Vialle making a big impression as an MXGP rookie

Currently holding down eighth place in the FIM Motocross World Championship, Tom Vialle is a rising star as a rookie in the MXGP class. The winner in Switzerland and a podium finisher in Argentina, Trentino and the Czech Republic, the 25-year-old member of the Honda HRC Petronas team is proving a fast learner.

A two-time MX2 FIM motocross world champion, as well as a double and defending 250SX East Division Monster Energy AMA Supercross champ, the Frenchman still has more goals un and for the five remaining rounds with his Honda CRF450R. In Belgium and getting everything in order before clearing out for this Sunday’s MXGP of Sweden at Uddevalla circuit, Vialle checks in on what he sees coming up at the on the 0.994-mile hardpack Uddevalla circuit. 

“It’s a hardpack track, which I always quite like. It’s going to be my first time there on the 450, so I’m pretty excited to see that,” he said. “Since I have been there they have changed the layout of the track, so I’m excited to see how the track is.”

Still relatively new to both the Honda CRF450R as well as the MXGP class, Vialle is having to learn about the bike and 450cc racecraft. 

“When I came to U.S. I missed three years of racing in Europe, so I had been missing a little bit of time on those tracks,” he notes. “And some of the tracks, they changed the layouts quite a bit. Sweden is one of them. The layout is really different than what I was used to. It’s so nice to learn a new track and it’s nice to learn something new.”

From his strong results, the process is obviously working well, despite an injury-related setback.

“I cannot really look at the championship because I missed some rounds due to an injury,” Vialle explained. “But yes, great beginning to the season. After the injury I had three GP tests. I was struggling a little bit to get back into the rhythm. The last two GPs have been really good for me. I was on the podium at Loket and I was really close to the podium in the sand at Lommel. I finished fourth. Yeah, the last two GPs have been pretty good for me.”

With the final five Grands Prix set for Sweden, the Netherlands, Turkey, China and Australia, Vialle still has a lot of new things to adapt to.

“Next weekend in the sand at the Arnhem circuit at the MXGP of The Netherlands, I’ve never raced there. This is going to be my first time ever on this track,” he says. “It’s the last sand race of the season. After that, Turkey, I know the track, but China and Australia, I’ve never been there, so it’s going to be new again. I’m excited. It’s always something different. It’s quite different than a normal GP in Europe. We travel almost every weekend. When it’s in Europe, it’s easier, but every weekend, it’s a different language, different food – it’s all quite different.”

Vialle is delighted by what he’s found in his Honda HRC Petronas team for 2026.

“Yeah, it’s been great all season long,” explained Vialle. “The team has been great. The adaptation to 450, riding-wise, has gone well. I’ve been fighting up front almost every weekend since the beginning of the season and that’s a great way to start the first year on the 450. We have had a great time and hopefully we can continue that way until the end. They always keep on working, so that’s nice.”

Vialle never stops either as he develops his riding, racing and endurance skills in the diverse tracks the MXGP World Championship features.

“The last GP on hardpack, the Czech Republic, I was second,” he related. “I had a great race. Also, in the sand, I have been good. I think if I can keep following that way until the end of the season, fighting for podiums and then try to get another win before the end of the season, that would be great. Yeah, I’m still learning and trying to fight and to be consistent to the end of the season, that’s the goal. We have races to go and there are a lot of tracks that suit me well, I would say. Hopefully, we can make it happen.

“I have also been getting great starts this year, so that helps a lot to start good and be up front from the beginning of the moto. I am just trying to keep going. I’m really happy how the bike works – the suspension, the frame. I feel really good on the bike at the moment. I can’t complain. The competition is tough. There are a lot of good guys. They have everything, you know? It has been nice fighting with them. Jeffrey [Herlings] has been a little bit above us, I would say. Just one step above everyone this year. He’s been a little bit faster and really strong. I try to keep as close as I can to him. That’s the goal. Apart from that, it has been fighting all season long with those guys. They have been there for, like, the last 10 years in the 450 class. It’s nice to be straightaway fighting with them.”