Jeffrey Herlings continued his incredible winning run with another perfect weekend at the MXGP of the Netherlands, while Camden McLellan claimed the MX2 overall as Arnhem delivered a memorable final European round of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship.
More than 30,000 fans packed into Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden for Round 16, and the home crowd was treated to an all-Dutch MXGP battle as Kay de Wolf pushed Herlings hard across both motos.
Herlings and De Wolf put on a show
The opening MXGP moto developed into the battle everyone wanted to see as De Wolf took control early and attempted to fend off Herlings.
De Wolf led for much of the race, but Herlings eventually found his way through on lap 14. Even then the drama wasn’t finished. A rock became lodged around Herlings’ rear brake lever with just four corners remaining, momentarily bringing him to a halt and reducing a nine-second advantage to just 3.7 seconds at the flag.
Tim Gajser took third ahead of Tom Vialle, while Ben Watson produced an excellent ride to sixth, equalling his career-best MXGP race finish.
Herlings made life easier for himself with the holeshot in race two, but De Wolf wasn’t prepared to let him escape.
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The Husqvarna rider closed to within around a second and a half with three laps remaining before his challenge ended with a crash. He recovered to finish second, while Vialle came home third to secure the final step of the overall podium.
The 1-1 completed Herlings’ fourth consecutive perfect 1-1-1 Grand Prix weekend and extended his remarkable winning streak to 14 individual races. It was also the Dutchman’s 122nd career GP victory and his 17th win from 19 events on home soil.
Herlings now leads reigning champion Romain Febvre by 143 points, putting him in position to potentially wrap up the MXGP World Championship at the next round in Türkiye.
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.”
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 Result
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.
McLellan takes MX2 honours
The MX2 class produced another fiercely contested Grand Prix, with Camden McLellan taking his third overall victory of the season for Triumph Racing Factory Team.
Sacha Coenen grabbed the opening holeshot and initially led McLellan, but the South African kept the pressure on. Coenen eventually dropped the bike in the same section that had caught him out during Saturday’s qualifying race, allowing McLellan through to take the win.
Championship leader Guillem Farres finished third behind Coenen, with Liam Everts fourth.
Everts turned the tables in race two with a brilliant opening lap, quickly taking the lead from Simon Längenfelder and establishing himself at the front.
McLellan had work to do from further back but charged through the field, eventually passing Coenen for second. He closed on Everts late in the moto but couldn’t quite reach the Belgian before the flag.
Everts took his second race victory of the season, but McLellan’s 1-2 scorecard and 47 points were enough to secure the Grand Prix overall. Everts took second overall with Farres third.
Farres leaves Arnhem with a 25-point championship advantage over Coenen, while McLellan has closed to just 12 points behind the Belgian in third.
On the British front, Ollie Colmer had his best-ever GP finish, finishing 11-12 for 11th overall.
Camden McLellan: “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.”
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 Result
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.
The championship now takes a weekend off before heading to Türkiye, with just three rounds remaining and the MXGP and MX2 title fights entering their decisive stages.
Images and Quotes courtesy of Infront Moto Racing
