Liam Everts played a crucial role in Team Belgium’s victory at the 2026 Motocross des Nations at Ernée, helping his country secure their first Chamberlain Trophy since 2013 alongside Lucas and Sacha Coenen.
Making the switch to the 450cc for the prestigious event, Everts arrived in France with limited preparation and after a difficult week fighting illness, but quickly found his speed and rhythm around the technical Ernée circuit.
“I did five or six days on the 450cc. My last week has actually not been great as I’ve been sick. I raced in Heerde which wasn’t great at all. Coming here I did some riding on Thursday at Genk which is my local track. It went good and the feeling was back again. It was a crazy weekend here”, Everts told GateDrop.com.
Everts proved to be one of Belgium’s key riders throughout the weekend and was rewarded with the inside gate pick for the final moto. He made the most of the opportunity, getting away with the front group and putting himself in a position to deliver a huge result for Belgium.
“I was fast and feeling really good jumping on the 450cc straight away. It was a technical track which suits me. I just rode really good. The guys put their faith in me to go inside for moto three, I paid it back to them with a good start and I was able to run with the guys at the front. I was pretty done for the last three laps – I had no idea we were in the position to win. It was only when I saw the guys at pit lane that I noticed that we won, it’s unreal”.
The Belgian rider showed strong pace in both of his races, recovering from a poor opening lap in one of the motos to finish fourth and leave Ernée knowing he had played his part in the team’s success.
“I had two good starts over the weekend although one of them was horrible – my first moto so moto two. I clipped the rut and I was at the back. I was able to start out front but I also came from the back. I ended up fourth but I could have probably got second in that one”.
For Everts, the Motocross des Nations victory is very special and after not being able to win an MX2 GP overall this year – was delighted to win the MXoN event with team Belgium.
“Going in I just wanted to be consistent and be there every session. That’s what I did. This MXoN win does it over an MX2 GP win. This is crazy”.
Despite the 2026 season now coming to an end, Everts still has a few more races on his schedule before taking a well-earned break in November.
“I will keep going until the end of October probably, I will do the Fast Cross in Italy this weekend and then do some beach races. November I’ll probably take off”.
