While Romain Febvre is the oldest rider in the MXGP field of 2026, you just know the defending champion is now about to slow down. With his mind still young and his form better than maybe ever, the Frenchman wants to enter the 2026 season with huge confidence.

While riders like Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser are changing teams, Febvre remains in the Kawasaki factory team, a team that helped him to his second world motocross championship in 2025. Retirement might be something he has to decide on in the future, for this year, his mind is only on winning another world title and becoming the most successful Frenchman in Grand Prix history.

“I know that the time will come to stop racing,” Febvre said. “Now it is closer, for sure. This 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.”

Known for his toughness, Febvre will follow the same preparation and with the support of Kawasaki, he knows that it is the pre-season, his winter training and his strong mind, which will make him competitive in 2026.

“My physical condition and the team are also right there now. 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 are when I got P5 overall. So, I was really, really consistent. That’s really good.”

Now, with the winter preparation nearly over and some pre-season races to fine-tune his speed and skills, he will arrive in Argentina in early March with the number one place and also a wealth of experience. The young rookies like Kay De Wolf, Lucas Coenen, and Andrea Adamo will need to be ready to fight this veteran, and his old sparing partners, Herlings and Gajser better have their new bikes sorted, otherwise Febvre might just get the perfect start to a season he is looking for.

Pascal Haudiquert image