On the giant sand box that is the Lierop circuit, the rough, nasty, test chattering track carved out of the North Brabant area of Holland, sand ace Marc De Reuver took the overall victory in the MX1 class with 1-3 moto scores. Second overall fell to Belgian Ken De Dycker. Red Bull KTM contender Max Nagl was third.

When the gate dropped to start the opening MX1 moto it was Red Bull KTM rider Max Nagl and Silver Action's Jonathan Barragan in first and second. On lap number three, though, Monster Yamaha rider and World Championship leader David Philippaerts took control of second when Barragan bailed off hard in the sand whoops. As the moto wound down, Teka Suzuki rider Ken De Dycker found his way into the lead and held the point before being passed by Martin Honda’s rider Marc De Reuver, who then took off and won the moto. Barragan got back on his KTM450 and finished second, just ahead of Philippaerts and his teammate Josh Coppins.

Once again, the booming KTM's of Nagl and Barragan who lead the start of the second moto, with Barragan again crashing. At that point, De Reuver, De Dycker, and Philippaerts motored up on Nagl, with De Reuver eventually riding into the lead. The Dutchman would hit the sand and lose the P1 spot, but got to his feet, back on the bike and roared back to earn enough points for the GP overall. Philippaerts also rode well to extend his lead in the World Championship with just one race left to run.

“In the first moto I built up my speed like in Lommel. At first I let the guys go as I wasn't in a good rhythm, but after I got my rhythm back, got the lead and won. In the second race I wanted to be in the front, not be in the action and crash. I was in the front, it was good, but Barragan passed me and crashed into me. I told myself, “This isn't possible”. However, I put my head down and I was again up front again in the lead and I made another stupid mistake and settled for third. Last weekend I had an off weekend and this weekend I win. This is the first sand GP win in my life so this is a first time and the fans went crazy and that was nice.”

And of Philipaerts strong day, De Reuver added: “I was surprised by Philippaerts today. Last week he wasn't riding like he often goes, but this weekend he was back and riding hard. I was surprised how quick he was on this sand track. Maybe that is how a champion rides.”

With only the Grand Prix Citta Di Faenza left to run in his home nation of Italy next Sunday, David Philippaerts leads Belgian Steve Ramon for the world title 477 points to 463.

In the MX2 class, South African rider Tyla Rattray of the Red Bull KTM team had everything handled at Lierop, using a double moto sweep to win the Grand Prix over Tommy Searle and Nicolas Aubin. With the Grand Prix of Italy only seven days away, Rattray appears to be headed towards his first World Championship.

“I felt good out there,” offered Rattray. “In the first race I got a good jump and I could see that Tommy was third. I knew it was going to get rough and I could see Tommy was getting close, but I held on. I knew the second moto was going to be about conditioning and I knew I was going to win the second moto, no problem.”

Said Tommy Searle: “I just have to go out and do my best now. Last weekend was tough and I lost a lot of points. I knew this weekend that Tyla was going to be tough here. These tracks are hard and I put in some good laps, but I got tired at the end and settled for second. I am wanting to win the championship, but it's a long shot and Tyla needs to have bad luck for me to win now.”