Maximilian Spies firmly established himself in the group of top riders in the ADAC MX Masters in 2025. He showed with overall victory in Gaildorf that he is not only good on sand, while third place in the championship was the reward for his strongest season to date in the top class. Spies demonstrated his versatility this winter with third place in the ADAC SX-Cup and outings in the SuperEnduro Junior World Championship. In an interview, he reveals how his off-season has been, and what he expects from the new ADAC MX Masters season.
How are preparations for the new season going? Maximilian Spies: “I started focussing my training on Motocross again at the start of February. Everything in my programme is as it was: I am still riding in the Becker Racing Team and for Weber. I am motivated to improve my performance again this year, and to get the season off to an even better start.”
What did your “off-season” look like? “Winter was once again a really ‘spicy winter’ and I was very busy. I took part in the Red Bull Stoppelboss, started in the ADAC SX-Cup again, entered a downhill mountain bike race, and lined up in the SuperEnduro World Championship in Poland and Riesa. I rode the usual 450cc bike instead of the two-stroke in Supercross, made it through to all the finals, and ended the championship in third place. I definitely had a lot of fun this winter.”
Is that not too much of a distraction? “To a certain degree, that many different disciplines can naturally be a distraction. However, I am gaining new experience in these disciplines and learning new skills, which I can then carry over to Motocross. Plus, I am riding Motocross all year. This way, I am still on a bike and it gives me fresh motivation to improve in these disciplines too. I am then even more motivated when I get back on my MX bike.”
After finishing third in last year’s ADAC MX Masters, what are your goals for 2026? “I am just trying to learn from last year and continue to work on my weaknesses, in order to improve in those areas. That showed last year, when I had worked on my starts, which were then good to very good. I now want to improve my consistency across the whole season.”
The calendar features many sand tracks. Is that an advantage? “We are all pros and good riders, and can ride fast on any surface. I did not take overall victory once on sand last year, but did win on the hard ground in Gaildorf. That sums up the situation well. The conditions and that little bit of luck will be the key factors. I will focus on one race at a time and try to finish as high up the field as possible."
Who will be your biggest rivals? “All last year’s opponents are still there, plus Tom Koch is back. There may also be the odd surprise package. However, for my part, I will just be trying to be one notch better. I am really looking forward to some awesome battles!”
