James Moore Retains FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship in Final-Round Duel
James Moore is the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Champion for the second year running. The 20-year-old South African won a final-round duel with Ashton Brightmore in The Lost Road at the 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain, finishing fifth overall to Brightmore's sixth.
Moore arrived in Spain three points ahead, but Brightmore beat him in Friday's SuperEncierro and Saturday's Campoo Xtreme sprint. Going into Sunday, Moore knew that finishing ahead of Brightmore in The Lost Road would win him the title. He did, and takes the championship by four points, 188 to 184.
“Absolute war”
The Lost Road ran for nine laps of the Caracol peninsula, with the riders still on the lead lap going on to the final climb of Hixpania Hill. Moore lost time early, and after two laps Brightmore was almost two minutes up on him on race time.
Moore fought back. He had the time back by the sixth lap, and after eight laps less than two seconds separated them. Moore was quicker on the final lap and on Hixpania Hill, and crossed the line 2:03.2 ahead.
“It was absolute war up there. Me and Ashton going back and forth,” said Moore. “I dropped back a bit in the beginning, and then it was pretty insane. Got a pull from this guy [Thomas Scales], so thanks to him, and it's just unreal.”
A season-long fight
The title fight ran all year. Brightmore set the early pace, taking maximum Junior points at the 24MX Alestrem Hard Enduro in France and the Silver Kings Hard Enduro in the United States. He also won the Junior class at Forza Orza in Sweden, where he finished third overall, and led the Junior standings after each of the first six rounds.
Moore answered with maximum Junior points at Extreme XL Lagares in Portugal, Abestone in Italy and Sea to Sky in Türkiye, and won the Junior class at the Roof of Africa in Lesotho. With each rider's best six rounds counting, his Sea to Sky win put him three points ahead going into the final round.
| Race | James Moore | Ashton Brightmore |
|---|---|---|
| SuperEncierro, Friday | 7th | 2nd |
| Campoo Xtreme sprint, Saturday | 5th | 3rd |
| The Lost Road, Sunday | 5th | 6th |
| Final Junior points | 188 | 184 |
Back to back
The title is Moore's second in a row. He won the 2025 FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship, the same year he won the Roof of Africa outright. For 2026, he left KTM to join AG Racing Team Beta, run by Alfredo Gómez Cantero.
Before the final round, Moore said he was proud to be part of the AG Beta family and hoped to finish the season by defending his world title. His win gives the team a double at Hixpania, after Sandra Gómez won the first Women's World Cup.
“As team manager, I'm so proud of the season. The riders have been able to adapt so quickly to the Beta and the team,” said Gómez Cantero. “All the team members were giving their 100%, and finally all the work pays off.”
Credit to Brightmore
Brightmore ends the season as Junior runner-up. The X-GRIP Racing Team rider led the standings for six rounds, beat Moore in two of the three races at Hixpania, and took the fight for the title to the last lap.
The Lost Road
Mario Román won The Lost Road on home soil, 1:00.8 ahead of world champion Manuel Lettenbichler, with Billy Bolt third and Mitch Brightmore fourth.
AG Racing Team Beta is supported by Beta, Leatt and Plews Tyres. The final 2026 standings for every class are on the official championship website.
See the final standings→The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship is supported by official partners Plews Tyres, S3 and Factory Links.