Ahead of the MX2 World Championship getting underway, we take a close look at the rookies who will be entering the class in 2025.
There’s no better place than to start with the reigning EMX250 champion, Mathis Valin and honestly what a year it’s been for him. No one expected – not even him or BUD Racing – thought he’d win the EMX250 championship last year before the start of the season. But from round one right until the final round he was superb and not only that – when he was asked questions throughout the year and put under pressure, he had all the answers for some very stiff competition. KRT have decided to run a full factory MX2 GP rider this year and snapped up Valin and in pre-season he’s looked to stepped things up yet again. This kid looks special and could be a real surprise in 2025 – what this space!
Finishing runner up in the EMX250 championship last year was young Italian prodigy, Valerio Lata. After many years within the KTM group he has made the switch to Honda HRC – quite reminiscent of a young Tim Gajser. Lata despite being an MX2 rookie is quite experienced when it comes to racing a 250cc as he’s also wildcarded plenty of MX2 GP’s. Who can forget Maggiora last year? He got on the podium with the big boys so he already knows the format and competition well.
We asked Lata about his podium at Maggiora last year: I started with my goal to be in the top five or top ten but in the first race I finished fifth. In my mind, oh, I don’t know but a podium is very good… I like it so much and then in race two, we started well and for every lap I was for the whole race in third position, and I finished third overall GP so I’m very happy. Maggiora was my second race this year in the MX2 World Championship, so I’m very happy, it was one of the best days of the year and I’m very happy about it.
Another EMX250 contender last year was Cas Valk and he had some high points during the season but in the end had to be content with third in the championship. It was still a positive year for Valk under the SS24 Gabriel KTM awning working closely with Shaun Simpson as well as Joel Smets. It was actually his first year racing the four-stroke and he also clinched the British MX2 title! Heading into 2025, he’s inked a deal with Van Venrooy KTM who despite being out of the paddock for a year do a great job improving young talent so they’ll be looking to talk Valk to the next level within the next few years.
It was a great season for Saad Soulimani racing the EMX250 class in what was his final season in the class due to the U21 age rule. Racing a two-stroke he was able to finish fifth in the championship – he was a nice surprise last year. For 2025, he’s inked deal with the DVS Junior TM Racing and he’ll be back racing a four-stroke. Even though he won’t race all rounds of the series the plan is to contest all the European rounds so still plenty of race action!
Back in 2021 Maxime Grau signed with Nestaan Husqvarna and looked to have the world at his feet – he was very impressive on his EMX250 debut with the team at Matterley Basin. However, things haven’t really gone according to his plan as he’s had health issues and injuries holding him back. An ACL injury towards the end of last season means he has only just got back on the bike (update, here). He won’t be ready for Argentina but is targeting a return for round two at Cozar. The WZ KTM team do a good job helping young talents grow so they’ll hope to do the same with Grau. The real target should be to avoid any injuries and then he’ll naturally continue to improve as he gets the race rhythm and intensity back.
A relatively new team in the GP paddock – KL Racing are stepping things up for the 2025 season as they’ve become an officially approved team. The Danish based team have also struck a deal with one of the best Dane prospects, Magnus Smith so it should be a good fit. It is a great opportunity for Smith to race with the best 250cc riders in the world and he’ll get a taste of his first oversea GP this weekend in Argentina.
Young Estonian rider, Martin Michelis has the opportunity to race the MX2 World Championship in 2025. He won’t be racing all the rounds but with the Young Motion powered by Resa team he’ll have the opportunity to race the majority of the rounds that take place in Europe. It is a big opportunity for the Estonian to learn with the very best. The Young Motion powered by Resa team also have a unique setup which you can learn more about, here.
We have more MXGP previews later this week before the opening round takes place in Argentina.
