Published on 15 June 2015

EMX125: Who impressed in Maggiora?

Italy hosted the sixth round of the EMX125 championship at Maggiora, the riders faced a tough track due to the heavy rain over night. Gatedrop will take a look at the riders that impressed over the course of the weekend.

The most impressive rider this weekend was young Belgian rider Jago Geerts. Jago is a rookie in the class but got injured after the first round in Italy so had to miss some rounds but he made his return in the UK, this weekend was only his fourth round of the series! Jago was sixth in the first moto but then crashed and ended up in a respectable eleventh position. The second moto was much better for Jago as he started in third and passed Coslaghi, he then passed Renaux for the lead but couldn’t hold on and settled for second. This gave Jago his first overall podium in the class and in his rookie year – very impressive. Jago is pretty small, it’s amazing how he goes so fast on the 125 and he will only get quicker as he grows and gets more strength. Jago will be one of the main riders in the class next year and I would be surprised if a factory team doesn’t sign him – he is still only fourteen years old so remember the name!

It was a very good weekend for both Maxime Renaux and Josiah Natzke. They both finished first and third in the moto’s – Maxime won the overall as he had the better second moto. Both were able to take advantage of Garcia Prado’s bad luck as he got tangled up in the first lap of the second moto so lost the red plate. Maxime now has ten points on Josiah in the championship standings with two rounds to go. Maxime is the better sand rider and there are two sand races coming up but having said that, the next round isn’t until the start of August. That will give Josiah a lot of time to work on his sand skills and come out swinging in Lommel. It’s going to be an exciting end to championship battle with fourteen points separating the top three riders – all to play for with four moto’s left.

It was a solid weekend for Slovenia rider, Jan Pancar. It is not easy being a privateer, especially coming from Slovenia as it’s a pretty long way from home. This season hasn’t been the best for him as before this weekend his best result was a tenth in Spain but he had his best round in Italy. Jan took to the conditions well and finished the motos with tenth and an eighth which meant he ended up ninth overall this weekend. This should give Jan the confidence that he needs and hopefully he can push more and finish more moto’s in the top ten before the end of the season.

Young Italian rider Gianluca Facchetti had his best ride of the season as he finished the first moto in fourth in front of his home fans. The second moto didn’t go quite as smooth for him as he only ended up in fifteenth but the first moto will show him that he can run at the front. Gianluca is still very small and adapting to the 125 but I expect him to be at the front of the class in 2016. It’s not easy being a rookie in the stacked 125 class but I am sure with a good pre season he will come out swinging next year and be at the front.

The EMX125 championship takes a bit of a break now as the next round in Lommel isn’t until the start of August and as the last round in Assen is also going to be a sand race this will give the kids a chance to work in the sand. The championship is all to play for so expect an exciting end to the series, it’s going to go down to the wire!

Article; Andy McKinstry

Pic; MXGP