JM Racing Honda pilot Brent van Doninck put together an impressive weekend at the thirteenth round of the MXGP season at the KymiRing Circuit. The Belgian rider positioned himself inside the top-10 every time he hit the track and managed to combine his speed with some much needed consistency in Sunday’s races to secure 6th overall on the weekend (his best result since the 2022 Finnish Grand Prix!).

“I felt great” affirmed van Doninck. “I felt already since Teutschenthal that my speed was back, but I couldn’t do it for two races, always one race something would happen but yeah now two (good) races and especially that second moto I have been looking to get a top five for a long time now already, but the injuries always got in the way and it’s been a long, long road from all the injuries the last two years, breaking my femur twice and my hip, but now, I feel confident again.”

The road back to full fitness has been anything but smooth for van Doninck. After dislocating his hip at the 2023 Latvian Grand Prix — an injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season — his 2024 campaign was derailed before it even began. A broken femur at the opening round in Argentina kept the Belgian out of action for a significant stretch, limiting him to just the final seven Grands Prix. To make matters worse, Van Doninck suffered another femur fracture at the 2025 Hawkstone International, forcing him to miss the first six rounds of the 2025 season.

“Well this year, breaking my femur the second time was actually mentally harder then the first time last year” he said, when asked about dealing with the mental struggles after significant injuries. “I don’t know why, but like, I felt like the nail was still in from last year and I didn’t realise that you could actually break it again with the nail in. That made me feel really fragile you know? It’s like how can this happen? Even the doctor said this is really unlucky.”

“This was spooking a little bit in my head for a few months, I would say. And there is no one that can help you with this, you know, not even a mental coach or a psychologist. You have to get this out of your head by yourself and I can’t explain how, but now I feel confident again.”

The mental challenges to fight back to full fitness has been far from straightforward for #32, but despite once again proving that he remains a contender in the MXGP paddock, he is keeping his goals modest for the remaining rounds of the 2025 season.

“I think the main goal is to be consistent top ten. I mean you should stick a little bit to the plan and don’t get too excited, you know, with one top five because it can break you also. But no, consistently in the top ten and then maybe yeah on a good day, you know, like a top five moto finish, that would be cool.”

Click the link below to listen to the full interview and the full post-race podcast episode!

Images courtesy of Fullspectrum Media