30 local heroes at the MXGP of Switzerland powered by IXS on March 28 and 29 in Frauenfeld-Gachnang
Of course, the top stars of the Motocross World Championship will be a big hit with fans at the 2026 MXGP of Switzerland powered by IXS on March 28 and 29 in Frauenfeld-Gachnang. But for the local fans, the home-grown riders are also of great interest. And this year, there are more of them than ever before.
On March 28 and 29, the MXGP of Switzerland powered by IXS will be the third of 19 rounds in the 2026 Motocross World Championship. This is a must-see event for every Swiss MX fan, as well as for numerous visitors from abroad—after all, it’s the first time in 2026 that the world’s best motocross riders will be in action and competing head-to-head in Central Europe. The event at and around the Schollenholz race track in Frauenfeld-Gachnang is also always a special one for riders from Switzerland. Thanks to the enthusiastic fans waving their Swiss cross flags, the regular Swiss World Championship riders—especially Jeremy Seewer from Bülach, who last year finished third overall in Frauenfeld to give his employer Ducati its first World Championship podium finish, and Kevin Brumann from Ehrendingen—have plenty to celebrate. The same goes for Nico Greutmann of MRSV Frauenfeld, who enjoyed a home podium finish last year in the EMX250 class of the European Championship. This year, the Merishausen native has moved up to the top MXGP category—which shares its name with the World Championship series—and will compete in at least all European World Championship races.
3rd and 7th in the MXGP premier class
The runner-up and third-place finisher in the 2025 Swiss Championship’s top MX Masters category—the top Swiss rider, Nicolas Bender from Martigny, and Ramon Keller from Truttikon—will once again compete as wild-card riders. Also returning is Geneva’s perennial contender Arnaud Touns, who, as a guest rider last year, finished in the points in both heats and ultimately placed a respectable 20th in the day’s standings.
Joining them are 2025 Masters fifth-place finisher Loris Freidig from Thörigen, Robin Scheiben from Sulgen, and last year’s Swiss MX2 fourth-place finisher, Nico Häusermann from Lostorf. Also new to the “premier class” is Mike Gwerder from Stadel. A year ago in Frauenfeld, he finished 17th in the “junior” MX2 World Championship class and placed seventh in the Swiss MX Masters. This brings the total number of local heroes competing in the MXGP alone to ten.
Introductory courses in MX2
As things stand, four Swiss riders will be competing in the MX2 category in front of a home crowd this World Championship weekend, though all of them will be making one-off guest appearances this year. Luca Diserens from Domdidier comes to Frauenfeld on the back of his runner-up finish in last year’s Swiss MX2 Championship, and the same applies to Samuel Oechslin from Alphtal, who finished third in 2025. Remo Schudel from Beggingen and Samuel Oechslin’s twin brother Thomas will also be competing against the World Championship field once again.
A Look at the EM Classes
The racing action on the track will once again be highlighted this year by two European Championship classes, both of which feature a number of local riders. In the EMX250 class alone, there are eleven of them.
Currently, only Toni Ziemer from Unterwasser has at least several European Championship races planned. Hugo Vauthier (Anteuil/FRA), Arthur Steffen (Onnens), Kjetil Oswald (St. Gallen), Noryn Polsini (Fischenthal), Cyril Elsener (Rafz), Noe Zumstein (Künten), Bryan Schmucki (Herisau), and Noah Henzer (Sassel), as well as the two 2025 Swiss champions, Maxim Sonnerat (Pers-Jussy/FRA, National 250) and Eliot Vidalenz (Seyssel/FRA, National 125), initially plan to shake up the European Championship field only in Frauenfeld.
In the EMX125 class, Swiss hopes rest primarily on Ryan Oppliger from Forel. Last year in Frauenfeld, he thrilled his compatriots by finishing sixth and 13th in the heats and eighth overall. At the end of the season, he celebrated finishing tenth in the final European Championship standings. He will be joined on March 28 and hopefully also on March 29 (due to the pre-qualification and reduction of the field to 40 starters) by Emil Ziemer (Unterwasser), Jarno Jansen (Bäretswil), Kelyan Pavid (Sainte-Croix), and Luis Santeusanio (Langnau am Albis).
Full schedule
Practice for all classes is scheduled to begin on Saturday (March 28) as early as 7:05 a.m. with the first of two groups in the EMX125 class. This will be followed by the EMX250 class, which will likely also be divided into two groups. The MX2 and MXGP riders will take to the track for the first time at 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., respectively. The racing action begins at 3:00 p.m. with the first EMX125 race, followed by Heat 1 of the EMX250. The qualifying races for the first World Championship points of the weekend, as well as the starting grids for Sunday, will start at 4:35 p.m. (MX2) and 5:25 p.m. (MXGP).
At the end of the combined training and race day, all partygoers are invited to a lively party night starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Fetszelt right next to the track, featuring the Riedberg Party Band and DJ Urs. MXGP ticket holders get free admission; for everyone else, tickets are 20 CHF at the box office.
On Sunday (March 29), the program begins at 9:20 a.m. with the grid for the second EMX125 race. Following the warm-up sessions for both World Championship classes and the second EMX250 race, the MX2 and MXGP classes will take turns starting at 1:15 p.m. to compete in their respective two races, each lasting 30 minutes plus two laps, thereby determining the 2026 Frauenfeld Grand Prix winners.
