MXGP ploughed back into the sand for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands and the Arnhem terrain was the scene for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings to go 1-1 for the third time this season with his KTM 450 SX-F. The Dutchman clinched his third victory from the last five meetings to close the gap at the top of the FIM World Championship standings. MX2 World Champ Andrea Adamo broke into the top three for the second week in a row with 3rd overall.
For the second year in a row the Dutch Grand Prix was hosted by the compact and sandy Motorsportpark Gelderland circuit in Arnhem. Jeffrey Herlings was attempting his first MXGP outing at the venue after missing the 2023 event. Hot and bright weather greeted both days of action at the rippled, technical and physical layout.
On Saturday the RAM Qualification race decided the gate positions for the two Grand Prix motos on Sunday as well as providing the riders with their first opportunity to snare world championship points for the weekend. Herlings took his works KTM 450 SX-F to 4th position after a top ten start. In MX2 Liam Everts was highest classified with 3rd followed by Andrea Adamo in 4th. Sacha Coenen was 8th but dealing with some discomfort in his legs after his tumble in Sweden.
Sunday saw Herlings in superb form despite a back complaint. He took his time to make progress in the first moto but passed his title rivals to comfortably own the checkered flag. #84’s start was better in the second race and he was able to control the 30 minute and 2-lap distance from the front of the pack; winning his twelfth moto of the year by almost ten seconds.
Red Bull KTM headed the MX2 running at the start of the first outing with Coenen, Everts and Adamo running 1-2-3. It was Everts who applied the more effective pace and crossed the line in 3rd with Adamo a clear 4th. The Italian was more formidable on the rough track in the second dash as he classified as runner-up and celebrated 3rd on the day. Everts had a crash that dropped him to 7th (5th overall). Coenen was 10-6 for his result card but led for a phase. EMX250 star Cas Valk made another wildcard entry to MX2. The Dutchman scored 11-11 and will be back on European Championship duty next weekend.
Jeffrey Herlings now has eleven consecutive podium finishes and twelve for the season as well as 15 career wins on home soil. The points haul means he is 3rd in the standings: just 35 from the red plate and 26 from P2. In MX2 Liam Everts holds 4th and is 40 points from the top three. The Grand Prix of Switzerland at Frauenfeld will bring MXGP up to round 17 and the last fixture in August.
Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MXGP: “I struggled with a painful back this week. It was something I had to deal with: I’m getting old! Today was quite OK. 1-1 was what I was hoping for. I made work for myself in the first moto but started picking off riders and coming back. I almost made a mistake in the second moto, even if the start was better. The competition is so strong. I’m super-proud of another 1-1 and now up to 107. I’m happy and blessed.”
Andrea Adamo, 4th and 2nd for 3rd overall in MX2: “I’m really happy about the weekend. We know about our pace and what we can do in the sand and we have to be realistic. I think I am closer but it’s really good to be on the podium after some tough GPs. I’m trying to bring my best [performance] every race, every weekend right now.”
Liam Everts, 3rd and 7th for 5th overall in MX2: “I got a pretty good jump in the first moto and the race was OK: P3. In the second moto I was around 5th-6th and then that tip-over ended up costing me a lot. From there it was tough. I’m disappointed to miss out on the podium but we’ll try and move forward and go to the next one.”
Sacha Coenen, 10th and 6th for 7th overall in MX2: “I wasn’t feeling so good with my legs after my crash in Sweden. The position wasn’t what I wanted in the first moto but the speed was quite good and there were some positives. I had another holeshot in the second moto and led for some time but then almost had a big crash with a slower rider. It was pretty crazy. It was a struggle this weekend…but we’ll work on it and hope for better in Switzerland.”
Results MXGP Netherlands 2024
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-1
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 2-2
3. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 4-3
8. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 11-7
Standings MXGP 2024 after 16 of 20 rounds
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 801 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 792
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 766
13. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna, 244
Results MX2 Netherlands 2024
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna 2-1
2. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna 1-2
3. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 4-2
5. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 3-7
7. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 10-6
9. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 9-10
Standings MX2 2024 after 16 of 20 rounds
1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 777 points
2. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 733
3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 676
4. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 636
5. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 545
8. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 444