MXGP TO LIMIT ELECTRIC BIKES TO A NEW “MXEP” CLASS. IT WILL BE ELECTRIC VS. ELECTRIC

MXGP has announced that electric motocross bikes will only be allowed in their new all-electric class, called MXEP, which will be a support class at the 2026 FIM World Motocross Championships. The 2026 MXEP class will showcase prototype electric bikes across six Grand Prix rounds, running alongside existing MXGP events.

Up to this point in time, electric motocross bikes have not been allowed to compete against internal combustion bikes at most of the major AMA or FIM series. This is because the FIM doesn’t want to upset the current race system, by allowing electric bikes to race against the existing platforms without at least two years to develop rules, and tech specifications and avoid what happened when four-strokes rushed in to drive two-strokes out of the sport, while raising cost at the manufacturer and consumer level.

Infront Moto Racing’s CEO Luongo said: “We saw in the last few months and years that have been many developments into the electrification of bikes, so I think that it’s a good moment to put down the base of a new support class that will be fully dedicated to electric bikes.  We don’t want to mix things [with regular machines], but to create a path for this technology to develop and continue to grow, and we will see how it develops.  In the last few months, many things have started without clear guidance on where it will go. I think that as the best and most modern platform for Motocross in the world, that MXGP should also embrace this new technology.  

So we want to announce that in 2026 we want to create a new support race, in collaboration with the FIM and with the manufacturers, for a fully dedicated Electric World Championship that will be held alongside MXGP. We aim to run five or six races in Europe for this, so we have two years to work with the FIM and the manufacturers on the rules for the bikes and to define exactly what it shall be.  It will help to complete the package of an MXGP weekend, and also help the manufacturers with a very professional platform to help develop these products which are already on the market to complete the portfolio for a manufacturer.”

Of course, Stark Future was quick to condemn the MXEP concept saying that a separate class for electric bikes “compromises the essence of competition and risks stifling progress.” Sadly for Stark, most of the motorcycle industry believes that a separate, stand-alone, class for electric bikes is the best way to ensure that we don’t damage the sport, the manufacturers or their dealer networks in a rush to satisfy an untested concept. With separate classes for internal combustion and electric bikes, the thorny issues of battery life, electric charging, horsepower equivalency and fan interest can be accurately gauged.