations coming right after the last round of the world championship. And then now, this week, we are testing for next year already. We are testing some parts. After that I will take a little bit of a break and I will go on holiday a little bit, so I can rest a bit. So next week I can take a one-week holiday, but right after that I need to go to Japan again for a week for Kawasaki. I will then race the last round of the Japanese championship. Yeah, it’s busy, but that’s how it is. When you’re the champion, then you have to go everywhere a little bit to do things. It’s all good.”

A decade between earning MXGP championships, Febvre firmly believes there is still quite a bit of road ahead of him and his professional racing career.

“It has already been 10 years. I feel like it is not finished yet. I feel like I can go a few more years. When I will retire, then it is going to be the end of quite a good career.

“I know that the time will come to stop racing. Now it is closer, for sure. Next year I am going to go for it again and then I think after the season is complete, if I can get some deal where I can get just a one-year contract, then I will take that because then I can stop anywhere I want. I don’t want to get a big deal again for two or three years because that makes no sense for me.”

The Frenchman found his two championship runs dramatically different.

“Yeah, they were different,” said Febvre. “Definitely. With the experience, it played a big a big part in this season. The competition has changed. Before I could compete against Cairoli and Desalle and Paulin. Now the riders are actually much younger! That’s how it is. Experience played a big part in it all for me, even to know how to get prepared for the season. Experience also helps just to manage the season with being more consistent. You can also try to really push at some tracks that you really know and you feel good on. That’s a little bit easier than before. Yes, I believe, for sure, the experience was the biggest change between the two world titles.

“Also, my physical condition and the team are also right there now,” continued Febvre. “I’ve been with Kawasaki now for six years already, I know the bike really well. I know and work with all of the guys at Kawasaki Japan. That makes it all easier, as well. When we struggle on something, then we can find a way to fix it. With myself on the bike, we can find the correct way to change or to manage things.”

A five-time Grand Prix winner and rarely outside of the top five in moto scores during the 2025 season, Febvre said that consistency is a special point of satisfaction for him.

“Consistency and speed, these are the same things that you can play around with via experience because you know which GP you can be able to win or not be able to win," he said. "When you feel that you cannot win on the weekend, then you just manage a way to finish top three or even top five. When you are younger and with less experience, you just try to win every race. Even if it’s not possible, you’re going to try your hardest and maybe make a mistake. My two worst results in 2025 is when I got P5 overall. So I was really, really consistent. That’s really good.”

A six-time Grand Prix winner and runner-up to in the championship, 18-year-old Belgian rider Lucas Coenen battled Febvre ferociously all season long.

“He’s almost half of my age!" marveled Febvre. "He’s 18 years old and I will turn 34 soon. But in a way, when I look at him, I can see me when I won my first title. He’s young and he’s not scared of anything; he’s not thinking at all; he’s just going for it. Actually, he’s got really good technique. When he’s leading it is quite hard to fight with him because he's really good. Also, the first half of the season, I think he showed everybody what he had to show. He was really fast and quite consistent. In the second part of the season, he was like, ‘I’m second in the championship and let’s go for the title. There is nothing to lose.’

"At that time with him, I had to remain sharp and to be winning races because at some points he was just in the front of me every time and gaining points. For sure at some points I had to be better than him and to manage the gap. It is what I could do at, let’s say, the last six rounds. I could open up the gap a little bit.”

As for 2026 and beyond, Febvre is determined to be in the mix for a third world title.

“Yeah, if it possible, then yes, for sure, I am going for it," he said. "We will see. It will be a different year, and some riders are changing teams and brands. Maybe for Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser, it will take a little bit of time to get used to their surroundings. At the same time, yeah, maybe at the beginning of the season I can be better than them and try to fight for GP wins and the championship. Yeah, for sure, if I have a good winter and I am in a good spot, then why not go for three titles?”

Pascal Haudiquert image