Ivano van Erp’s 2026 MX2 World Championship season never had the chance to begin. After spending seven years with Yamaha, the talented Dutch rider made the switch to KTM in pursuit of a lifelong ambition – racing the MX2 World Championship. It was a fresh start filled with optimism, but everything changed when a horrific crash at a preparation race in Oss left him fighting for his health.
Instead of lining up behind the MX2 start gate in Spain, Van Erp found himself in a hospital bed – one focused not on racing, but on recovery. Four months on from the accident, the Dutchman has opened up about the extent of his injuries, his long rehabilitation, his Yamaha departure and the uncertainty that still surrounds his racing future.
The injuries he sustained were life-threatening, and Van Erp admits much of the incident remains a blur.
“During my crash, I sustained a torn aorta and a collapsed lung, and on top of that I also broke my shoulder blade, collarbone, and sternum. The recovery is going in the right direction; I had surgery on my collarbone two weeks ago because it wasn’t healing, so now everything is fixed and I can slowly get back to work with physio. For me, it’s all a bit hazy; I don’t know how I crashed or what happened afterwards. I have a 3-day gap in my memory, so luckily, I didn’t feel all the pain too badly, but I still had a lot of pain”, Van Erp told GateDrop.com.
Although watching races from the sidelines is never easy, Van Erp says he has remained patient throughout the recovery process.
“That’s right. I went to some Dutch Masters to watch, but I don’t feel any frustration about riding yet; everything is coming step by step.”
The cruel timing of the crash only adds to the disappointment. After years of working towards an MX2 World Championship opportunity, he finally had everything in place before disaster struck.
“It was a boyhood dream to compete at the front in the MX2 World Championship, so this was a great opportunity to work with my own sponsors and trusted people, and it was going well. I had a lot of confidence in it; the riding felt good, and I showed that in Oss during the warm-up race as well. So, it is a real shame that it went so spectacularly wrong, especially of course because it was the final preparation before my first MX2 GP of the season which was going to be in Spain.”
Reflecting on his career so far, Van Erp doesn’t regret the path he has taken despite the many team changes and setbacks he has encountered over the last few seasons.
“Looking back, I wouldn’t change or adjust anything. In 2022 I won a world title on the 125cc for the second time, and that is a feeling you will never forget. In 2023, I joined Hutten Metaal as a rookie in the EMX250, and I felt comfortable in the team; the stability there was excellent. However, it turned out that Hutten was becoming the MX2 World Championship team in 2024, and Yamaha really wanted me to do another year in the EMX250 class to compete for the title. So, starting in 2024, they were looking for a new EMX250 team, and that became VRT. It was difficult to find stability there. Ultimately, I still managed to get 3 podiums in 2024 and finish the season in fourth place. In 2025, there was another team change which was VHR, so I had to adapt and change myself again, which is obviously not really what you want for stability. Ultimately, 2025 was also the season with the most injuries.”
His departure from Yamaha marked the end of a relationship that had lasted seven years, but Van Erp admits it wasn’t the ending he had hoped for.
“After 7 years with Yamaha (we went a different direction), that is never what you want, but things hadn’t been going so well between me and Yamaha for a while, and the way it happened wasn’t handled nicely either, but I let that go and was able to open a new chapter afterwards.”
When Van Erp got on a KTM he felt good with the Austrian manufacture.
“I made the switch to KTM after my crash in Sweden; I took 6 weeks of rest, and then I started riding the KTM. I rode a few races with the KTM, and that felt good.”
Now, four months after the accident, Van Erp is slowly rebuilding both his fitness and his strength, although his racing future remains uncertain until he receives medical clearance.
“We are four months further on from my crash, and I am doing well. I am happy that I can slowly start training a bit again on the bicycle, running, and swimming. It has been a long four months, but more than anything, I’m just happy that I’m still here. In two months, I have to go back to the head doctor, and then I will know if I am ever allowed to race again or not.”
Despite spending much less time around the paddock, the Dutch rider is grateful for the people who have stood by him throughout the ordeal and knows the next chapter of his life depends on the outcome of his next medical assessment.
“I still have my friends at the Motocross track and in the paddock, and I will always keep them, even now that I am not at the track as often anymore. The true friends of Motocross always remain, whether I race or not. But as you say, yes, many people in Motocross have very short memories and forget about you easily. At the moment I have no plans yet. As I said, I will see the head doctor in two months and then I’ll hear if I’m ever allowed to race again, so we’ll just wait and see, and from there we’ll see”, Van Erp concluded.
For now, Van Erp’s focus remains on recovery rather than racing. After surviving injuries that could easily have claimed his life, simply getting back on a motorcycle is already a remarkable achievement. Whether he is eventually cleared to return to competition remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – his perspective has changed, and after everything he has been through, being alive is the biggest victory of all. Thanks to Van Erp for giving us his time to tell his side of the story and we look forward to seeing him in the future.
