MXGP of The Netherlands - racing the deep sands of Arnhem

MXGP of The Netherlands - 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship - Round 16

Our supported MXGP team and rider - JWR Honda and Alvin Östlund - competed at Arnhem for the MXGP of The Netherlands at the weekend. Since missing his home GP (Sweden) last weekend due to crashing heavily in free practice, Östlund and the team only made the decision to race at Arnhem on the Thursday, a day before the race weekend. If the deep sand track wasn't difficult enough, Östlund also came down with heavy flu on the Friday morning, so this really rubbed salt in the wound after hurting his elbow in Sweden! Due to his flu, the team decided not to do the MXGP start practice on the Friday and Östlund concentrated on resting up to give himself a chance of competing on Saturday and Sunday.

2024 MXGP of The Netherlands - Timed Practice & Qualifying Race

On Saturday morning Östlund took the timed practice relatively easy by his standards, in order to save as much energy as possible for the qualifying race, as he was still feeling ill. In the Qualifying Race, Östlund managed P24 on his CRF 450 R out of a full gate of 40 riders - an impressive effort considering how he was feeling. Click here for a video of JWR Honda's mechanics in the Pit Lane.

2024 MXGP of The Netherlands - Moto 1

Östlund felt a bit better on Sunday but in Moto 1 was soon reminded how draining racing Arnhem was, due to the nature of the deep sand and constantly changing track conditions as each lap progressed. Nevertheless, he managed a very respectable P23! Click here for a video of Östlund's Moto 1 start from behind the gate.

2024 MXGP of The Netherlands - Moto 2

Östlund went into Moto 2 feeling very drained. The temperature outside had risen and with the previous weekend's crash and this weekend's flu taking its toll, just starting Moto 2 was difficult physically and mentally. After a decent start, unfortunately on lap one Östlund got caught up in a small crash, but he pushed on for a few laps trying to find some kind of flow. It proved too much however and he decided to pull out. He wasn't competing for any points and wisely made the decision not to push his body any more.

Who won the 2024 MXGP of The Netherlands?

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's home hero Jeffrey Herlings (#84) won the 2024 MXGP of The Netherlands. "The Bullet" went 1-1 and won Moto 1 with a time of 34 minutes and 52 seconds, 3 seconds ahead of 2nd placed finisher Jorge Prado (#1 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) with 3rd placed finisher - Fantic Factory Racing's Glenn Coldenhoff only 1 second behind Prado. Herlings took the win in Moto 2 with a time of 35 minutes and 8 seconds, 9 seconds ahead of Prado in P2. P3 this time went to HRC Honda's Tim Gajser (#243). Herlings won the overall with a maximum 50 points, Prado was 2nd overall with 44 points and Gajser took 3rd overall with 38 points.

How many MXGP wins does Jeffrey Herlings have?

The win in Arnhem was The Bullet's 4th overall win of the 2024 season, giving him a total of 106 MXGP wins (including MX2 Class) in his career. Herlings currently holds the record for number of overall wins! For a video of Jeffrey Herlings crossing the finish line on his KTM 450 SX-F, click here.

Who were the other home MXGP Class riders competing at Arnhem?

Fantic Factory Racing's Glenn Coldenhoff took P4 overall with a 3-4! He was close to getting a podium, only for Tim Gajser to pip him to the finish line in Moto 2. Both riders finished on the same points. Coldenhoff's Fantic teammate and fellow Dutchman - Brian Bogers - went 12-12 to finish P12 overall.

Who won the MX2 Class overall at the 2024 MXGP of The Netherlands?

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing's Belgian rider Lucas Coenen (#96) won the 2024 MXGP of Flanders MX2 Class with a 2-1. Coenen finished 2nd in Moto 1, finishing within 1 second of Dutch teammate Kay de Wolf, with a time of 34 minutes and 22 seconds. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Liam Everts was 3rd, 38 seconds adrift! Moto 2 saw Coenen take the win, with a time of 34 minutes and 53 seconds. Red Bull KTM's Andrea Adamo was 2nd, 33 seconds back and P3 went to Monster Energy Triumph's Camden McLellan. Lucas Coenen won the overall with 47 points, de Wolf was 2nd with 43 points and Adamo took 3rd with 40 points.

Where was the 2024 MXGP of The Netherlands?

The MXGP of The Netherlands took place at the Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden, Arnhem. It is only the 2nd year it has hosted an MXGP - 2023 was the inaugural year. The tight, deep sand track ranks up there with Lommel and many Pro riders practice there due to being based in Belgium and The Netherlands. With a total length of 1690 metres and the way the track surface gets deeper and bumpier as each lap passes by, as with Lommel, it is one of the toughest MX tracks around. Some of the "wavy holes" that develop are easily deeper than 6 feet! Crowds over an MXGP weekend are large with an attendance of 26,700! This year's crowd was also treated to the debut of Ducati's MXGP race bike - the Desmo450 MX ridden by Tony Cairoli. Click here to see a video of the bike!

What was the 2024 Arnhem MX track layout like?

From the gate, the start was about 85 metres to the 90 degree left hand Turn 1, before hitting the Fox Hole Shot line which preceded the 90 degree right hand turn Turn 2. Three giant rollers then led into the Sidi jump which was followed by the sweeping right hand Turn 3 with a new double and long straight before the 180 degree banked right-hand Turn 4. There was then a single jump before the bigger Monster Energy jump, taking the riders to the infield of the track. It was possible to double into the left hand Turn 5 or rail the outside of this turn. After a bit of a straight, a small Dragon's Back took the riders into the slight left hand Turn 6 where they landed in very heavy sand, immediately followed by the right hand Turn 7 and another right hand sweeping Turn 8. The Liqui Moly table top jump was up next which led into the left hand Turn 9 and then next up were seven giant waves, ending with a double into the right hand Turn 10. After hitting another big Monster Energy jump, the track went slightly uphill into the 180 degree right hand Turn 11, before a Step Down jump into a short table-top and then the final left hand Turn 12 for a straight run at a single jump and then the Finish Line jump. This took the riders past Pit-Lane into the 90 degree right hand Turn 13 followed immediately by another right hand Turn 14 and onto the RAM jump - this RAM jump was last year's Finish Line jump! Straight after the landing, the track went left then right, almost like a chicane, which was 1 lap, continuing at Turn 2.

The Arnhem track looking back towards Turn 13 from Turn 14

2024 MXGP of The Netherlands Results - Who were the MXGP class Top 5 overall?

1. Jeffrey Herlings (#84), KTM

2. Jorge Prado (#1), GasGas

3. Tim Gajser (#243), Honda

4. Glenn Coldenhoff (#259), Fantic

5. Romain Febvre (#3), Kawasaki

2024 MXGP of The Netherlands Results - Who were the MX2 class Top 5 overall?

1. Lucas Coenen (#96), Husqvarna

2. Kay de Wolf (#74), Husqvarna

3. Andrea Adamo (#80), KTM

4. Camden McLellan (#8), Triumph

 5. Liam Everts (#72), KTM