HRC facory rider, Jeffrey Herlings commaned respect at the French GP last weekend, winning his 115th Grand Prix victory in a really tough day at the office. The Dutchman continued to add to his already impressive legacy and his 2-1 performance showed us he isn't backing down to the younger 19 year old in Lucas Coenen. Here are some rider comments from France.

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Jeffrey Herlings: “He was quite close on me because I cramped in the last couple of laps. From Holland, where we haven’t had more than 20 degrees so far, then coming here at around 35! pushed hard, It’s not easy. Yesterday was a comfortable race. In the first race today I lost a bit of time overtaking a couple of riders and got gapped by about a second because of a five-second gap I wasn’t able to close. Second race, I was straight in the lead and got pressure for the full 18-20 laps. I managed not to make any mistakes; I could hear Lucas behind me the whole time. Just with three or four laps to go I started to cramp. I thought, this is not the right time for that. But we managed to keep charging and win. It’s going to be a heck of a season if we continue racing like this. I want to give it up to Team Gariboldi and HRC Petronas for the great job they’ve been doing, a lot of race wins but also a lot of improvements in testing. Big thanks to HRC and the people in Japan.”

Lucas Coenen: “I feel good. Just to start off, I hope Thibaut [Benistant] is OK. It’s never nice to see a rider down and just keep riding. Saturday was hard to pass on this track, but I managed to come back to third and then second. Today Jeffrey was strong, I was strong so 1-2 is a good weekend. In the second race I tried everywhere,left and right and I couldn’t find a way through. He needed to make a mistake, honestly. I tried to move a little bit to avoid the roost but I felt bad doing it. I’m a little disappointed with the second race. But the weekend went great overall and I keep the red plate, which is important.”

Romain Febvre: “It was not expected, so it’s even more beautiful like this. In the first race I crashed and it took a lot of energy to come back and finish seventh — I didn’t expect to be on the podium after that. So I had to fight really hard in the second race. It’s really hot out there and it was the first time of the year in these conditions, so it was challenging, but we made it happen. I’m so happy to do it here in France. It’s time to recover and go again next week.”

Guillem Farres: “We showed we had the speed this weekend. I learned a lot from every single race. We had a great time with the team in the break and I was really excited to come back racing. During the break I had some time to think, and I have to say, I get bored living alone in Belgium, so I’ve been listening to podcasts. It’s kind of funny because some people have been talking about me and my team and saying we’re not contenders, and that made me a little mad, but in a good way. I just wanted to come back and do my thing and show what I’m capable of. I’ve cut a lot of points in the last two rounds to the leaders and I’m happy. I’m going to fight for this championship until the last race, every single lap. It’s only round six, it’s a long championship, and a lot of things can happen. I think I’ve shown I belong at the top step with everyone else, that’s what I’m here for.”

Camden McLellan: “A lot better after the break. It came at the right time and the right duration, four weeks was needed. I feel good again. This weekend was good for my confidence. In Riola and Trentino I took a big hit, not just in points but also started to question myself, whether I still had it or not. I answered that for myself this weekend. I think I was the fastest rider on the track. Race 2 was a little frustrating but both races were good, my starts were decent, which is unusual for me. I still have a big mountain to climb to get back into the championship fight, but that’s the plan. You’re only as good as your last race, and this weekend was really good. On hard pack as well, I think that answers a lot of questions for me. Looking forward to Germany.”

Mathis Valin: “Yesterday I was feeling good on the track, it’s been a while since I felt that good. I won the qualifying race and today was tough with the heat, but it was the same for everyone. The track was quite small so we were really close to each other the whole time. I took a lot of roost but I managed to make passes in both races. It feels good to be back on the box, especially in front of the French crowd. Back-to-back podiums is really good for my rhythm and momentum. Before Sardinia I had a bad burn and it got worse at Italy so I had to stop, but I feel good again now. The speed is coming back, we’re getting closer and closer to the win, and we’re going step by step. I still need to improve my starts, I know that if I start in front I’ll stay in front because I have the speed. So yeah, just work on the starts and then my head, and it’s going to be good.”

Kay de Wolf: “It was a really demanding weekend physically because the track became super rough and the heat made it even tougher every lap. I felt good with the bike all weekend and the speed was there, especially in qualifying, so that’s positive. The holeshot in race two was nice, but overall I just wanted a little bit more from the motos. Still, we stayed consistent, scored solid points and we keep building.”

Liam Everts: “Honestly, I think this was one of those weekends where patience was really important. The track was difficult, very easy to make mistakes, but I felt comfortable on the bike from the start and my pace was strong all weekend. Qualifying was good, then in the races I had to fight through a lot and manage the conditions carefully. Fourth overall is not exactly where we want to be, but we’re moving in the right direction and the feeling is getting better every GP.”

Maxime Renaux: Looking at the bigger picture, it was still a good weekend for the championship. Of course, in the short term it’s disappointing to miss the podium at my home GP, but I just didn’t have the legs to push past Febvre in the second moto. Still, I’m taking the positives from the weekend. We know there are a few areas we still need to work on, so we’ll keep pushing and continue improving. We scored good points for the championship, but obviously we want to fight for more, so now we move on.

Tim Gajser: The first moto was actually pretty good for me. The start wasn’t great and I came through from the back, but my riding felt good and I showed that in the race. In the second race, I didn’t get the best start and then I hit Tom Vialle’s bike. It was in the first turn and I couldn’t avoid it. The impact destroyed my bike and I hurt my knee a little bit as well. In the end, they didn’t allow me to restart, which was tough to accept, especially as I’m feeling comfortable on the bike. That’s motocross though. We’ll check the knee, but hopefully we’ll be back next weekend and ready to do our best again.

Camden McLellan: “It was a decent Sunday here in Lacapelle-Marival. I had two pretty good starts. In the first moto I was a little further back, but I was able to work my way through the pack up to third. In the second moto, I got a much better start and had a really strong opening lap, which put me into second until Guillem passed me. After that, I followed him for most of the race before making a push in the final few laps. We ended up battling for the win right to the finish. Overall, a 3-2 result for second overall is definitely something positive to take from the weekend.”

Rubén Fernández: Solid weekend, and similar points to previous rounds, but I’m still not satisfied with it and would much prefer to be nearer the front guys. It wasn’t an easy track and the weather didn’t help either, but the conditions were the same for everyone and I just need to improve a couple of things and I think I’ll be close. Now we go to Germany where I’ve had good and bad races, but I’m going to try and make sure 2026 is a good one.

Tom Vialle: Obviously disappointed to not be able to line-up in the second moto. It was a pretty crazy crash and my bike was banged up so I couldn’t do the restart but otherwise, I’m okay. It certainly isn’t how I hoped my weekend would go and it is a shame because I enjoyed being back in France and having the crowd support. Now the goal is to make sure I’m ready for Germany next weekend.

Valerio Lata: After yesterday, I really wanted to show what I was truly capable of, however that plan went out of the window on the first corner when contact with another rider put me down. I remounted in last place and rode as well as I could to get back to 12th place, which I’m proud of my effort. Then in the second race, I felt good again and moved up to eighth place, including being the fastest rider on the track four laps in a row, but it was tougher to make any moves and I ended up finishing there. Definitely not ideal but Germany is a good track for me and I really want to show that.

Andrea Adamo: “A pretty good weekend, pretty solid. I think I could have done a bit better in the second moto but I was not feeling the best. The track was drier and it was harder to find the lines and the right rhythm. P6 overall and only a few points from the podium. We need to keep working to get even closer. A satisfying GP.”

Simon Laengenfelder: “Not too easy this weekend. I struggled with the starts so I need to keep working there. I was quite happy with my riding; just that crash towards the end of the last moto, which was frustrating but I’m OK. The track was flat and small and it was really, really difficult to pass. Germany next and it will be cool. We’ll see how the racing goes there.”

Sacha Coenen: “A bit of an up-and-down weekend. I led the first moto and had a good flow but then washed the front. It was a mistake, even though I’m still not sure how it happened! I found my flow again but then another mistake. P8. I didn’t have such a good start in the second moto and made my way up from P10. I was riding safe because the track was really sketchy. I few positives today, and we’re already looking ahead to Teutschenthal.”

Pauls Jonass: "It was a difficult day. I didn't get the best jump in the first race but I came good through the first couple of turns to be eighth; then I got armpump already on the second lap so it was difficult to hold on after that. We switched to a hardpack tyre for race two but Pancar crashed right in front of me coming out of turn one and I hit his bike. I hit my ribs and was struggling for breath for a couple of laps but I kept pushing with good lap times and got to eleventh, not far from eighth, at the finish. It was a decent ride but the result was not what we are looking for."

Janis Reisulis: It was a solid weekend overall and I’m really happy to be back racing after the five-week break. I did a lot of physical work during the time off, and I think my pace was really good today, especially in the second moto. I felt like my speed was right there with the fastest guys all weekend. The starts were mixed, but the second one was perfect and that really helped. In the second moto I felt great on the bike, even though the heat made it physically tough. I led for most of the race, which was a big positive, and overall there’s a lot to take away from the weekend. I still need to keep working on my cardio, but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

Karlis Reisulis: Today was quite a difficult day for me. I couldn’t really find my flow all weekend, even though the team did everything possible to help me. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t give them the result they deserved in return. But weekends like this are part of the learning process, and I’ll take the lessons from it and come back stronger. Overall, it just wasn’t our weekend.

Andrea Bonacorsi: “France is done, after a month-long break we've done a very good step forward in these weeks; I can say that I'm back 100% and I'm getting more and more comfortable, especially after this race I know I can fight in front. After yesterday, which wasn't very good after I fell, today we had two positive motos, both in the top ten, and I was eight overall so we can be satisfied. We will get ready for the next round in Germany, I'm sure we can do even better.”

Calvin Vlandereen: “Difficult weekend, really tough obviously yesterday with the bike problem, and starting back at the last gate was not ideal. I'd really was getting roosted a lot today fighting through the pack, but every point was necessary. I just tried to do my best and tried to get the most out of myself and out of the bike as I could and I'm disappointed of course with my second race, I just stalled the bike and I couldn't restarted quickly. Anyway, we try rest up and get ready for for Germany.”

Jeremy Seewer: “It was a tough weekend in terms of results, but I'm happy because it was a very tricky race and I managed to avoid any crashes. In race two, I finally found a good pace and I want to thank all the guys who worked so hard.”

Ferruccio Zanchi: “It was a pretty positive Saturday ending the qualifying race in a good position,then Sunday was more difficult, starting behind didn't help me at all and I always had to climb back up from the back; in race two I had some contact with other riders, so I couldn't have the race I wanted, but we have another race where we can do better and have a better race.”