We here at mxlarge have known Paul Malin for a long time. I remember when I worked for Yamaha, covering the 125cc championship back in the 1990s and Paul rode for the Steve Dixon Yamaha team, but also had some support from the factory, thus, I needed to speak with all the factory backed Yamaha riders.

Yamaha had a lot of very talented riders in that era, from Alessio Chiodi, Claudio Federici, David Vuillemin, Alex Puzar, Fred Vialle and many more. Most were Italian or French, and getting good quotes wasn’t always easy for the Yamaha press releases, but I always knew I could depend on filling the press release with Paul Malin quotes, no matter where he finished.

Now, some 30 years later, Malin is the voice of MXGP and in my opinion, the best commentator in the sport. Anyone who knows Malin, knows he likes a chat and its little surprise he is such a success covering the MXGP series. A lot of racing experience, a good insight into what the riders might be thinking and a gift for talking all day long.

We decided to give him a call for one of our many MXGP reviews we will be doing in the coming month, and he was kind enough to give us 10 minutes, talking about the 2025 season and what is to come in 2026.

MXLarge: I wanted to ask you some stuff about this year, because it was really a great couple of championships in MXGP and MX2. Firstly, the first race in Argentina and the last in Australia, because those two rounds really bookended the season.

Malin: Argentina, as a track was fantastic. When we were in Patagonia last year and we heard they were not going back to that particular circuit, a guy I know in Argentina was sending me pictures of the new location and there was a serious worry, that it was going to be really flat and uneventful. When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised that they had taken a hillside and carved out this fantastic racetrack. Hilly, wide and a lot of people likened it to that of an American track. The dirt was really good and as we have become accustomed in Argentina, the crowd were really into it. We are still TBC on the calendar at the moment, in terms of the venue in Argentina, but I really hope we go back there and after what we saw there last year, I think that will bring in a few thousand more fans. The atmosphere will be incredible. The racing was good as well.

MXLarge: Obviously the last GP got GP of the year in the MXGP awards and was also a pleasant surprise?

Malin: Australia was fantastic. If you are neutral, you think, oh, lets go to Australia, where we were was probably as far removed from what Australia is known for. Having said that, it was fantastic and again, when you hear road racing facility and I had spoken to the people from the Australian Grand Prix a year earlier and they told us there was a bit of elevation. So, I thought, okay, this is probably going to be similar to Portugal, the dirt is probably similar to Portugal, so I was half imagining it would be in a bowl, like Agueda. I was very pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the track. What we found there, it was a really good racetrack. Those that flew to Darwin, enjoyed some really good racing. It was a shame about the rain, as we didn’t get the final race of the MXGP, but just the fact the track was ruined.

MXarge: I actually thought the rain was pretty cool, because it turned that MX2 race into chaos, which was entertaining to watch.

Malin: Absolutely and it had us on the edge of our seat. I was with Ben Townley in the commentary, and we saw the black clouds coming and the number of riders on the line with no roll-offs. When the rain came, it was heavy, heavy rain and then we lost power. Kay de Wolf and Simon Langenfelder were having their thing. The dramatic finish, which saw Langenfelder crowned world champion. It had everything.

MXLarge: For me, I found Lommel one of the really good GPs, where Febvre and Coenen really pushed each other to the limit. It was also something of a turning point in the momentum for Febvre. How did you find it?

Malin: It was good as well. We had Jason Thomas in the booth that round. When all was said and done, the championship was down to nine points, heading into Sweden and for me, there were two rounds that defined the championship, Sweden, where Lucas had a blip, where he crashed and lost a lot of points and then he obviously had trouble in China. He just wasn’t feeling it, whether it was travel, food, or whatever it was. Maybe they didn’t define the championship, but those were to two rounds Lucas let slip. In the end, Romain Febvre was consistent all year. Febvre went 1-1 when he needed to and I think by the time we left China; the points gap was around 40 points. It was almost sure he would win in Australia.

MXLarge: It looked like Lucas was going to win leading into Lommel, he has so much momentum, and they way Romain stopped that momentum in Lommel, says a lot about who Romain Febvre is as a racer doesn’t it?

Malin: We had two studio shows in that period, one with Jeffrey Herlings and one with Ben Watson. We were getting to the pointy end of the season, and I asked them both, Romain or Lucas, who is your money on, and both said Romain, he has too much experience having won the championship before and they were correct. Lucas will only get stronger and the last two years he has been second in MX2 and second in MXGP, so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back in 2026, which brings us perfectly to 2026 Geoffrey.

MXlarge: Exactly what I was going to ask next. What about 2026? You have been around a long, long time, as a fan, a racer and now a commentator and I have been around GP racing as a media guy for three decades. For me, it could very easily be one of, if not the greatest Grand Prix season in history. Maybe not in what happens, but just so many question marks, so many team changes, ridings coming up from MX2, so much to look forward to.

Malin: There is a lot, a lot in terms of 16 GP winners and 8 of those are world champions. If you count the riders who have won in MXGP alone and the world champions, just like the US, we have a lot of team changes and class changes. Everyone knows where everyone is going, even though we cannot discuss that yet. We have two world MX2 champions coming up in De Wolf and Adamo, so a lot of talent and massively looking forward to it.

MXLarge: I mean, Kay moving up, he might be even better than what Lucas was in 2025, and Adamo will also be very good, then we have the team changes for Herlings and Gajser. Also, Benistant, he might also be very impressive on a 450. Most of the guys who have won championships in the last 20 or 30 years, have been on teams they have ridden for some period of time, not starting over in a new team, so it will be interesting to see how Herlings and Gajser do. Do you have an opinion on what might happen?

Malin: I really don’t know and it’s the fascination and so many unknowns. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tim and Jeffrey can get a sixth world title, or will Romain get a third, or Lucas his first. How will Kay be in the MXGP class, and the others. So much to talk about before the season even starts. As we get closer, we won’t have a great idea, because pre-season means little. Look at Tomac for instance from the WSX on the KTM, he looks the same as on the Kawasaki and the Honda and the Yamaha. With Prado, he was having trouble with the bike change, he just didn’t look right. So, these pre-season races, we might see how Tim and Jeffrey look on the new bikes. We might be pleasantly surprised.