Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Maxime Renaux and Tim Gajser have delivered a sensational double podium at the MXGP of Switzerland, with Renaux finishing second and Gajser third. The teammates also climbed the MXGP World Championship standings, where Renaux now lies fourth and Gajser is close behind in fifth.
Positive momentum has been building for the teammates through the early stages of 2026. Both riders have also won Grands Prix at the tight and twisty Frauenfeld circuit in previous years, so they travelled to round three of the series feeling confident of delivering more strong results.
As the gate dropped for Race One, Renaux was fast to react and he rounded the first turn in third. On the opening lap, he was shuffled back to fourth, but he was soon back into third and then advanced to second when fellow Frenchman Romain Febvre fell. By this time, the race leader had created a margin at the front that was too big to overcome, and Renaux was forced to settle for second.
Renaux wasn’t quite able to match his Race One start in the second race. From eighth early on, he was quickly up to sixth within a couple of laps. As the race reached the halfway point, he lost his flow and slipped back to seventh. With his first overall podium result of the season in reach, Renaux crossed the finish line in seventh for second overall on the day. The former MX2 World Champion has now moved up to fourth in the championship after three rounds.
One week on from his maiden podium result for Yamaha, Gajser was fired up for a repeat success. Finishing third in Saturday’s Qualifying Race marked a positive start to his weekend, however two crashes in Race One led to a ninth-place finish.
In Race Two, Gajser demonstrated his class with a strong ride. After running in fourth until halfway through the race, the Slovenian executed a beautiful pass on Romain Febvre to move into third. While pressuring Jeffrey Herlings for second, his rival fell, allowing Gajser to move into the runner-up position. Finishing second marked his best race result of the season so far, and he secured back-to-back podium results with third overall. Following another impressive performance, Gajser moves up to fifth in the series standings and trails his teammate Renaux by a single point.
After two positive Grands Prix on very different circuits in Spain and Switzerland, the series resumes in Sardegna over the weekend of April 11-12.
