Behind The Start Gate At The MXGP Of The Netherlands 2025
Full Race Weekend at the MXGP in Arnhem, The Netherlands
Last weekend, we attended the MXGP of The Netherlands, supporting the JWR Honda MXGP team, who we have supported with parts over the last two seasons. It would normally be Cornelius Tøndel racing in the MXGP class, but unfortunately he recently injured his leg, so a last minute stand-in rider - Lars Van Berkel - answered the call to race the Honda CRF 450 R. We will feature the JWR 450 race bike in a future blog post, but in this blog post we will cover the MXGP race weekend in general, giving details about the WMX (women's), EMX250, MX2 and MXGP classes that were racing, plus results, as well as some new track layout details, what the track looked like and "behind the scenes" photos. We were lucky enough to have access to the start gate area for Sunday's races.
Free Practice & Start Practice
Friday 22nd August consisted of free practice sessions for all 4 classes taking part (WMX, EMX250, MX2 and MXGP), as well as start practice - but this was only for the MX2 and MXGP classes. We were able to get some video footage of the factory teams and privateers in the paddock and were up close and personal when it came to start practice, as can be seen in the photos below.
WMX
The sand of Arnhem played host to an unforgettable weekend as the 2025 MXGP of the Netherlands delivered a dramatic chapter in the Women’s Motocross World Championship. With the home crowd packing the fences and the Dutch flags flying, the pressure was squarely on local hero - Yamaha's #401 Lotte van Drunen, but Spain’s Daniela Guillen on her GasGas rose to the occasion and stole the spotlight with her first overall GP victory of the season! In Race 1 on Saturday August 23, Van Drunen delivered a commanding performance in front of her home fans. She powered to the front early and never looked back, crossing the line with a winning time of 25:45.719. Guillen pushed hard but had to settle for second, finishing more than 18 seconds behind, while Yamaha's Shana van der Vlist secured P3 just a couple of seconds further adrift.
In Race 2 on Sunday August 24, Guillen came out firing and in one of the closest finishes of the season, she held off relentless pressure from van Drunen to snatch victory with a time of 24:36.867 - just 0.159 seconds ahead of the YZ 250 F of Van Drunen! Van der Vlist was right there also, only half a second behind the leader in P3. With both Guillen and van Drunen tied on 47 points, it was Guillen’s dramatic Race 2 win that gave her the overall GP victory, marking a breakthrough moment as she edged out the home favourite and usual "Queen of Sand" on Dutch soil. Van Drunen had to settle for second overall despite her opening moto triumph, while van der Vlist’s consistency rewarded her with a strong P3 in the Grand Prix standings. Van Drunen still maintains the 2025 WMX Championship lead, 25 points ahead of GasGas's Kiara Fontanesi and 26 points ahead of Guillen.
EMX250
The EMX250 class is one of the European Championship support categories that runs alongside the MXGP World Championship weekends. EMX stands for European Motocross and it’s essentially a stepping-stone series for young riders (usually between 15–23 years old), aiming to make the jump to the MX2 and eventually MXGP world stages. In Race 1 on the Saturday, Kawasaki's Francisco Garcia kicked off the GP with a masterful performance, blasting out front and maintaining a tight line on the challenging Arnhem sand to claim victory in 30:00.570. Hot on his heels was #172 Janis Martins Reisulis on the Yamaha YZ 250 F, demonstrating his consistency and speed, finishing just 3.411 seconds behind in P2, while Honda's Noel Zanocz took P3 just 4.053 seconds behind and followed closely by Husqvarna's Liam Owens in P4.
In Race 2 on the Sunday, Reisulis turned the tables in commanding fashon, surging off the gate and dominating the race to cross the finish line in 30:39.340. Liam Owens challenged him to the end, finishing only 2.584 seconds back in P2, while Husqvarna's Mads Fredsoe claimed P3 8.690 seconds behind. Garcia, after his Saturday triumph, settled for P4 21.298 seconds further adrift. With a P2 finish in Race 1 and a convincing win in Race 2, Yamaha's Reisulis clinched the overall EMX250 victory in Arnhem with 47 points, edging out Francisco Garcia in P2 with 43 points and Liam Owens in P3 with 40 points. Janis Martins Reisulis extended his lead in the EMX 250 Championship standings. With only one round remaining, he holds a 39-point advantage over Honda's Noel Zanocz.
MX2 Qualifying Race
The weekend started with a dramatic MX2 qualifying race on Saturday 23rd August, where early chaos set the stage for a thrilling contest. Both the Husqvarna of Kay de Wolf and the KTM of Simon Längenfelder got caught up in crashes on the opening lap. Längenfelder was forced into the pit lane to change a back wheel and rejoined nearly a lap down, while de Wolf recovered from his crash and moved up through the field, charging from 20th to 7th and gaining valuable points over Längenfelder in the MX2 Championship standings. Meanwhile, KTM's Andrea Adamo secured victory in the qualifying race with a time of 25:20.247. He was closely followed by his teammate - Sacha Coenen - who finished just 1.304 seconds behind, with Liam Everts on the Husqvarna FC 250 completing the top three.
MX2 Race 1 & 2
In Race 1 on the Sunday, the Dutch crowd witnessed a dominant performance by Kay de Wolf, who secured the victory with a time of 34:04.095. He was closely followed by Red Bull KTM's Sacha Coenen in P2 and Andrea Adamo rounded out the podium in P3 on his KTM 250 SX-F.
In Race 2, De Wolf continued his dominance, clinching another victory. McLellan on the Triumph TF 250-X improved to P2, only 2.584 seconds behind de Wolf at the finish, while Andrea Adamo maintained his consistency with a P3 finish. With two consistent performances, Kay de Wolf secured the MXGP of The Netherlands overall victory - the first home GP win of his career - with a perfect score of 50 points. Andrea Adamo and Sacha Coenen both scored 40 points, but Adamo's superior Race 2 result placed him P2 overall. McLellan's strong finishes earned the Triumph man P4 overall, just ahead of Husqvarna's Liam Everts, who rounded out the top five. De Wolf's consistent podium finishes have now propelled him into P2 in the championship standings with 768 points, narrowing the gap to Längenfelder's 783 points. With three rounds remaining, the title race remains very much open.
MXGP Qualifying Race
A packed Arnhem crowd was treated to a Saturday qualifying showcase as #84 Jeffrey Herlings stormed into the lead from the gate drop on his Red Bull KTM 450 SX-F and was in his element in the deep sand. Fantic Factory Racing's #259 Glenn Coldenhoff impressed with a strong start, while Herlings' teammate - #96 Lucas Coenen - slotted into P2 and Kawasaki's Romain Febvre rode sensibly for P3, to protect his red plate. Coldenhoff held P4, delighting the home fans, but the story was Herlings’ dominance - he crossed the line with a clear margin, securing 10 points and first gate pick for Sunday's Races.
MXGP Race 1 & 2
After a great start to Race 1 on Sunday, from the very first turn, KTM's Jeffrey "The Bullet" Herlings surged forward and never looked back. While Fantic's Glen Coldenhoff grabbed the Fox Holeshot, Herlings quickly moved past and established a gap that held firm through 30 gruelling minutes on the shifting sand track. Meanwhile, Lucas Coenen recovered from a fall on the opening lap and embarked on a sensational comeback. The KTM rider was the fastest man on the track and with relentless pace, he carved his way through the pack to finish a hard-earned P2, crossing ahead of championship leader - Kawasaki Racing Team's Romain Febvre , who took P3.
In Race 2, Herlings replicated his earlier dominance by once again launching into the lead early, but had to fend off a charging Lucas Coenen, who was a joy to watch as he was clearly the fastest rider out there. If it weren't for bad starts, it's hard to think that the #96 KTM 450 SX-F wouldn't have won each race. However, it was a flawless weekend performance for the #84 of Herlings, going of 1–1 in the races and securing the overall MXGP of The Netherlands win. Fantic's Glenn Coldenhoff came home in P3 overall after a 4-4, much to the delight of the home fans. Rounding out the top 5 were the Honda of Tim Gajser and Kawasaki's Romain Febvre. Febvre still leads the championship, but his advantage has narrowed to just 31 points over Lucas Coenen, making the title battle more intense than ever going into the final 3 rounds.
Did the track layout change at Arnhem for the 2025 MXGP?
Yes. For the 2025 MXGP of the Netherlands at Arnhem, the track underwent several notable updates compared to the previous years, to improve both racing and the spectator experience. The start line was moved further forward and the first turn (a left-hander) pushed back, requiring the relocation of the pedestrian bridge - a significant task but successfully completed for the event. The circuit was also reconfigured so that riders now passed by the start area on every lap, enhancing visibility and fan engagement. In addition, one of the grandstands was shifted to a new position for better viewing, and the grandstand overlooking the wave section was made bigger to accommodate more spectators. To summarise, the 2025 updates to the Arnhem track brought a lot of improvements for both riders and spectators - more line choices and tighter racing, while still preserving the signature deep sand challenge!
What did the sand track look like after a day of racing?
As with all sand tracks and with Arnhem being very similar to Lommel, after all classes had raced, deeper sandy waves, berms, ruts and holes formed as each day progressed. Even though the faces of the jumps and the start straight were flattened and made smooth with heavy plant machinery before each race, the rest was pretty much left to develop as the races went on, with riders having a sighting lap before each race to assess the track before the start. Below, we have pictures during Sunday's race day and at the end of the day of what the track looked like at various points. You can get a perspective of how deep the waves got from our friend standing in a hole on the corner before the finish line!
Are there any behind the scenes videos from the 2025 MXGP of The Netherlands?
Yes. You can find videos taken from the pit lane, behind the start gate, in Parc Fermé and in the paddock area on all of our AS3 Performance social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. We were able to get up close to the teams, riders and race bikes all weekend.
