The 2025 EMX250 Championship is shaping up to be an exciting season with plenty of talent on the grid. With returning contenders, rising stars, and fresh faces making their mark, the battle for the title is expected to be intense.
The VHR VRT Yamaha squad may enter with many peoples early favourite with a strong line-up, while other teams like BUD Kawasaki, JM Honda, and Gabriel SS24 KTM are also gearing up for a competitive season. From elite prospects like Janis Reisulis to young hopefuls stepping up from the EMX125 class, there’s no shortage of riders to watch. Here’s a look at the key names who will look to shine in 2025.
Let’s start with the VHR VRT Yamaha squad. Janis Reisulis sadly had a knee injury last year which meant we only saw him race one round of the series. The Latvia comes into the 2025 season healthy and has a had a full off-season to prepare. He has looked good at the pre-season races even beating his brother and we saw in Argentina there’s nothing wrong with his pace. This kid is an elite talent and is big favourite for the title this year.
His team mate, Ivano van Erp had a solid season last year finishing fourth in the EMX250 championship – he did toy with moving up to MX2 but in the end decided to stay in the EMX250 series for one more year. The Dutch talent will be looking to win plenty of races and mount a serious title challenge, he is expected to be Reisulis’ biggest threat going into the 2025 season. The team also have Tom Brunet as a supported rider – the French talent will be an EMX250 rookie but learn as much as he can from his more experienced team mates.
Nico Greutmann had a strong campaign last year finishing sixth in the championship and will be looking for more this year. He is carrying a finger injury so won’t be 100% at round one. Expect him to improve as he gains 100% fitness though – he’ll have the pace to run at the front but starts seem to always hinder him. It is the Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna’s team second season in the paddock so expect them to be strong now they’ve had a season in the paddock.
The Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna team have signed up Mads Fredsoe for the 2025 season and after his rookie season last year he should be better this year. Finishing ninth in the championship as a rookie wasn’t bad at all and now he’ll aim for the top five. The young Dane has plenty of potential for the future.
After an injury, we didn’t see Liam Owens last year so he’ll be back for redemption for 2025. With lack of racing in the last year he may be rusty at the start of the season but the more races he gets under his belt, he should improve and get that race rhythm back. He isn’t making the move from Australia to Europe to just make up the numbers so he’ll be eager to improve and impress.
The BUD Kawasaki team had a dream year in 2024 with Mathis Valin winning the title as a rookie. The team have a new rider line up in what will be a year of learning for their new recruits. Jake Cannon is making the move from Australia but is highly rated. He’ll be looking to adapt this year and learn as he goes along but don’t be surprised to see him getting better then running at the front.
Francesco Garcia showed flashes of what he could do last year as a rookie before an injury ended his season but who can forget his podium at Arco di Trento. Despite missing the last four rounds of the series he still finished tenth in the championship. 2025 will be a big change for him making the move from Spain to France but again the young Spaniard has plenty of potential as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of Jorge Prado and Ruben Fernandez.
Young Norwegian, Håkon Østerhagen is one to really look out for in this class. He had moved up to the MX2 World Championship last year with JM Honda but after another injury, he has decided to focus on EMX250. There’s no doubting his talent and speed but the important thing will be remaining fit. After signing with AIT Racing he’ll be back racing a Fantic. Petar Petrov will be working closely with him and hoping he can unlock his full potential. The team also have young Brit, Jake Davies under the awning as he moves up to the 250cc.
The Gabriel SS24 KTM team did a good job with Cas Valk last year and for the 2025 season the full focus will be on the EMX250 championship running two riders. Max Werner has made the move over after being with the JM Honda team last year and finished eighth as a rookie – not bad at all. The German is known for his fast starts which certainly makes life easier.
Joining Werner under the awning will be Dutch talent, Gyan Doensen who just missed out on the EMX125 title last year but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. Now it is a new challenge in his career as he’ll focus on the 250cc and the EMX250 experience. This year is all about learning but he is ambitious so will want to run at the front straight away.
Last year was a dream for Noel Zanocz as he did the double winning the EMX125 title as well as the 125cc Junior World Championship. It is not easy coming from Hungary and last year he improved a lot with the SDM Corse Factory Fantic setup. For 2025, Jacky Martens has signed him up which will see him under the JM Honda. With his size and build he should suit the 250cc so don’t be too shocked if he’s running at the front from the off.
The SDM Corse Factory Fantic team will run an EMX250 rider next year as they’ve decided to expand their setup. Young Italian, Simone Mancini stays with the team after a strong 2024 season so he’ll be in a familiar surroundings. Mancini has improved a lot over the past couple of years and whilst his sand riding was a weak area a couple of years ago it has improved a lot. Let’s see what he can do in the EMX250 class.
Dutch rider, Bradley Mesters will be coming into the season with high hopes. An injury disrupted his season last year which was a real shame as he showed flashes during the season of what he could do. He is back working with Marc de Reuver who will hope to guide him to the front of the EMX250 class. The Kosak KTM team also have Valentin Kees under the awning.
It’s a big change for Italian based team, Ghidinelli Racing heading into the 2025 season. After many years on Yamaha (briefly Fantic) machinery, they have decided to make the switch to KTM. It means they will fully focus on the four stroke having had riders contest the two stroke in the past. French rider Alexis Fueri could be one to watch out for and especially in the hard pack conditions where he excels the most. Making the move up from the EMX125 class, Brando Rispoli will look to learn as much as possible in what is his rookie season in the class. Unfortunately, Elias Escandell got air lifted from a practice crash last week and broken his femur so he’ll be out for the majority of the season.
We’ll still see GasGas in the paddock this year thanks to the RFME GasGas team. A big credit to the Spanish federation who run an officially supported EMX team. Salvador Perez and Adria Monne will be under the awning. Perez will be one to watch as he adapts to the 250cc but he has a lovely style and will be looking to mix it at the front of the pack.
One rider to keep a close watch on is young Dane, Nicolai Skovbjerg who can certainly ride the sand. The seven time Danish Champion will be looking to push on after his rookie season last year. If he can improve his hard pack skills he can become more consistent. The Wozniak Yamaha racing team have decided to support him for another season.
Young Norwegian, Pelle Gundersen could have stayed in the EMX125 class for another year and probably been a challenger but instead has decided to make the move up to the EMX250. He’s very young and last season was his first full year of having a go at racing in Europe before an injury disrupted his season but it’ll be interesting how he adapts to the 250cc, he has looked good in the Dutch pre-season races. He’ll hope to follow in his fathers (Kenneth) footsteps in becoming a GP rider.
Young Austrian, Max Ernecker had a solid season contesting the EMX125 championship and even stood on the podium. A new challenge now lies ahead although a last minute change of plans means he isn’t coming into the season totally prepared. Ernecker had signed with WZ KTM but we can confirm a change of plans – he will be with the SixtySeven Husqvarna team instead for the 2025 so he’ll need time to adapt to the new team etc.
Last but by no means least, the Brits! Bobby Bruce is almost going full cycle as he started last year in MX2, before making the move up to MXGP but he’s decided to drop back down to the EMX250 series – his final year due to the U21 age rule. The DRT Kawasaki will be looking to use 2025 as a rebuilding year after injuries in the past couple of years – he can certainly get his career back on track if he stays injury free and he’s a great team behind him.
Last season Billy Askew was with DRT Kawasaki but is back with a team he knows well in 2025. The DirtStore team have snapped him up – they helped him during his youth British Championship days. It’ll be nice to see Askew on the Triumph as they officially enter the EMX250 series. The Brit has a lovely style so will be hoping to remain injury free this year to get more experience racing in Europe under his belt.
James Barker will be contesting the series as a privateer as his Sister also tackles the WMX series – it’s cool to see them both do it for the privateers.
The Chambers KTM team are back on the GP scene this year after focusing on the British series in the past and with Ollie Colmer they’ll be hoping for some good results.
Roll on the start of the season – after a few rounds it’ll become clear the title challengers!
