The blue skies were painted orange today at the Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden near Arnhem as the MXGP of The Netherlands hosted the final European round of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championships, and round 16 lived up to expectations with a breath-taking display of sand racing across all four Grand Prix races! The fans that line the circuit here at Arnhem added a raucous atmosphere full of racing passion that drove their favourites on to even greater heights. It’s easy to say it in the hours after the racing has finished, but today’s GP was an absolute classic!
With no sign of the rain showers that had dampened the circuit in the build-up to the event, the 30,000+ fans in attendance enjoyed a beautiful day that wasn’t too hot, but dry enough to leave the circuit at its fastest, while still being deep enough to be a major challenge for the best sand racers in the world.
The expected result in MXGP was achieved by Jeffrey Herlings, who completed his fourth straight perfect 1-1-1 weekend for Honda HRC Petronas, but he was pushed to his maximum capacity by his compatriot Kay de Wolf, who led “The Bullet” for most of race one, and mounted a serious charge in race two before a crash limited him to 2-2 finishes and second overall for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing. Jeffrey’s teammate Tom Vialle climbed the podium for the third time in the last 4 GPs, and is close to advancing into the top six in the Championship as a result.
There were two scorchingly intense races in the MX2 class as well, as Camden McLellan claimed his third Grand Prix victory of the year for Triumph Racing Factory Team to get closer to the runner-up spot in the Championship, while Liam Everts took a commanding second race win for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing to put himself into second overall. Points leader Guillem Farres strengthened his position with third overall, putting two Triumph Racing Factory Team machines onto the podium in a day of tough competition for everybody on the circuit!
The day will live long in the memory of Dutch Motocross fans both onsite and watching at home, while any neutrals still had to be dazzled by the sand skills of the men at the top! It was truly a stunning event on a brutal battleground.
Jeffrey Herlings
Kay de Wolf
Naturally, Jeffrey Herlings made sure he topped the Warm-Up session, by just the 2.3 seconds from the next best! Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s #1 plate holder Romain Febvre was the rider in second, with Kay de Wolf third ahead of Tim Gajser on the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, and the private GCR Yamaha of Glenn Coldenhoff, racing in his last ever MXGP event as a wildcard on home turf. After crashing out of Time Practice on Saturday, there was to be no return to action today for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing firebrand Lucas Coenen.
Already at the top of the 2026 Fox Holeshot Award leaderboard, Tom Vialle increased his lead with his ninth such start of the year, while the two Dutchmen on the inside two gates banged elbows down the start straight, De Wolf coming out the better of Herlings for a least the next straight, but “The Bullet” made an outside move to pass Vialle as they started the first full lap, then got it all wrong in the left-right corners after the finish line jump!
Somehow saving a massive moment that nearly put him on the ground, the Honda man allowed his teammate back into the lead, and De Wolf crucially also got around him to claim second as they fired into the opening lap! Gajser and the third Honda HRC Petronas of Ruben Fernandez gave chase, but Febvre went down in the first corner in a tangle with the JK Racing Yamaha of Isak Gifting, while Red Bull Ducati Factory MXGP Team duo Andrea Bonacorsi and Calvin Vlaanderen were in a heap to the outside of turn one!
Coldenhoff was able to get past Fernandez on the first full lap to move up to fifth behind Gajser, with the sole Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Andrea Adamo in seventh, another Dutch hero Roan van de Moosdijk eighth for Kosak KTM Racing, then the Dirt Store Triumph of Ben Watson and Team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul rider Kevin Horgmo rounded out the initial top ten.
Vialle lasted a lap out in front before yielding to the flying De Wolf along the straight at the furthest edge of the track, sending the grandstand full of fans into raptures! Herlings followed him past along the next straight, and the hoped-for clash of the Dutch sand maestros was upon us!
Behind Vialle and Gajser, Fernandez had got back past Coldenhoff, but then suffered a crash that put him out of the race with machine damage! Adamo inherited sixth ahead of Van de Moosdijk and Watson, while Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Frenchman Maxime Renaux and Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Latvian Pauls Jonass moved into the top ten ahead of Horgmo.
Herlings made several attempts to ruffle De Wolf’s fur, but the younger man held firm in the lead despite the intense pressure. Gajser was able to make an outside-inside move to pass Vialle for third on lap 12, and they stayed there until the finish, ahead of Saturday’s birthday boy Adamo, who passed an understandably tiring Coldenhoff for fifth on lap 10. Watson was also able to dart past the Dutch veteran to claim an MXGP career-best-equalling sixth place at the flag! Coldenhoff and Van de Moosdijk were the last riders on the lead lap in seventh and eighth!
That was due to the intense pace at the top, as finally Herlings wore down De Wolf, attacking through the fast wave section in the middle of the circuit to take the lead on lap 14! They were even able to lap the recovering Febvre after his first corner spill, the reigning Champ still finishing tenth behind a spirited Horgmo, while Renaux crashed out and decided to sit out race two to recover for the flyaway races to come.
That looked to be job done, race win number 230 in the books, but there was so nearly a twist in the tale! From the only descent on the track to where it re-joined the start straight, Herlings suddenly came to a stop with four corners to go! A rock had lodged itself into the rear brake lever, locking the rear wheel, and it needed a hefty boot from Jeffrey to clear the problem! Having just stretched out a nine-second lead, he needed most of that as the eventual winning margin was just 3.7 seconds! An incredible turn of events that just added to a race full of high drama. What could race two bring?
Glenn Coldenhoff
The answer was, more of the same! This time, however, Herlings got the jump on the neighbouring De Wolf out of the gate, and claimed his sixth Fox Holeshot Award of the year from Coldenhoff and Vialle, with De Wolf doing well to get into fourth ahead of Gajser, before he used a similar line to the first race to pass Vialle again, his immense speed enough to carry him past Coldenhoff as well! The top two were back in position, with the younger Dutchman in the role of chaser this time around.
The Hoff was relegated by both Vialle and Gajser to fifth, with Fernandez, Adamo, Febvre, Bonacorsi, and Watson completing the first lap top ten. The Brit moved past the Italian a lap later, while De Wolf’s initial challenge was countered by Herlings’ relentless pace. The chase seemed to be doomed to failure in the first half of the race.
Van de Moosdijk moved into the top ten at the expense of Bonacorsi, and when Watson collided with a lapped rider and left the race due to bike damage, the Dutch privateer completed his best day in the premier class by taking ninth in the race ahead of Jonass, putting the pair into eighth and ninth overall. Landing a top ten result through dogged consistency was Jago Geerts, scoring 14-12 finishes for MRT Racing Team Beta.
Febvre made progress past Adamo on lap eight for seventh, then Fernandez dropped two positions with a fall two laps later. Gajser took until lap 12 to get around the outside of Vialle, and looked good for the podium, but a crash with four laps to go damaged his machine, and he would limp home in eighth, lapped in the final few corners by the leader.
That put Febvre up to fifth at the close, enough for seventh on the day, while Adamo and Fernandez continued to be close as they are in the Championship table, coming home sixth and seventh. Adamo was sixth overall the day after his 23rd birthday, but the amazing Coldenhoff, by 12 years the Italian’s senior, took fifth overall with 7-4 finishes, a worthy end to a brilliant MXGP career!
De Wolf saved himself for a late run at Herlings, and closed to within a second and a half with just three laps to go! The crowd got into it, but De Wolf got slightly off-line into a right-hand corner and hit a big braking bump that sent the bike sideways, and threw him off it! Lucky to get up uninjured, he was able to hold onto second due to a 50-second gap over Vialle in third. The crash allowed Herlings to cruise to an astounding 14th straight individual race win, his 122nd career GP victory, and his 17th from 19 events in his home country. The two Dutch stars embraced at the end, with massive respect for each other.
All of this leaves Herlings 143 points ahead of Febvre in the Championship, giving the Dutchman a straightforward task in Türkiye, after which there will be only 120 on the table. The title could even be clinched after the first Sunday race at Afyonkarahisar.
The Dutch fans left happy that their men ruled MXGP this weekend, and that their greatest racer of all time is on track towards more Motocross history. What a way to leave mainland Europe behind.
Jeffrey Herlings: “It was a really good GP. It was nice to battle with Kay [de Wolf] again. We have known each other for a long time, and when you race each other you have to race hard but respect each other at the same time, so we came close a few times but never anything crazy. He wanted to win, I wanted to win, and I know Kay is very good in the sand, so it was super fun. Racing at home is special, but it is not easy: I had all my fans, friends, family, almost all my sponsors, even my doctors and my surgeons here, so it was difficult to stay focused with everything going on around the race. The team did a great, great job. We made a big step with the bike and this weekend was really perfect. We are more than 140 points in front now, so the championship is coming closer and I am looking forward to Turkiye.”
Kay de Wolf: “It was definitely positive. Two weeks ago I could not even put up a fight against Jeffrey [Herlings], and since then we have worked on my starts, my fitness and several other things, so I am really pleased to be able to fight with him. To beat him in the sand is not easy. I tried everything and a bit more, but we will have to wait another time to beat Jeffrey. In the second race I was struggling behind him, I wasted quite some energy, I did not land the jumps clean and I did not go into the turns the way I wanted, because I was pushing so hard. In the end I could not hold on anymore, the bike kicked out to the right, my front wheel grabbed a handful of dirt and I went down. But I gave everything I had, so I cannot go to bed tonight wondering what if. Eight years ago I was still watching Jeffrey and now I am racing against him, and that only makes me stronger for the future.”
Tom Vialle: “For me to be here is pretty amazing. It is a difficult track and it was pretty sketchy for me at the start of the weekend, but I improved every session and to go fourth and third today is a good step. Coming back from the US, the sand was really my goal for this year. I had been missing these conditions for three years, and when I went to Sardinia last November I could barely follow a 250 rider, so I was really struggling. But I never gave up, I trained really hard all year and a lot of it in the sand, and it has been getting better and better. Fighting for a podium in the sand is always nice, and being up here behind two riders as strong as Jeffrey [Herlings] and Kay [de Wolf] honestly feels like a win for me.”
1. Tom Vialle; 2. MXGP Start Arnhem 2026
MXGP – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:36.581; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:03.773; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:44.802; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +1:00.724; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:28.247; 6. Ben Watson (GBR, Triumph), +1:29.725; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +1:31.734; 8. Roan van de Moosdijk (NED, KTM), +2:00.674; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1 lap; 10. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +1 lap. Fastest lap: Kay de Wolf – 1:45.522 (lap 11)
MXGP – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda); 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna); 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda); 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha); 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki); 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM); 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda); 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha); 9. Roan van de Moosdijk (NED, KTM); 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki). [Times, gaps and fastest lap to be added from the Race 2 classification]
MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 50 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 38 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 33 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 27 p.; 8. Roan van de Moosdijk (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 21 p.; 10. Jago Geerts (BEL, BET), 16 p.
MXGP World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 795 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 652 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 611 p.; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 566 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 522 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 502 p.; 7. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 496 p.; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 449 p.; 9. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 428 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 333 p.
MXGP Manufacturers – Top 10 Classification: 1. Honda, 883 points; 2. KTM, 771 p.; 3. Yamaha, 706 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 681 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 461 p.; 6. Ducati, 312 p.; 7. Fantic, 295 p.; 8. Beta, 176 p.; 9. Triumph, 155 p.; 10. GASGAS, 4 p.
MXGP Podium Netherlands 2026
Camden Mc Lellan
Just as in yesterday’s practice sessions, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Janis Reisulis was at the top of the timings in morning Warm-Up. Behind him were Guillem Farres, Liam Everts, Janis’ brother and teammate Karlis Reisulis, and Camden McLellan. Sacha Coenen saved himself for the main races by doing just three laps, placing eighth for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
The diminutive Belgian fired into the lead to claim his 14th Fox Holeshot Award of the season, guaranteeing his place at the top of that table for yet another season! For once, McLellan got the better start of the two Triumph riders, running in second ahead of Osička KTM rider Julius Mikula, Farres, and the Honda HRC Petronas of Valerio Lata!
McLellan and Coenen ran side-by-side for the first few corners, but the KTM won the initial battle as Farres intervened by getting around his teammate at the top of the circuit! Although the South African took it back a few corners later, the move gave Coenen the chance to sprint away out in front.
Behind them, Mikula held fast against Lata in the top five, while Janis Reisulis, defending Champion Simon Längenfelder on the second Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine, and Liam Everts tried to get onto terms with them. Karlis Reisulis and the SixtySeven Racing Husqvarna of Scott Smulders rounded out the top ten.
Lata was delighted to stay in contention much more than he did on Saturday here, passing Mikula on the second lap staying fourth for over half the race! It was Qualifying Race winner Everts who eventually hauled him in and made a clean pass on lap 11, and they finished in that order. Janis Reisulis won a back-and-forth battle with Längenfelder for sixth, with Karlis finishing behind him, the last rider on the lead lap! Mikula dropped down the order to finish an eventual 12th behind the Chambers Racing KTM of Ollie Colmer, as the Brit recorded his best GP finish to date, as did Smulders with ninth! Noel Zanocz steered his Venrooy Racing KTM into tenth at the flag.
Up front, though, Farres stayed third despite a few costly mistakes that kept him from truly challenging McLellan again. Instead the South African got free rein to challenge Coenen out front, and in almost exact replay of his Qualifying Race crash, the Belgian again dropped the bike in the corner after Pit Lane to allow McLellan an easy pass for victory! The KTM rider would have to seek solace that he at least took two further points out of his deficit to Farres in the title chase.
In race two, the other Red Bull KTM claimed the Fox Holeshot Award, with Längenfelder breaking the plane first for the sixth time this year. His lead didn’t last long, however, as Everts railed the third corner beautifully to pass the German before crossing the finish line to begin the first full lap! Swedish Triumph privateer Nike Korsbeck was initially fourth, but dropped like a stone as the factory boys flew past with customary intensity! By the end of the first lap, both Farres and Coenen had forced their way past Längenfelder, while McLellan had his more usual task of charging through the pack, in sixth behind Janis Reisulis, with Lata, Karlis Reisulis, the DRT Racing Kawasaki of Kay Karssemakers, and Colmer all in the initial top ten.
Everts floated away at the front as both McLellan and Janis Reisulis got past Längenfelder, who also fell prey to Karlis Reisulis and Lata to lie eighth by lap seven! A lap before that, Coenen got alongside Farres over the finish line jump, and nearly took them both down in the following corner! He did make the pass stick two corners later, and a further two laps on the Spaniard also fell prey to McLellan.
At the edge of the top ten, there was an all-Dutch battle between Karssemakers and Smulders, which was won by the Kawasaki kid to give him a ninth place finish after crash damage forced him out of race one. Smulders’ tenth place gave him a career-best ninth overall ahead of Zanocz. Lata took eighth in race two to finish there overall, while Janis Reisulis still can’t quite maintain his practice pace in the races, finishing seventh to take that overall position.
Längenfelder had passed the Italian and the younger Latvian to take sixth in the race and the overall, losing out to the elder Reisulis in both counts. Meanwhile, McLellan made a sweet switchback pass on Coenen to take second on lap 14, then set about the five second gap to Everts. Coenen was unable to hold back the fighting spirit of Farres, who pounced on the floundering Belgian immediately to claim third. It put Sacha off the podium and restored Farres’ Championship lead over him to 25 points.
McLellan was just unable to chase down Everts, who stepped up his pace to claim just his second race win of the season, and second overall for the second straight GP! McLellan was happy to secure his third Grand Prix victory, and Triumph’s eighth of the season. It puts the South African just 12 points away from making it a 1-2 for the British manufacturer in the Championship, quite an achievement for the third year of the project!
The MXGP of The Netherlands set the scene for the final three rounds of the series, and it was a fine way to bid adieu to mainland Europe until the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in early October. After a weekend off, we make our way east to Türkiye, and the fate the Motocross World Championship titles will be decided over the three flyaway races ahead of us! Do not be missing them!
Camden Mc Lellan: “1-1 was the goal, so it was not quite that, but it was still a successful weekend and I had a lot of fun. The track was difficult for racing and difficult to pass on, but it was enjoyable anyway. The first start was really, really good, I was very surprised, I did not know where everyone else was. The second start was not as good, but I was on the inside so I did not come out too far back. I ate a lot of roost in that second race and then had to dig deep to catch Liam [Everts] and ride behind him. It was a good weekend with a lot of positives, still a lot to work on and maybe some points left on the track. The bike is awesome, I am feeling really good and physically really strong. The championship is still on the table but it is a bit of a reach at this point, second place is not, so that is what I am going for.”
Liam Everts: “Like I said yesterday, Camden [Mc Lellan] has always been brilliant in the sand and he has proven that, so I knew he would be the guy to beat. I am happy with the race win, it has obviously been a really long time. I kind of missed my start in the first race, I had to chase and ended up fourth, so overall I am really happy with my weekend and satisfied with where things are. It is a bit of a snowball effect: once you start feeling good and you improve yourself and improve the bike a bit, it slowly comes together. Sport in general is hard, every sport at the highest level is really tough, you deal with a lot of ups and downs and you just try to make the most out of it every time. I think we made a good step in the last few weeks and I want to take that forward.”
Guillem Farres: “It does not really make a difference that it was for the championship, I was pretty calm. I was just trying to follow the guys, I had some good pace, and I am quite happy. It was a solid weekend after last week’s crash. It was a really tough week, I think I only cycled one day and the other days I was doing therapy, so I came into the weekend without riding and my body was pretty sore. I am just happy to get three solid battles and some positive changes. I approach it like every race, the same way I have approached this whole season, race by race. Obviously I want to win every time I go out on track and I have not been able to do that these last two or three rounds, but I am quite happy with the team, and it is also great to see Camden [Mc Lellan] performing. If I want someone else to win, it is him.”
1. Liam Everts; 2. Guillem Farres
MX2 – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), 35:22.958; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:07.494; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:22.014; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:27.548; 5. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:39.367; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:43.692; 7. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:58.525; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:03.984; 9. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna), +1 lap; 10. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), +1 lap. Fastest lap: Sacha Coenen – 1:47.792 (lap 3)
MX2 – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna); 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph); 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph); 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM); 5. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha); 6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM); 7. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha); 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda); 9. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki); 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna). [Times, gaps and fastest lap to be added from the Race 2 classification]
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 47 points; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 43 p.; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 40 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 5. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 29 p.; 6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 29 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 29 p.; 9. Scott Smulders (NED, HUS), 23 p.; 10. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), 21 p.
MX2 World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 749 points; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 724 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 712 p.; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 674 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 648 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 587 p.; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 473 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 414 p.; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 352 p.; 10. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 352 p.
MX2 Manufacturers – Top 10 Classification: 1. Triumph, 863 points; 2. KTM, 845 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 661 p.; 4. Yamaha, 629 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 484 p.; 6. Honda, 472 p.; 7. Ducati, 153 p.; 8. TM Moto, 87 p.; 9. GASGAS, 65 p.; 10. Fantic, 8 p.
MX2 Podium Netherlands 2026