Honda HRC PETRONAS rider Jeffrey Herlings took another qualification victory – his fourth in a row – to take maximum points at his home GP here in Arnhem, Netherlands. The Dutchman controlled the race from the second corner onwards to win by 37 seconds and extend his lead to 120 points in the 2026 MXGP World Championship.
Once again, the #84 was fastest in every session on the sandy Arnhem circuit, posting laptimes that weren’t close to being matched in the two practice sessions, before putting in another dominating performance in the qualifying race. He got another good start in second place, before moving into the lead around the second corner, before disappearing into the distance, gaining almost three seconds a lap on average over second place. It is 12th chequered flag in a row and another step closer to his sixth world title.
Behind him, in a big race-length six position battle were Ruben Fernandez and Tom Vialle, who ended up sixth and seventh respectively but were only six seconds off of third. The pair know that they have outside shots at the podium if they can perform like they did today, so will be working with the team to try and get those marginal gains they need on what was a tricky surface for every rider.
MX2 rider Valerio Lata can also be proud of his efforts on a track that certainly isn’t one of the Italian’s favourites. He showed the power of the Honda CRF250R around the first bend, narrowly missing out on the holeshot, before getting shuffled back on a chaotic first couple of laps. From then on, the #18 rode a consistent mistake-free race to finish seventh which is his best result for a few rounds.
With better weather forecast tomorrow, there should be even more Dutch fans cheering on their hero Herlings as he looks to make it four perfect GPs in a row and move ever nearer to what would be a momentous sixth championship.
MXGP Qualification Race
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 25:24.209; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:37.904; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:39.981; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:40.955; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.749; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:46.589; 7. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +0:50.552; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:53.679; 9. Ben Watson (GBR, Triumph), +1:05.346; 10. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Ducati), +1:17.199;
MX2 Qualification Race
- Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), 24:14.990; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:01.144; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:10.969; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:12.956; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:16.248; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:25.010; 7. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:50.669; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:00.261; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +1:17.202; 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna), +1:30.669;
Rubén Fernández 70
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Pretty happy with the riding once again, staying a lot closer to the front guys even if I was sixth again. This track wasn’t easy so I am happy to have kept things upright again and I feel like I am making good progress with my sand riding skills, so I’m hopeful that tomorrow can go even better and I can challenge inside the top five and maybe even for a podium.
Tom Vialle 16
Honda HRC PETRONAS
I found this track a bit tougher to figure out than Lommel for some reason. I couldn’t get into a rhythm as quickly as I did there so today hasn’t been the best, but I’m still okay with seventh today. Of course I’d like to be closer to the front, but I think I still am behind other riders with the time spent riding tracks like this, so I am doing a good job and there is definitely more to come in the future. Hopefully I’ll be able to get two good starts tomorrow and that will help make my life easier.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
Honda HRC PETRONAS
I did what I wanted to do today, win every session, get out front early and just make my life easy. I got a good start just behind Adamo, quickly passed him and just made a comfortable lead to control the race. I think tomorrow will be a bit tougher, but I know that I’m riding well, the bike is performing excellently and I’m enjoying riding this track. Thank you to the team for all their work and to all the Dutch fans who have come out to support me this weekend, it has been great so far.
Valerio Lata 18
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Got a great start to be in third place round the first few corners, however I didn’t have the best first lap and dropped a few positions. In the end I rode a decently consistent race to come home seventh, which is something I can build on for tomorrow’s motos.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas –
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Jeffrey did more Jeffrey things, cruising to victory by over 30 seconds and looking very comfortable doing so. He got another excellent start and just made sure that he got to front as quickly as possible, and then just rode his own race. Tom and Ruben had a strong race and were involved in a good battle for positions third to eighth. In the end they did well for fifth and sixth and seventh, but we are going to work hard to give them a push for higher positions. Valerio also rode one of his better races to come in seventh, in a sand track that definitely isn’t his favourite.
