2024 MXGP of The Netherlands Round 16 Results

Cycle News Staff | August 20, 2024

The Dutch sands set the stage for round 16 of the FIM World Motocross Championships at the MXGP of The Netherlands in Arnhem, August 17-18. With the series in its final stages and the points race coming to a head, fans saw an exciting weekend of racing with neither points leader taking home the overall win. Instead, two sand specialists, Jeffrey Herlings and Lucas Coenen, captured the wins.

MXGP

Herlings dominated the day in front of his home country. “The Bullet” did not get off to a favorable start in race one and was at one point 18 seconds behind the early leader, Jorge Prado. The KTM rider continued to press forward after starting back in 10th. With three laps left in the moto, he passed Prado around the outside line and put three seconds on him at the finish.

Again, in moto two, Herlings found himself off track on lap one, but this time further up the grid. It took nine laps for him to put those early mistakes behind him and fans could see the Dutchman coming to life. He again passed both Tim Gajser and Prado for the lead, this time extending his margin to nine seconds at the line. A double race victory put him on top of the podium for the day.

“I finally got a good start,” said Herlings. “I think I was P3, and I followed Glenn [Coldenhoff] and Tim [Gajser] for a while. I just wanted to try to attack, you know, and I made a mistake, and Jorge [Prado] came past me, and I tried to follow them, and you know, once they passed Glenn, I straight passed Glenn as well, and then I managed to pass Tim and obviously got quite the lead. So, I’m pumped with a 1-1 at home. So, it’s been a while since I’ve won a home GP, so I’m very happy with it.”

Jorge Prado at 2024 Dutch MXGP — **Jorge Prado secured a solid P2 overall with consistent 2-2 finishes, now just nine points off the top.**

Prado battled up front in both motos and eventually came away with 2-2 scores for second overall. He’s now just nine points down from Gajser in the championship standings.

“I showed good speed and, yeah, that second race was very interesting,” said Prado. “Jeffrey came by and had a moment with a lapper that crashed just in front of me that made Jeffrey go a little bit too far. But I kept him honest as I was pushing until pretty much two laps to go, I knew then that I was not able to catch him anymore, but we were going on a good pace and I’m happy with that. I’m happy that I’m feeling very fit right now and we’re getting closer to the championship.”

Gajser finished just off the podium in fourth during race one but rebounded in race two and made his way to the lead early on. He found his hands full with Prado and Herlings and later dropped back to third before crashing spectacularly late in the race. The points leader salvaged third in the moto and third overall with 4-3 finishes.

MXGP podium at 2024 Dutch MXGP — **MXGP podium at 2024 Dutch GP.**

“The pace was good, we were really close,” said Gajser. “It’s a shame for that crash in the second race. I didn’t feel that I was pushing over myself, but just a little slight mistake, you know, and the track was quite rough and sketchy, and yeah, I just lost the front, and then I fell back, and then Coldenhoff caught me, and then we had to push hard for the last three laps. But anyway, I’m happy to finish on the podium, I lost a couple of points, but we are still in the lead.”

**Tony Cairoli ended Arnhem with 15-DNF results, but the Borgo Panigale technicians were optimistic in collecting important data for the development of the Desmo450 MX.**

Antonio Cairoli also made headlines as he returned to the MXGP paddock with the Ducati Corse team and debuted the new Desmo 450MX. Unfortunately, his homecoming didn’t pan out as planned, and the former champion went 15-DNF on the day.

MX2

The two Nestaan Husqvarna’s of Lucas Coenen and Kay de Wolf found themselves battling up front in both motos of the MX2 division. De Wolf overtook the lead in race one, but Coenen did not give up the tow until the checkered flag. The teammates crossed the line with de Wolf winning by just less than a second over Coenen. Liam Everts took third.

Lucas Coenen at 2024 Dutch MXGP — **Lucas Coenen topped the MX2 class with a 2-1.**

De Wolf again put his Husqvarna in the lead group during moto two passing up to second in the early stages while KTM’s Sacha Coenen ran away with the early lead. The points leader then tipped over while running second and allowed Lucas Coenen to slip through. Coenen took full advantage of the opportunity and quickly moved within striking distance of his twin brother, Sacha. Lucas made the pass on lap eight and continued to open up a gap, extending it to over 30 seconds at the checkers. His 2-1 scores gave him the day’s overall prize. De Wolf later fell again and dropped to fourth in the race, going 1-4 for second on the box. Andrea Adamo made his way to second in the moto and earned another overall podium in the process.

Kay de Wolf TheNetherlands_2024_Full Spectrum — **Kay de Wolf went 1-4 for second on the MX2 box. Photo Full Spectrum**

“Not the easiest weekend, but a great result in the end,” said Lucas Coenen. “In the first race, I hit the gate at the start, but I tried my best and got back to P2, chasing Kay, so that was good. In the second moto, I really wanted to win. I needed to make a good start but didn’t. I managed to fight my way back to P3. Kay made a small mistake, so I took the opportunity to get past him. From there, I just tried to control the race and keep the flow going. It was a really good weekend, and we’re now focused on Switzerland.”CN