Round seven of the 2026 MXGP World Championship at Teutschenthal marked a milestone moment for Red Bull KTM’s Andrea Adamo, the Italian securing his first-career MXGP podium with a 7-3 scorecard for P2 overall at the MXGP of Germany. In this Debrief feature, the former MX2 champion reflects on his breakthrough premier class result.

Image: Supplied.

First MXGP class podium

Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s my first podium in my rookie season and there are many fast guys out there. There are many world champions and many world titles, so the line between finishing third or P10 is really thin. I didn’t have the best first moto, not in terms of feeling because the feeling was good, but unfortunately I came together with Ruben [Fernandez], crashed and went back to P9, then finished P7. So I lost a little bit of opportunity for the podium, but in these conditions a little bit everything can happen. Romain [Febvre] broke an engine in the first moto, Maxime [Renaux] had a bad start, and Jeffrey [Herlings] also had a technical issue. In the second moto I don’t think I got the holeshot, but by the second corner I nailed it around the outside and took the lead. Then I did everything to lose the lead in lap one to Lucas [Coenen], and then Jeffrey also got by me. At the moment, following is almost easier than leading because I learn quite well when I’m behind. I stayed close to Jeffrey and then had to keep Romain behind me, which was needed for the podium. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to finish P3 in the moto and P2 overall, so I’m really happy with it.

Moto two nerves

I didn’t know it was for the podium. I knew that Romain was a little bit out of the overall because he had the technical issue in moto one, so I said, ‘Okay, I know he’s kind of out of the overall, but if he passes me, he takes two points, so I need to try to stay in front.’ That’s what I did. I was a little bit nervous, but with a 450, getting nervous is not the best thing. So I tried to stay calm, breathe, and managed to finish P3. So I’m happy.

Image: Supplied.

Rookie season expectations

Yeah, the expectations are not so high. Coming into the season, I didn’t expect to be in the fight for the championship. Before the season, I imagined this year as a learning season where every race is another step. Some races will be good, some will not, but the goal is to keep learning, keep pushing, not give up and continue improving. That’s the main goal for this season.