A sell-out crowd of 30,200 fans packed the sandy 1,660-metre circuit for round 16 of the FIM Motocross World Championship and the final European Grand Prix of the season.
Racing on home soil, de Wolf delivered one of the rides of the weekend during Saturday’s MXGP qualifying race. After being caught in first-corner trouble and dropping towards the back of the field, the Dutchman charged through the pack to finish an impressive second.
That momentum carried into Sunday. De Wolf went elbow-to-elbow with Jeffrey Herlings from the start of race one and remained his closest challenger throughout, crossing the line second just 3.773 seconds behind the winner and more than 40 seconds clear of third.
In race two, the 21-year-old quickly recovered from a slightly slower start to move into second by lap three. De Wolf steadily closed the gap to Herlings during the second half of the moto, getting to within little more than a second before a late crash ended his challenge for the win. He remounted safely in second to complete a superb 2-2 scorecard and secure his second MXGP runner-up finish in three Grands Prix.
In MX2, Everts started the weekend by claiming his first qualifying-race victory of the season, before facing a tougher opening moto on Sunday. After circulating as low as ninth during the early stages, the Belgian worked his way steadily forward to finish fourth.
Race two produced a very different story. Everts charged into the lead during the opening sector and initially stretched his advantage to six seconds. As the race developed, Camden McLellan closed rapidly and piled on the pressure, setting up a tense final-lap battle. Everts held his nerve to take the chequered flag just 0.766 seconds ahead, securing his second race victory of the season.
His 4-1 results earned second overall and a second consecutive Grand Prix podium following his runner-up finish in Sweden one week earlier.
With both riders leaving Arnhem second overall, Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing now heads into the final three flyaway rounds of the season with strong momentum, beginning with the MXGP of Türkiye on the 5 – 6 September.
