Through ferries or flights from last weekend’s MXGP of Sweden, the FIM Motocross World Championship stars head back from Scandinavia to north-western Europe, as the MXGP of The Netherlands presents another tough challenge for round 16 at the Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden circuit on the outskirts of the city of Arnhem.
The Dutch circuit was new to the calendar in 2023 and saw overall victories for Romain Febvre in MXGP and Liam Everts in MX2, although it is one of 31 separate circuits in the country to have hosted Grand Prix Motocross since the very start of the Championship in 1957, when it was held at the Lichtenvoorde circuit about 35 km east of Arnhem itself. The winner that day was the first ever World Champion, Bill Nilsson from Sweden.
From this weekend’s riders, Jeffrey Herlings of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has won the most in The Netherlands with 14 Grands Prix on his home sandy soil, although he has been unable to challenge for one since 2020. The home fans have a host of Dutch riders to cheer for in all classes, with Championship challengers in every race, so they will generate a boisterous atmosphere as we saw last year!
One of the most successful racers in Dutch events will make his return to action this weekend, as Antonio Cairoli comes out of retirement to debut the new Ducati Desmo450 MX machine for the Ducati Factory MX Team! His presence means we have the winners of the last fifteen MXGP world titles on the start line at Arnhem!
As the season begins its final quarter, Tim Gajser continues to hold the red plate for Team HRC as he goes for his third GP win on Dutch sand, with Jorge Prado just 17 points back for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, while Herlings is lying 48 points behind the Slovenian.
Kay de Wolf will carry the red plate for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing into his home Grand Prix, but teammate Lucas Coenen cut his advantage down to 49 points with victory at Uddevalla. Simon Laengenfelder is third for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing and his race win at Lommel in July will bolster his confidence for the Dutch conditions!
The local fans will be trackside early on Sunday for the sixth and penultimate round of the WMX Women’s Motocross World Championship, currently being led by the self-titled “Queen of Sand” Lotte van Drunen, who holds a narrow three-point lead for De Baets Yamaha over Spanish rival Daniela Guillen, who will try to spoil the party on her RFME Spain National Team GASGAS! Most recent WMX winner Lynn Valk will also be fired up to perform in front of her home fans for Schmicker Racing KTM.
The EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing European Championship series holds its ninth round at Arnhem, and Fantic Factory Racing EMX125 star Noel Zanocz leads the standings by 18 points over home hero Gyan Doensen, who will enjoy massive support for Racestore KTM Factory Rookies. Another Dutch rising star,Dani Heitink, took a race win in Sweden and will be fired up for a good result in front of his local crowd!
Last weekend’s MXGP of Sweden saw the top two riders in the series get closer together in the race for the MXGP World Championship, with Prado scoring a double victory to counter Gajser’s win in the RAM Qualifying Race. While the Spaniard has yet to win an overall MXGP round in The Netherlands, he did win three in the MX2 category from 2017 to ’19. Gajser meanwhile has won twice in the Dutch sand, back in his first title season of 2015 in MX2, and in 2021 at the circuit of Oss. The Slovenian raced to two fifths last year at Arnhem, while Prado went 1-4 for 2nd overall.
Although the results from Uddevalla left Herlings with a bigger mountain to climb than before, there could be no better place than his home country for the all-time GP win record holder to strike back at his rivals and regain the momentum he had going before Sweden. Unable to compete last year at Arnhem after a crash on Saturday fractured his collarbone, he will be looking for Grand Prix win number 15 in his native country, and his first since 2020!
Outside of the big three, last year’s winner for Kawasaki Racing Team was Romain Febvre, which was his second victory on Dutch soil, while there is just one other rider lining up in the class who has a first-place trophy from The Netherlands.
That rider is one of the most intriguing wildcard entries yet to be seen in the class, as nine-time World Champion Antonio Cairoli makes a comeback ride as part of his development role for the mighty Ducati brand, and the Italian manufacturer’s long-awaited debut appearance could not have been made with a more esteemed ambassador for Italian Motocross. Winner of ten Grands Prix on Dutch ground, his appearance means that we have four of the seven most successful riders in Grand Prix history on the starting grid at Arnhem!
Other riders flying the Dutch flag include Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Calvin Vlaanderen, currently fourth in the series, and the Fantic Factory Racing duo Glenn Coldenhoff and Brian Bogers, who sit seventh and eleventh in the standings. Bogers will be back after a scary crash in Sweden put him out after six laps of Sunday’s action, and he’ll want the crowd to make some noise as he does the Official GoPro Lapbefore his home GP! Seven other wildcards will line-up from the host nation, as well as four-time British Champion Conrad Mewse, who returns for Crendon Tru7 Honda after showing good speed at the MXGP of Flanders.
It’s sure to be another battle royale amongst the Kingpins of MXGP at Arnhem!
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 757 Points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 740 Points; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 709 Pts; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 538 Pts; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 516 Pts; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 451 Points; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 447 Pts; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 335 Pts; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 301 Pts; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 Pts.
Once more the pendulum of momentum in this spectacular season of MX2 racing swung a different way in Sweden, as Lucas Coenen took a stunning double win at Uddevalla and made ground on his red-plate-wearing teammate Kay de Wolf, who worked hard for fifth overall. The gap between the two is now just under a Sunday maximum score, at 49 points.
Both men are masters of the sand, although De Wolf has won at both Sardegna and Flanders this season. Kay missed the race at Arnhem last year through injury, whilst Lucas slipped off early in race one, denying him a perfect weekend as he recovered to 6th, his win in race two leaving him just two points away from the overall victory score of Liam Everts’ 3-2.
The Belgian comes to Arnhem a lonely 4th in the Championship for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, but appears to be growing in speed through a season that he started with a thumb injury. Third in the series is Simon Laengenfelder, winner of the opening race at Arnhem last season, who is on a three-GP podium streak in his bid to catch Lucas Coenen for the silver medal position. The German has still yet to win a Grand Prix this season and lies 23 points shy of the Belgian, and 72 behind De Wolf.
Monster Energy Triumph Racing are close to finishing their first year in MX2 with a top five rider in the series, with Mikkel Haarup just thirteen points ahead of reigning Champion Andrea Adamo, who took a brave second overall at Uddevalla.
Rick Elzinga, after a fine second overall for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 in the sand of Lommel, must be rubbing his hands approaching his home GP as he sits in seventh in the Championship standings. Fellow Dutchmen Jens Walvoort for KTM SB Racing and Kay Karssemakers for Fantic Factory Racing also sit in the top 20 of the series and are very keen for strong results. They are joined by two top EMX250 riders who enter as wildcards this weekend, Cas Valk of the Gabriel SS24 KTM team, and Ivano van Erp for VRT Yamaha. Cas won the first EMX250 race in Sweden, while Van Erp took the overall verdict with 2-2 finishes.
Scott Smulders of KMP Honda Racing Team Powered by Krettek and Bradley Mesters of the KTM Kosak Team will also line up in their home country.
The sand races in MX2 this year have been absolute treats to watch, and this weekend should be no different, so watch out for thrills and spills at the MXGP of The Netherlands!
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 725 Points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 676 Pts; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 653 Points; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 594 Pts; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 511 Pts; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 498 Pts; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 457 Pts; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 415 Pts; 9. Camden McLellan (RSA, TRI), 274 Pts; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 273 Pts.
TIMETABLE
SATURDAY: 07:50 EMX125 Group 1 Free practice, 08:20 EMX125 Group 1 Free practice, 8:50 WMX Free practice, 09:20 EMX125 Group 1 Qualifying practice, 09:55 EMX125 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 10:30 MX2 Free Practice, 11:00 MXGP Free Practice, 12:10 WMX Qualifying practice, 12:45 MXGP WildCard Free/Qualifying Practice, 13:40 MX2 Time Practice, 14:15 MXGP Time Practice, 15:00 WMX Race 1, 15:45 EMX125 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, 17:25 MXGP RAM Qualifying Race.
SUNDAY: 09:45 EMX125 Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 WMX Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.
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