MXGP of France: De Wolf and Everts rise to the challenge at Lacapelle-Marival

The FIM Motocross World Championship burst back into life at the MXGP of France after a five-week hiatus, with Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing battling through one of the toughest weekends of the season to secure a pair of fourth-overall finishes with Liam Everts in MX2 and Kay de Wolf in MXGP.

Lacapelle-Marival - hosting only its second modern-era MXGP - delivered a brutal test from the first laps of the weekend. The hard-pack 1500m circuit quickly broke down under soaring temperatures and heavy humidity, with deep ruts, loose stones and savage braking bumps pushing riders to the limit in front of a huge French crowd.

Everts immediately found his rhythm around the demanding venue. The Belgian delivered one of his strongest qualifying rides of the season on Saturday, settling into second by lap two and controlling the position to the finish behind home favourite Mathis Valin. Smooth and consistent throughout, Everts repeatedly lapped in the low 1:41s and reduced the gap late in the race to finish just 4.517 seconds from victory.

Sunday’s opening MX2 moto became a tense and tactical affair. Everts started inside the top five before dropping to sixth on lap one behind Simon Längenfelder, but steadily rebuilt momentum as the race developed. Managing the deteriorating conditions intelligently, he applied pressure through the second half of the moto before a late move on Janis Martins Reisulis secured fifth at the flag.

Race two brought another composed performance. Everts remained firmly inside the lead fight throughout the moto and handled the brutal track conditions with measured consistency, crossing the line fourth for fourth overall with a 5-4 scorecard. The result keeps him fourth in the MX2 World Championship standings on 245 points.

In MXGP, Kay de Wolf delivered another mature premier-class performance during an exceptionally physical weekend. The Dutchman showed front-running pace from the outset and backed it up in qualifying with second position behind Jeffrey Herlings, while also posting the fastest lap of the race with a stunning 1:38.825 - the only rider to break into the 1:38 bracket.

De Wolf carried that speed into Sunday with a controlled fourth-place finish in race one, managing pressure and maintaining consistency as the track conditions worsened.

Moto two delivered even more drama. After an early red flag and restart, De Wolf launched to the holeshot and immediately established himself at the front of the field. He battled inside the leading group through the opening stages before digging deep in the closing laps to secure fifth and fourth overall in the Grand Prix classification.

Leaving France, De Wolf now sits seventh in the MXGP World Championship standings on 187 points as the series heads directly to Teutschenthal for next weekend’s MXGP of Germany.

#74 - Kay de Wolf: “It was a really demanding weekend physically because the track became super rough and the heat made it even tougher every lap. I felt good with the bike all weekend and the speed was there, especially in qualifying, so that’s positive. The holeshot in race two was nice, but overall I just wanted a little bit more from the motos. Still, we stayed consistent, scored solid points and we keep building.”

#26 - Liam Everts: “Honestly, I think this was one of those weekends where patience was really important. The track was difficult, very easy to make mistakes, but I felt comfortable on the bike from the start and my pace was strong all weekend. Qualifying was good, then in the races I had to fight through a lot and manage the conditions carefully. Fourth overall is not exactly where we want to be, but we’re moving in the right direction and the feeling is getting better every GP.”

Results  -  2026 FIM Motocross World Championship, Round Six:

MXGP - Moto One:
1. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 34:49.371; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) 34:59.441; 3. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:07.736; 4. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:20.157; 5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 35:25.749; 

MXGP - Moto Two:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) 34:14.778; 2. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 34:15.718; 3. Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) 34:47.715; 5. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:09.562; 7. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 35:27.060;

MXGP - Overall:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) 47pts; 2. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 47pts; 3. Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) 34pts; 4. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 34pts; 6. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 30pts;

MXGP - Standings:
1. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 286pts; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) 284pts; 3. Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) 231pts; 7. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 187pts; 9. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 171pts;

MX2  -  Moto One:
1. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 34:00.275; 2. Mathis Valin (Kawasaki) 34:03.736; 3. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 34:05.996; 4. Simon Längenfelder (KTM) 34:12.622; 5. Liam Everts (Husqvarna) 34:19.241; 8. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 34:31.012;   

MX2  -  Moto Two:
1. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 34:57.080; 2. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 34:57.936; 3. Mathis Valin (Kawasaki) 35:03.940; 4. Liam Everts (Husqvarna) 35:07.042; 6. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 35:10.905; 7. Simon Längenfelder (KTM) 35:19.949;

MX2  -  Overall:
1. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 50pts; 2. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 42pts; 3. Mathis Valin (Kawasaki) 42pts; 4. Liam Everts (Husqvarna) 34pts; 5. Simon Längenfelder (KTM) 32pts; 7. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 28pts;

MX2 - Standings:
1. Simon Längenfelder (KTM) 281pts; 2. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 273pts; 3. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 261pts; 4. Liam Everts (Husqvarna) 245pts;