Gajser narrowly misses podium in the Netherlands as Fernandez and Lata improve

On his second GP back since his shoulder surgery, Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser placed third in the second race, narrowly missing out on the MXGP of the Netherlands podium by just one single point. It was an excellent day for the Slovenian and shows not just how well he is riding already, post-injury, but also gives him a massive boost of confidence for the final three rounds of this 2025 World Motocross Championship.

The sun-drenched Arnhem track provided a really tough challenge for the best riders on the planet, as the sandy surface got rough and bumpy, and meant concentration along with physical conditioning was a critical factor in performing well.

After a hard-pack return in Sweden, Gajser knew this would be a much harder proposition, but all weekend he showed his sand skills as he went five-six-three over the three races, with the 35 points from the two motos today just one shy of the podium.  A sixth in moto one was a solid effort, with the top five running a really high pace and the #243 still working out how best to use and conserve energy. However, once the second moto began with the Honda CRF450R rider up in fourth, he knew this was his chance to give everything he had. By lap three, he was up into second place and matching the leaders’ laptimes and pulling a nice gap from the rest of the field. However as time ticked by, one of the championship challengers was able to pass him and he had to settle for an excellent third place, and give him a big boost of confidence as he heads to Türkiye and a circuit he enjoys riding.

Fernandez will also be feeling better about his weekend after a second moto where he was able to finish inside the top 10. The ninth still wasn’t as high as he would have liked, but it was good for the Spaniard to avoid all the incidents on the first corner and race a clean, consistent race. While third place in the championship is looking like a tough ask, he will still be motivated to show his early-season form and get himself on the podium once again.

This was a similar story to Lata, who was caught up in the first corner crashes in the second of his MX2 motos. All weekend, riders were hitting the dirt as they battled for position early-on and unfortunately, after a 10th in race one, Lata had to fight through the field in race two and managed to get all the way up to 12th. It was a good fightback, especially as he was tracking the championship leader through the pack in the first few laps. It was just a shame because each time he took to the track, he looked better and better, and it was a big improvement over his last sand outing in Lommel.

With the conclusion of events in Arnhem, the series now has a weekend off before back-to-back-to-back races in Türkiye, China and a brand-new event in Australia. All three riders will be hoping that these three rounds all go well, and they are able to fight it out at the front of their respective classes and finish this tough season on a good note.

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MX2 Race 1
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:04.095; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:01.399; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:03.360; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:25.129; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:26.034; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:45.957; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:56.356; 8. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +1:00.254; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:10.826; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:14.997;

MX2 Race 2
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 34:54.495; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:01.774; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:20.445; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:30.406; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:45.604; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +1:03.735; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:12.801; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:21.490; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:22.906; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +1:45.360; … 12. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s);

MX2 GP Overall
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 50 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 38 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 33 p.; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 25 p.; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 22 p.; 10. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 20 p.; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 20 p.;

MX2 Championship
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 783 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 768 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 745 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 648 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 575 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 548 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 538 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 386 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 384 p.; 10. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 374 p.;