Delfzijl, a historic port town in the northern Netherlands, hosted the opening round of the EMX65 / EMX85 European Championship Central Europe Zone and the EMX Women’s European Championship. Nestled in the province of Groningen, close to the historical TT Assen Circuit, the area of Delfzijl is growing its reputation as a destination for top-level off-road racing.
Race Report by FIM Europe – Feature Image of Jett Gardiner courtesy of True Focus 381 – Other Images courtesy of FIM Europe
The town’s unique setting, combining open terrain and a strong local passion for motorsport, provided the perfect backdrop for more than 150 riders in a thrilling, action-packed weekend that set the tone for an exciting 2025 season.
EMX 85
In Race 1, Harry Dale (KTM) took the lead right from the start, closely followed by Luca Nierychlo (KTM). The two battled for the win throughout the entire race, but it was Dale who crossed the line first to take the victory. Arthur Moore (KTM) made an impressive charge, climbing from fifth to finish third.
In Race 2, Dale once again grabbed the holeshot, followed by Belgian rider Torre Van Mechgelen (KTM) and British rider Olly Waters (GasGas). Dale quickly created a gap and rode unchallenged to his second win of the weekend. Behind him, Waters kept the pressure on Van Mechgelen and made a decisive pass halfway through the race to secure second place.
The final result was Dale with the Overall, Moore second Luca Nierychlo in third and Waters fourth.
Other British riders were Harley Marczak in 7th, Brian Gyles in 10th, Nixon Coppins 11th, Leo Wilson in 12th, Casey Lister in 13th and John Slade in 18th. Archie Butterfield and Cohen Jagelski were also present, with the latter finishing second in timed practice but a crash in timed qualifying and suffering “some unfortable injuries” he was unable to complete the motos.
EMX 65
British rider Jet Gardiner (KTM) grabbed the holeshot in race 1, followed closely by Haakon Rooning (KTM) from Norway and local hero Jann Huisman (Yamaha). However, on the first lap, Gardiner made a mistake, allowing Rooning to take the lead. From there, the Norwegian rider maintained a strong pace and rode to victory, ahead of Huisman in second and fellow Dutch rider Bas Verspaandonk (GasGas) in third.
In Race 2, Gardiner once again took the lead, but this time made no mistakes, riding confidently to claim the win. Rooning secured second place, while Huisman completed the podium in third.
Jett would end the weekend in fourth overall one place ahead of fellow Brit Alfie Cotter in fifth. Other Brits in the points were Tommy Wood in 16th, Cameron Berry in 19th and Max Jones in 20th. Also racing in the Netherlands was Jack Clark and Austin Edwards.
EMX Women’s
Lynn Valk (KTM) dominated Race 1, taking the holeshot and leading from start to finish. Reigning World Champion Lucy Baker (KTM) and Shana van der Vlist (Yamaha) did their best to keep pace, engaging in a close battle for second place. In the end, Baker relied on her experience to secure P2, while Van der Vlist settled for third.
Race 2 followed a similar script, with Valk once again controlling the race from the front to claim another commanding win. Baker finished second, while local rider Danee Gelissen (Yamaha) delivered a strong performance to take third place.
Holly Williams also raced.
Results
EMX 85
| Pos | Competitor | Nationality | Total | Delfzijl | |
| 1 | Harry DALE | GBR | 50 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Arthur MOORE | GBR | 38 | 20 | 18 |
| 3 | Luca NIERYCHLO | GER | 38 | 22 | 16 |
| 4 | Olly WATERS | GBR | 35 | 13 | 22 |
| 5 | Torre VAN MECHGELEN | BEL | 34 | 14 | 20 |
| 6 | Neo NINDELT | GER | 33 | 18 | 15 |
| 7 | Maxim ZIMMERMAN | SVK | 26 | 12 | 14 |
| 8 | Harley MARCZAK | GBR | 26 | 15 | 11 |
| 9 | Simon HAHN | GER | 25 | 16 | 9 |
| 10 | Brian GYLES | GBR | 21 | 8 | 13 |
| 11 | Nixon COPPINS | GBR | 19 | 9 | 10 |
| 12 | Leo WILSON | GBR | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| 13 | Casey LISTER | VIS | 14 | 2 | 12 |
| 14 | Liam GAASBEEK | NED | 14 | 6 | 8 |
| 15 | John KRANHOLD | GER | 14 | 7 | 7 |
| 16 | Kenzo JASPERS | NED | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| 17 | Maximilian NEUMANN | GER | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 18 | John SLADE JR | GBR | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 19 | Jamiro PETERS | GER | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| 20 | Willads Gordon ROHMANN | DEN | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Tony OLIVEIRA | BEL | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Hugo BRANT | CZE | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Mads DISSING | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Sacha GOBLET | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Samuel ROLIGHED | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Bela ULRICH | GER | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Youness TAHERE | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Lucas TAYLOR | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Archie BUTTERFIELD | GBR | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | TimO MOHRING | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Mike PIJNEN | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Lennox BODTLŽNDER | GER | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Jayden FORIERS | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Vojtech KUTHAN | CZE | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Scott VAN DEN BOOMEN | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Vital VAN NOOTEN | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Kay ZIJLSTRA | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Tonkla BOONSONG | NED | 0 | 0 | |
| 39 | Yuel KARNEBEEK | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Cohen JAGIELSKI | GBR | 0 | 0 | |
| 41 | Simon OCHODNÖCKY | SVK | 0 | 0 |
EMX 65
| Pos | Competitor | Nationality | Total | Delfzijl | |
| 1 | Haakon RONNING | NOR | 47 | 25 | 22 |
| 2 | Jann HUISMAN | NED | 42 | 22 | 20 |
| 3 | Bas VERSPAANDONK | NED | 38 | 20 | 18 |
| 4 | Jett GARDINER | GBR | 37 | 12 | 25 |
| 5 | Alfie COTTER | GBR | 34 | 18 | 16 |
| 6 | Jesko LOBERENZ | GER | 31 | 16 | 15 |
| 7 | Tobe VANDENEYNDE | BEL | 25 | 14 | 11 |
| 8 | Vojtech ZENDULKA | CZE | 24 | 10 | 14 |
| 9 | Cedric FLEERACKERS | BEL | 24 | 11 | 13 |
| 10 | Timothy VAN KILSDONK | NED | 22 | 15 | 7 |
| 11 | Marcio VAN DER LAARS | NED | 17 | 5 | 12 |
| 12 | Cas Klein KROMHOF | NED | 14 | 8 | 6 |
| 13 | Matej MASÁR | SVK | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| 14 | Demy HERMES | NED | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| 15 | Luuk Klein WOOLTHUIS | NED | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 16 | Tommy WOOD | GBR | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 17 | Marlo RACH | GER | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 18 | Berry Noteea HALEVY | KEN | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| 19 | Cameron BERRY | GBR | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | Max JONES | GBR | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | Jul ABTS | BEL | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 22 | Matteo BAUTEN | GER | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 23 | Luca VLASSAK | NED | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Oscar GOBLET | BEL | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Joshua GOBLET | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Oskar WALTER | GER | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Kalle KAPPEL | GER | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Jack CLARK | GBR | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | Viggo ALHEDE | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Felix FALVER | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Ferre VREVEN | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Madden VISSER | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Austin EDWARDS | GBR | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Diaz SIEMELING | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Oliver MOSE | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Luca KARSTEN | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Leon WESTERVEEN | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Vitus HORSEBOG | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Vojtech NOVOTNY | CZE | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Alexander BIHLMANN | GER | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Elliot Roland KING | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 |
EMX Women’s
| Pos | Competitor | Nationality | Total | Delfzijl | |
| 1 | Lynn VALK | NED | 50 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Lucy BARKER | GBR | 44 | 22 | 22 |
| 3 | Danee GELISSEN | NED | 38 | 18 | 20 |
| 4 | Elena KAPSAMER | AUT | 33 | 15 | 18 |
| 5 | Elsa ANDERSSON LÖF | SWE | 32 | 16 | 16 |
| 6 | Shana VAN DER VLIST | NED | 30 | 20 | 10 |
| 7 | Laura RAUNKJ’R | DEN | 29 | 14 | 15 |
| 8 | Amber SIMONS | NED | 27 | 13 | 14 |
| 9 | Katharina SCHULTZ | GER | 23 | 10 | 13 |
| 10 | Melissa MŽNTYLŽ | FIN | 21 | 12 | 9 |
| 11 | Amanda Nicole PASINIO NIELSEN | NOR | 20 | 9 | 11 |
| 12 | Adrija SKUDUTYTE | LTU | 16 | 4 | 12 |
| 13 | Theodora GUMENIUC | ROU | 13 | 5 | 8 |
| 14 | Jenny ENGELAND | NOR | 13 | 6 | 7 |
| 15 | Patricija BERZINA | LAT | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| 16 | Demi VERPLOEGH | NED | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 17 | Rosalita HOVIND | NOR | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | Sanna KJELLBERG | SWE | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 19 | Lynn SNOEK | NED | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 20 | Shirley VERKADE | NED | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 21 | Anna LEGAARD | DEN | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | Tuva NELSON | SWE | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Aneta ČEPELAKOVA | CZE | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Lara JONG-DE KRUIJF | NED | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | Wiktoria KUPCZYK | POL | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Wilma HANSSON | SWE | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Angela LAGEMAN | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Sigrid RDS | NOR | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Kyshara DAS | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Tara NOORDMAN | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Elin HANSSON | SWE | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Tiril OTTESEN | NOR | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Nicoline SRENSEN | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Vanessa ZIMMERMANOVÁ | SVK | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Hanna MERTSALMI | FIN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Karolina JASINSKA | POL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Holly WILLIAMS | GBR | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Loïs WESTERVEEN | NED | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Andrea HJORT | DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Larissa ELEMA | BEL | 0 | 0 |
