Published on 16 May 2016

EMX125 & EMX250: Who impressed in Italy?

It was time for the MXGP of Trentino that hosted the second round of the EMX125 championship and the fourth round of the EMX250 championship. We will take a look at the riders that impressed during the course of the weekend.

EMX125

The first round of the series was sand so it was intriguing to see who would be at the front in the hard pack. French talent, Stephen Rubini is strong in the hard pack, he proved that last year. This weekend he didn’t disappoint either. Starts seem to be the killer for him, in the first moto he worked his way from sixth to second – he’s not going to beat Geerts starting in sixth! He got a brilliant start in the second moto, in third place. At the half way mark he took the lead and never looked back with a gap off 11 seconds at the flag. He is now second in the championship, the DNF in Latvia was costly as he would have been a lot closer to Geerts, as it stands he is twenty-one points behind.

It was Gianluca Facchetti’s home GP and he put on a great show for his fans. He started third in the first moto before working his way up to second, it looked like he had second in the bag before a mistake cost him, third was still a great result! In the second moto he pulled the hole-shot and looked great out in front, he led for seven laps. At the flag he ended up third, that is really impressive for the Italian. Last year he was involved in a serious car crash and coming into this season we weren’t really sure how he’d perform but his speed has improved dramatically since last year.

When it comes to speed Jago Geerts is really special. In the first moto he took the lead in the first lap and never looked back, he did a great job controlling the race. The second moto wasn’t ideal for the Belgian with a couple of crashes making it hard work for himself but he was so fast coming through the pack! There were question marks about his riding in the hard pack before this weekend but he proved that speed isn’t a problem.

Rubini wasn’t the only French rider to impress this weekend. Pierre Goupillon went 7-2 for fourth overall. He was leading the first moto but just didn’t look too comfortable with the muddy conditions. He looked like a different rider in moto two though and second was a great result. This is his first year competing the full series so he should get stronger as he figures things out in the European scene. He certainly looks like another fast French prospect to look out for.

A shout out to Yuri Quarti for a very impressive sixth overall at his home GP, that is something to build on. Swedish prospect, Isak Gifting had a great first moto finishing fourth, he had problems in the second moto but he showed good speed this weekend.

EMX250

After the third round, Thomas Kjer Olsen lost some championship points to his rivals but he was impressive this weekend! He was just too good for everyone else and took a dominate double moto victory. He will be very confident after such a good display and he now has a lovely thirty-one points gap in the championship race. Hopefully he makes the step to the MX2 World championship in 2017 because he has the speed for some good results.

It really is hard to believe that Jorge Garcia Prado is still only fifteen years old. He’s only been back on the bike for three-four weeks after breaking his collarbone and he is already at the front in a competitive EMX250 class. He went 2-3 for third overall in Italy. There is no doubt he will only quicker as he keeps growing and developing as a rider, he still looks pretty small on the 250 but looks comfortable nonetheless. Prado is a rider to keep an eye on in future, a star in the making.

American, Darian Sanayei is getting to grips with the European championship pretty quickly. This is his third podium in the row with a second overall.  He also gained a position in the championship as he now sits in third place. Things are going good for BUD Kawasaki rider for his first year racing outside America.

It has to be said that defending EMX250 champion Nick Kouwenberg has not had a good start to the season. However, a positive weekend for the Dutchman finishing 6-4 in the moto’s for fourth overall. There is still room for improvement for the JTech Honda rider as he is still a long way winning a moto but a positive weekend despite that.

Article: Andy McKinstry

Pic: Youthstream