Belgium won the 2026 Motocross of Nations at the Raymond Demy circuit in Ernée, France, reclaiming the trophy after a 13-year wait. Lucas Coenen, Sacha Coenen and Liam Everts delivered the result with a remarkably consistent team performance: none of the three won an individual race, yet Belgium finished on 23 points to Spain’s 26 under the event’s scoring system. Spain’s runner-up result was historic, giving the country its first podium in the competition.

The meeting took place from 2 to 4 October 2026. Spain arrived with Jorge Prado, Guillem Farrés and Fran García “Carbonero”, a trio that had been regarded as one of the leading combinations for the event after strong individual seasons. Their second place surpassed Spain’s previous best results, two fourth-place finishes recorded at Bellpuig in 2002 and Matterley Basin in 2024. France, racing at home, was also among the teams in contention, but a series of mistakes ended its challenge.

Prado and Farrés put Spain ahead early

The opening race combined the MXGP and MX2 classes. Jorge Prado moved to the front in the early stages and controlled much of the race before a small crash allowed Romain Febvre to take over the lead. Prado recovered quickly enough to keep Lucas Coenen behind him and finish second, while Febvre took the win. Guillem Farrés produced another of the race’s key rides, climbing from 17th to fourth and finishing as the leading MX2 competitor.

That result gave Spain an important opening advantage over Belgium. Farrés’ fourth place was particularly valuable because it combined a strong overall finish with the best result among the MX2 riders. Prado’s runner-up position also established Spain as a serious contender from the first race rather than merely a podium outsider.

A technical failure changes the second race

The second race brought MX2 and MXOpen riders together. Spain’s challenge suffered a major setback when Fran García was forced to retire with a technical problem. The Motocross of Nations allows each team to discard its worst result from the six scores accumulated across the three races, so one retirement does not automatically end a team’s chances. It did, however, increase the pressure on the remaining Spanish riders.

Jeffrey Herlings won the race for the Netherlands. Farrés spent much of the contest in fourth place, but Liam Everts passed him during the closing stages. Farrés therefore finished fifth, completing a fourth-place result in race one and a fifth in race two. The pass carried significant weight in the team battle: it effectively shifted two points in the comparison, one gained by Belgium and one lost by Spain, while also leaving Farrés as the leading MX2 rider on his combined results.

Herlings turns the final race

Before the final race, Spain was effectively ahead once the worst result from each team had been removed. The decisive race combined MXGP and MXOpen, and Prado again made the strongest start. He did not take the holeshot, but reached the lead in fewer than three corners and ran ahead of Everts. Herlings’ race became more difficult immediately when he crashed and dropped to eighth place.

The Dutch rider recovered and steadily closed the gap to Prado. Their fight for the lead became the central battle of the race, with Herlings attacking and Prado defending closely. Herlings eventually made the pass, opened a gap and won, while Prado finished second. Everts took fourth and Lucas Coenen fifth. That combined Belgian finish near the front supplied the points Belgium needed to protect its narrow advantage and secure the overall victory.

The Netherlands completed the podium, with Herlings also earning the event’s top individual rider honour. Belgium’s success carried an additional family milestone for Liam Everts: he became the third member of the Everts family to win the Motocross of Nations, following his grandfather Harry and father Stefan. Ernée consequently produced two landmark outcomes at once—Belgium’s return to the top after 13 years and Spain’s first podium in the history of the event.