Who impressed: EMX125 & EMX250 in Portugal!

EMX125

Gianluca Facchetti: The young Italian upped his game at round four in Italy as he ended up second overall. However, he managed to go one place better in Portugal as he stood on top of the box. A third and a first was good enough for his first overall win in the class.

The energetic Italian was pumped to win and it’s pleasing to see! The youngster has been through a lot in his career including a serious car crash. It’s nice to see him riding as good as ever. Now he has the taste for victory he will want that winning feeling again before the season is over. With the win Facchetti is only one point behind Haarup in the chase for second.

Brian Moreau: It wasn’t a spectacular weekend for the French kid but exactly the sort of weekend he needed. With the championship lead it’s important he stays consistent and doesn’t do anything stupid.

Moreau finished second in both of the moto’s to grab forty-four valuable championship points and gain one point on Haarup.  He now has an eighteen points advantage in the championship. It’s important he does his homework in the sand before Lommel as Haarup will be very strong there!

Emilio Scuteri: Last year was a rookie season for the young Italian and with that year behind him he is much stronger in 2017. Things are starting to click for him at the last few rounds and this weekend was his best round to date.

A seventh and a sixth in the moto’s was good enough for an impressive fifth overall. The Celestini KTM rider now sits tenth in the series, he will be hoping for more results like these during the final three rounds of the series.

Rene Hofer: The Austrian rookie struggles with his starts meaning he has to come back up through the pack time and time again, at this stage it must be starting to annoy him! He was buried down in thirty-third on the first lap of moto one but rode the wheels of his KTM to get back up to tenth. He followed that up with a strong fifth in moto two to secure sixth overall.

I feel like people don’t realise how good this kid is but he sits fifth in the series as a rookie which is impressive. If he can get his starts sorted a podium isn’t out of the question. He will go into the 2018 season as one of the favourites for the title!

EMX250

Tristan Charboneau: Having finished moto’s in the top ten of the AMA National series as a rookie I thought I’d be writing a lot more about Charboneau this year but due to bad starts and bike problems things didn’t start too well. Things are starting to click into place for the American now though and at the right time as he chases a contract for 2018. He gelled with the track this weekend and impressively won both moto’s. He could be a contender for the title if he hangs around for next year as he now knows exactly what to expect.

Simone Furlotti: It was a brilliant weekend for Furlotti as he now leads the championship! He finished second behind Charboneau in both the moto’s for forty-four important championship points.

As Lesiardo only picked up seventeen points, Furlotti gained twenty-seven and now has an eight points advantage. With only two rounds of the series left and both in hard pack conditions that Furlotti should like, he will be feeling very confident he can clinch the title.

Marshal Weltin: Two Americans were on the box this weekend as Charboneau was joined by his team mate on the podium. Like Charboneau, Weltin seemed to love the track and took to it like a duck to water.

The American took two thirds on the day. He was locked in a fierce battle with Boisrame and Fernandez in the second moto but he edged them out for a third-place finish.  Weltin currently sits seventh in the championship but will want to break into the top five during the last two rounds of the series.

Alberto Forato: Another rider that struggles with his starts! The enormous Italian rarely starts inside the top ten and it makes it hard work. However, he has really improved this year and has impressive speed.

Forato finished eighth and sixth in the moto’s for sixth overall in Portugal. The Assomotor Honda rider now also sits third in the series which is very impressive considering his bad starts. The Italian’s are dominating the EMX250 series this year aren’t they? They’re running 1,2 and 3 in the series! It’s good to see some young Italian’s coming through the ranks as Cairoli isn’t getting younger and they will want someone else to step up!