The blue skies were painted orange yesterday 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.
