The penultimate round of the MXGP World Championship has concluded on the Chinese circuit, marking the first of two overseas events that will close out the 2026 season. Team Honda Maddii ABF Italia lined up with Maxime Grau defending the team’s colors in the MX2 class.

On a highly technical, hard-pack track that severely tested the riders’ preparation, Grau showed great feeling with the bike right from Saturday. In Saturday’s qualifying race, the Frenchman put in a solid performance, finishing in eleventh position.

On Sunday, in Race 1, Maxime got off to a good start out of the gate, quickly finding his rhythm and climbing up to a ninth-place finish at the checkered flag. In the second moto, confirming his consistency and race management skills on the demanding Chinese terrain, he secured a solid tenth place. Thanks to these two finishes, Grau closes the weekend on a positive note and with high confidence for the finale of the championship.

Without returning to Europe, Team Honda Maddii ABF Italia is now traveling directly to Australia, where the highly anticipated final round of the season will take place next weekend.

Marco Maddii, Team Manager: “It was a good weekend for Maxime, even though physically he wasn’t at 100%, partly due to the hot conditions here, which left him feeling a bit drained throughout the weekend. Still, even on an off weekend, he managed to bring home a top-10 finish, which is great. Now we will rest as much as possible for the final race, where the goal will be to secure a top-10 finish in the overall championship standings as well.