MXGP Arnhem: Herlings and McLellan victorius in the sand
By Team TMX on 24th Aug 26
Jeffrey Herlings and Kay de Wolf served up a Dutch sand-racing masterclass at Arnhem as the FIM Motocross World Championship made its final European stop of 2026.
With more than 30,000 fans packing the Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden, Herlings completed another perfect weekend in the MXGP class, taking both races and extending his championship advantage to 143 points with just three flyaway rounds remaining.
But this was far from a routine double for the Honda HRC Petronas rider.
De Wolf pushed his compatriot relentlessly in both races, leading for much of the opening moto before eventually being overhauled, then mounting another late charge in race two before a crash ended his hopes of challenging for victory.
Behind the two Dutch sand specialists, Tom Vialle completed the podium with 4-3 finishes, the Honda rider making it three podium appearances from the last four GPs.
And there was plenty more drama behind them, not least Glenn Coldenhoff signing off his MXGP career with fifth overall on home soil.
The Dutch fans were treated to a spectacular finale to the European leg of the championship, with dry conditions leaving the deep sand fast enough to reward commitment but rough enough to separate the genuine sand specialists from the rest.
Herlings was fastest in morning Warm-Up by 2.3 seconds from Romain Febvre, with De Wolf third, Tim Gajser fourth and Coldenhoff fifth.
When the gate dropped, however, it was Vialle who claimed the Fox Holeshot Award – his ninth of the season – before Herlings and De Wolf immediately began banging elbows.
Herlings briefly moved ahead of Vialle but nearly threw the Honda away in the left-right section after the finish-line jump, allowing his team-mate back through and De Wolf into second.
Febvre then crashed, while Ducati team-mates Andrea Bonacorsi and Calvin Vlaanderen also found trouble, leaving Gajser and Ruben Fernandez to chase the leading trio.
Vialle lasted only one lap at the front before De Wolf blasted past along the far side of the circuit. Herlings followed him through and the expected Dutch duel was on.
De Wolf held his nerve despite relentless pressure from Herlings, while Gajser moved past Vialle for third. Behind them, Andrea Adamo worked his way past Coldenhoff for fifth, while Ben Watson produced a superb ride to sixth – equalling his best-ever MXGP race result.
Eventually, Herlings found a way through. He attacked in the fast wave section on lap 14 to take the lead and began to edge clear.
Then, with four corners remaining, disaster nearly struck.
A rock became lodged in Herlings’ rear brake lever, locking the rear wheel and bringing the Honda almost to a halt. The championship leader needed a hefty boot to clear the obstruction and get moving again.
Having built a nine-second lead, he suddenly needed almost every bit of it. De Wolf crossed the line just 3.7 seconds behind to take second, with Gajser third and Vialle fourth.
Herlings had survived to claim his 230th race victory.
Race two produced another Herlings-De Wolf showdown, although this time it was Herlings who grabbed the early advantage.
The Honda rider took his sixth Fox Holeshot of the year ahead of Coldenhoff and Vialle, with De Wolf slotting into fourth before dispatching Vialle and then Coldenhoff to put himself into second.
The familiar pair were back at the head of the field, but this time De Wolf was the chaser.
Herlings gradually stretched his advantage as De Wolf appeared to be running out of options, but the Husqvarna rider wasn't finished.
With three laps remaining, De Wolf suddenly found another gear and closed to within 1.5 seconds of Herlings. The crowd sensed a showdown was coming.
Instead, De Wolf's challenge ended in the rough.
He got slightly off-line approaching a right-hander, hit a large braking bump and was thrown from the Husqvarna.
Fortunately unhurt, he remounted and was still 50 seconds clear of Vialle, allowing him to retain second.
Herlings cruised home to his 14th consecutive individual race victory and 122nd career Grand Prix win, while Vialle completed the podium.
The two Dutchmen embraced at the finish, the mutual respect between them obvious after a weekend of proper sand racing.
The result leaves Herlings 143 points clear of Febvre with 120 still available across the final three rounds. The title could therefore be decided as early as the opening race in Turkey.
For Coldenhoff, fifth overall with 7-4 finishes provided a fitting conclusion to his MXGP career.
The MX2 class delivered its own pair of barnstormers, with Camden McLellan taking his third Grand Prix victory of the season for Triumph Racing Factory Team and Liam Everts claiming his second race win of the year.
McLellan took the opening moto after a fierce battle with Sacha Coenen. The KTM rider had led initially but, as in the Qualifying Race, crashed after Pit Lane to hand McLellan the lead.
Guillem Farres kept third despite a few costly mistakes, while Everts came through to fifth before moving past Valerio Lata for fourth.
British interest came from Ollie Colmer, who produced his best Grand Prix finish to date with 11th.
Race two belonged to Everts.
The Husqvarna rider grabbed the holeshot and immediately moved clear, while McLellan worked his way through the pack from sixth.
Coenen eventually moved ahead of Farres but couldn't keep McLellan at bay. The Triumph rider produced a sweet switchback pass to take second before setting about the gap to Everts.
Farres then capitalised on Coenen's fading pace to reclaim third, restoring his championship advantage over the Belgian to 25 points.
Everts was never caught and claimed his second race win of the season and second overall victory in successive GPs.
McLellan's 1-2 scorecard secured the overall victory and Triumph's eighth GP win of the season, while Farres completed the podium.
The result moves McLellan to within 12 points of making it a Triumph 1-2 in the championship, although Farres remains firmly in control of the MX2 title chase.
Arnhem brought the European phase of the 2026 championship to a suitably dramatic conclusion, with the Dutch fans seeing their two homegrown sand specialists occupy the top two steps of the MXGP podium and Herlings move ever closer to another world title.
After a weekend off, the championship heads east to Turkey for the first of three remaining flyaway rounds.
And with 143 points separating Herlings from Febvre, the MXGP title could be decided sooner rather than later.
