24-03-2026	MXGP News
Alberto Forato shows strong pace in Spain, Van Doninck faces setback

The second round of the MXGP World Championship took place last weekend in Andalucía, marking the first European race of the season.
Alberto Forato demonstrated he has the speed to compete at the front of the highly competitive MXGP class. He set the seventh-fastest time in time practice, finished tenth in the qualifying race, and topped the timesheets in Sunday’s warm-up.

However, in the first moto, his chances of a top ten result were immediately compromised by a crash on the opening lap. Despite this setback, he fought his way back impressively to finish 13th. In the second moto, “Alby” got off to a better start and delivered a solid ride, crossing the line in tenth place. These results secured him his first overall top ten finish of the season.

There were also positives to take for Brent Van Doninck, starting with the qualifying race on Saturday. Despite crashing at the start, he recovered well to finish 14th, posting strong lap times along the way.

After setting the fourth-fastest time in Sunday’s warm-up, Van Doninck came close to a top ten finish in the first moto, ending the race in 11th position. Unfortunately, this positive momentum did not continue, as he crashed in the opening lap of the second moto and was forced to retire from the race.

The good news is that Van Doninck is feeling okay and remains motivated to bounce back next weekend at the upcoming round in Frauenfeld, Switzerland.

Alberto Forato:
"All in all, it was a positive weekend. Considering where we are coming from, I’m very happy with a tenth overall. Of course, that’s not where I ultimately want to be, but I could clearly see that the speed is there, even this morning in the warm-up. I gave everything this weekend and in the end it went quite well. Now full focus on the next race in Switzerland — we keep building."

Brent Van Doninck:
"With every session here in Almonte, I felt better and better on the bike. Even yesterday in qualifying, despite the crash, it was a positive race. I came from far back and posted good lap times. In the first moto, I didn’t have a great start, but I still came back to P11 and felt strong. I was looking forward to the second moto to push towards the top ten. Unfortunately, I crashed in the first lap. It was a decent hit, I was far back, and I decided to stop. But nothing serious — I feel good and we’ll be back on the gate next weekend in Switzerland."

 

Online: Stefan Uhlmann