Kay De Wolf looks back on a mixed debut year in the MXGP

Kay De Wolf will not be named MXGP Rookie of the Year in 2026. This rather inconsequential award will go either to Andrea Adamo of Red Bull KTM or to Tom Vialle of HRC Petronas, but the 21-year-old rider from Team Red Bull Husqvarna Factory Racing Nestaan has undoubtedly made an impression. De Wolf’s action-packed riding style on the FC 450 caused a stir, and the results followed when he was in top form and ready to go: a first podium finish at the fourth round in Arco di Trento and three further second-place finishes. He also led the MXGP for 15 laps, though in 2026 he fell just short of breaking into the quartet of race winners [Jeffrey Herlings, Vialle, Lucas Coenen and Tim Gajser].

De Wolf’s eagerly awaited MXGP debut in 2026 followed a career-boosting MX2 title win in 2024 and a tenacious bid to successfully defend his title in 2025, which went right down to the final Grands Prix of the season. The Dutchman was hampered by a series of minor injuries during his transition to the premier class. In the previous season, he tore a ligament in his left thumb and required surgery. He subsequently injured his other thumb during a race in the Dutch Championship. At the Italian Grand Prix in Montevarchi, he tore a ligament in his right ankle. A crash ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix resulted in a hairline fracture to his knuckles, forcing him to withdraw from the championship early. Although Kay will have missed 7 out of 19 races, he appears to have secured a place in the top 10 of the overall standings.

As a result, De Wolf has also extended his contract with the Lommel-based Nestaan team, meaning Husqvarna will wield considerable influence in motocross over the next two seasons.

The year 2026 proved rather bumpy for the tall rider, but De Wolf has time on his side; he turns 22 at the end of September, and his patient and level-headed approach to his career (choosing to remain in MX2 whilst his title rival Lucas Coenen moved up to MXGP) could well pay off. “I’ve learnt something new almost every weekend this season,” he told us. “In Sweden, for example, eighth place isn’t the result we’d hoped for, but every time I got off the bike after a session, I thought, ‘Wow’. So perhaps experience does have its value … and helps more than a result. It has certainly given me confidence.”

“The start is extremely important in the MXGP class,” he explained when we asked him to elaborate on his experiences. “That’s something we all see, but… you can’t afford to waste a single corner. If you slip up on the first lap, it takes twenty minutes to overtake some of the riders. That’s where Jeffrey is so good: he overtakes so quickly that he takes the lead and can pull away or react. That’s the most important thing, but generally speaking, it’s about getting to know the riders better and understanding the bike better. The bike is completely different and I still have to get used to it… but it’s getting better every time.”

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Racing on a 450 and the competition

Moving from the 250cc to the 450cc: that naturally raises the question of how to cope with the same weight and chassis, but with extra power. Kay will be neither the first nor the last Grand Prix star to need extensive racing experience to master the finer points of the different set-ups. On the FC 250, he often seemed to tame the quarter-litre machine at will, just like a BMX bike. “You can really open the throttle and just ride flat out; give it your all and make it work. You can’t do that on the 450. You have to show it respect.”

“That’s what I need to work on over the winter: becoming more efficient. At the moment, I’m using up too much energy,” he confided to us.

We pointed out that MXGP fans really enjoy watching his exciting and expressive riding style on the 250. “That’s my style!” he grinned. “But we need to tone it down a bit. That’s my way of riding and I feel comfortable with it; maybe that’s why I tend to ride like that. It comes naturally to me, but I’ll take it a bit easier next year … and ride a bit more in a straight line.”

In 2017, Jeffrey Herlings began his first MXGP season with a broken right hand. De Wolf’s compatriot also spoke that season about how he’d initially underestimated the demands of the 450cc class and his rivals. What was Kay’s experience like? “I wasn’t shocked,” he admitted. “I knew this class was going to be tough, and I was really well prepared. And that’s exactly how it turned out! If someone had told me last year in Arnhem, ‘The 450 class is really tricky…’, I’d have thought, ‘OK, but I’ll cope with it, and it’ll be fine’, but as soon as you actually ride it…’

“It’s strange,” he adds. “Because on TV it doesn’t look that crazy. It doesn’t seem that spectacular because you can’t really gauge the speed… but when you’re out on the track, you have to get to grips with that speed first. It’s a tricky class at the moment…”

The story of the [surgical] tape

De Wolf has had two injured thumbs since 2026 (thanks to a hand splint, he was able to make his MXGP debut in the second race) and painful knuckles, it was the torn ligament in his ankle in Italy that really threw him off course and will force him into a second phase of surgery and recovery this autumn. “I was in the top five right up until Montevarchi, when I got quite badly injured again,” he explained. “I’m still struggling with that, as well as a bit with my confidence. Not when it comes to riding, but in terms of performance.”

The condition of his ankle makes his performances in Lommel and Arnhem (where he challenged Herlings for the win) all the more impressive. “A ligament has torn and come completely away from my ankle,” he explained. “It’s quite unstable, and I can feel it when I land in deep holes. Jett [Lawrence] and Jeffrey have also had ankle problems, and what we’re seeing with Jett… they had to make a custom footrest for him, and it’s exactly the same for me. I can feel that it’s unstable. I’m having problems with bone-on-bone contact.”

The crash ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix and the highlight of his season have brought forward the plans for treatment of his foot. “It’ll take at least two months, but the doctor said he’d restore my ankle to 80 per cent. I’ll give everything for that.”

Staying with Weiß

De Wolf’s performance and his adaptation to the MXGP (he finished in the top five in both races at his second Grand Prix and made it into the top three on his second start) have firmly put him on the radar of other factory teams for 2027. Although the number 74 has been tempted by offers from the market, he also knows that the team – owned by Kay Hennekens and managed by Rasmus Jorgensen – is exactly the sort of ‘home’ that can help him climb even higher. A common feature of this century’s most successful MXGP riders – Tony Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings, Jorge Prado and Tim Gajser – was their long-established teams and crews.

One could argue that for some athletes, there is too much familiarity, and that clichés about comfort zones and motivation levels play a part; yet a fundamental change did not affect Herlings’ performance level in 2026, nor did it prevent Romain Febvre from win with Kawasaki in 2025 (having come so close in 2021). De Wolf relies on what he knows and on an environment in which he has progressed all the way through the EMX ranks.

“It’s a team I’ve been with since I was 13 – for so long now – and they know when I’m having a ‘bad’ day,” he explained. “They know me inside out, and if I’m not on form, there’s no pressure to turn the bike on its head; I’m not sure if that would work in another team. My roots in this team generally mean that we don’t jump from one side to the other.”

De Wolf was, however, in high demand as the ‘Silly Season’ slowly got into full swing. “Of course, a lot goes through your mind during those one or two months, because you get offers and have to imagine being in a different team. Lots of thoughts go through your head. There was an offer … and I could really picture myself being part of that other team, because it has a really cool structure, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed it there as much as I do in my current team. I really thought about it and realised how good I’ve got it here, where I am. I’m really happy.”

De Wolf’s skill, his support network and his potential are raising high expectations for 2027 – a season in which Herlings will be number one, Coenen will no longer be there, Romain Febvre will lead Ducati’s third attempt in this class, and Triumph will throw Guillem Farres into the fray. Perhaps his old rival Simon Längenfelder will also take the plunge. Is De Wolf a rider who relies on his self-confidence? “There are days when I feel really bad out on the track, but then I come in after free practice and the lads say: ‘You looked fantastic on the bike.’ And I think to myself: ‘What?!’ But I reckon that’s because I want to be perfect … and that means I don’t always ‘feel’ it.”

A perfectionist, then. “I wouldn’t say that about my everyday life. But on the bike I do want it … on the 450. On the 250, I can be really relaxed and still get it right. I’m tall and the bike’s a bit lighter, but on the 250 you’re constantly opening the throttle, and I reckon that makes it easier to handle. Sometimes I imagine it’s like riding a jet ski; you can’t turn it unless you’re giving it gas. I reckon it’s the same with an MX motorbike – you have to steer with the rear wheel. You can’t enter a bend without opening the throttle. I’ve got to get used to that first… but once we’ve sorted out my ankle and had a proper winter under our belts, we can finish in a very good position next year.”