Triumph Makes History as Darwin Crowns New World Champions

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Triumph Makes History as Darwin Crowns New World Champions

Hot, dry conditions and a packed Hidden Valley crowd saw Triumph claim its first motocross world championship, Jeffrey Herlings sweep both MXGP motos, and Daniela Guillen seal her maiden WMX crown as the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship closed out in Darwin.

Darwin delivered sunshine, heat and history on Sunday as the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship wrapped up at Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex. Around 23,100 fans turned out in roughly 33-degree conditions — a far cry from the storms that disrupted last year’s Australian return — and they watched two new world champions crowned and one of the sport’s greats sign off in style.

Triumph’s first world title since the BSA era

The headline for British and Australian riders alike was Triumph. Guillem Farres locked up the MX2 riders’ championship with second place in the opening moto behind team-mate Camden McLellan. That result left the Spaniard 42 points clear with only 25 still available, so the title was decided before the final race even started.

It is Triumph’s first FIM motocross world championship, and the first for a British manufacturer since Jeff Smith’s BSA success in 1965. In only their third season in the class, Farres and McLellan finished one-two in the championship, took the manufacturers’ crown, and between them won 11 of this year’s 19 Grands Prix. Farres alone banked six overall victories and 14 moto wins on the way to 904 points, finishing 36 clear of McLellan.

McLellan still closed the season on a high. He won race one and took second in race two to claim the Darwin overall — back-to-back GP wins after China — and said afterwards he was proudest of the team: first and second in the championship, plus the manufacturers’ title, in a landmark year for Triumph.

Australian Byron Dennis led the home challenge in MX2 with a career-best sixth in race one and eighth in race two for seventh overall. Deacon Paice, Riley Burgess and Thomas O’Neill also scored solid home-round results.

Herlings doubles up on Honda

In the premier class, Jeffrey Herlings made Darwin his own. The Dutchman won both MXGP motos ahead of Romain Febvre, with Tom Vialle completing the podium. It was Herlings’ eighth consecutive double victory, his 13th Grand Prix win of 2026, and the 125th GP victory of his career — and his first in Australia.

Herlings had already wrapped up his sixth world championship earlier in the season. He finished the year on 973 points, 168 clear of Febvre, after 22 moto wins in his first campaign with Honda HRC PETRONAS. Saturday’s qualifying defeat had ended a long run of topping every session, but his Sunday winning streak stretched to 16 motos.

“It’s been an amazing year, winning the world championship, winning 13 GPs, 22 race wins and all on a new team,” Herlings said. “Sometimes you have to lose, to win — and I think I’ve learnt that now.”

Febvre’s 2-2 scorecard was a fitting final Grand Prix with Kawasaki after seven years together. Vialle’s fifth consecutive GP podium rounded out a strong debut MXGP season. Among the Australians, Levi Rogers was the highest-placed home rider in 11th overall, with Ryley Fitzpatrick, Cooper Holroyd and Rhys Budd also in the mix.

Guillen seals WMX crown

Daniela Guillen completed a perfect weekend with wins in both WMX races to claim her first world championship. She turned a six-point lead over Kiara Fontanesi into a final margin of 24 points (233 to 209). New Zealand’s Courtney Duncan finished third overall for the round and fourth in the championship after a season spent rebuilding from illness. Emma Milesevic headed the Australian WMX contingent in tenth overall.

What’s next

The Grand Prix season is done, but the Motocross of Nations follows at Ernée, France, on 3–4 October. Herlings will race for the Netherlands; Vialle and Febvre join Mathis Valin for France; Farres represents Spain; and McLellan rides for South Africa.

For club members, Darwin’s weekend was a reminder of how well Australia can host the world’s best — and of how quickly Triumph has gone from newcomer to champion manufacturer on the global stage.

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Photo: Guillem Farres and Camden McLellan celebrate at Hidden Valley (via MCNews). Credit the original source if you project or reprint this.