EMX250 Preview: The Rookies!

We take a look at some of the EMX250 rookies to watch out for as the series gets underway this weekend. We haven’t mentioned all the rookie Brits because we will have another article on them later in the week!

Brian Moreau (Team: BUD Kawasaki): The young French talent had a great 2017 season competing in the EMX125 series as he won the championship. The EMX125 class was very competitive last season so for the young French rider to come out on top was very impressive.

Moreau will now have different targets for the season ahead as he’s competing in the EMX250 series. The talented French rider needed a year to learn in the EMX125 class before we saw the best of him so he might also need a learning year in the EMX250 class too. He finished seventh overall at the first round of the French elite series which was a solid start to the season.

Mikkel Haarup (Team: ICE ONE Husqvarna): Unfortunately, the young Danish talent won’t participate at the first round of the series after breaking his collarbone at the first round of the Dutch Masters series.

Haarup has had a great winter as he’s been spending a lot of time with Max Anstie which has clearly helped him as he’s been looking great in the preseason races. Haarup has been running with a lot of the GP riders and might have even challenged for the EMX250 title this year but it’ll be hard now as he will miss round one. He should be right at the front of the pack when he makes his return to racing though.

Gianluca Facchetti (Team: Silver Action KTM): The young Italian won the 125cc World Championship last year and showed some great speed throughout the course of the season. He also ended up a strong third in the EMX125 Championship.

Facchetti showed some good speed at the International Italian races and looks comfortable on the 250cc already. The young Italian certainly has what it takes to run in the top ten of the competitive class.

Kevin Horgmo (Team: Creymert KTM): The Norwegian ended up fourth in the EMX125 Championship last year and had a solid season. He stays under the same awning for the 2018 season which is good for him as he seems comfortable with the Creymert team.

Horgmo has showed some good speed in pre-season but has also been crashing too much as well. Horgmo needs to get used to the power of the bike but should have some solid top ten results in the series, he’ll hope to learn as much as possible during his rookie season.

Jeremy Sydow (Team: WZ Racing): The young German had a good season last year as he finished seventh in the EMX125 Championship. He was a bit up and down but it started to click for him during the last three rounds of the series so he should head into 2018 in good form.

Sydow has been putting in the laps with Henry Jacobi who has showed some great speed during the first two rounds of the MX2 World Championship so the WZ KTM rider should have learnt plenty from him over the winter. There’s no pressure on Sydow to perform this year as it’s only a rookie year, he will probably be up and down a bit but he has the potential for top ten results on a good day.

Tim Edberg (Team: I-Fly JK Yamaha): The Swede has found a good team in the form of the I-Fly JK Yamaha team for the season ahead.

Edberg is one of the taller riders moving up from the 125cc so he could suit the 250cc even better. He has big shoes to fill as Ken Bengtsson ended up eighth in the series last year but at the same time it’s a learning year for Edberg so he will hope to improve as the course of the season goes on.

Alessandro Manucci (Team: SM-Action Yamaha): The young Italian had a break through year in the EMX125 class last year finishing ninth in the championship on his Maddii Husqvarna.

I’d have quite liked to see Manucci stay on the 125cc for another year to see what he could do but he’s made the move to the EMX250 championship with the SM-Action team. Manucci has fast team mates in the form of Alvin Ostlund, Simone Furlotti and Maxime Renaux to learn off so that should help bring him on and he’ll be under no pressure to perform which could help him.

Matteo Puccinelli (Team: Celestini KTM): The Celestini KTM team have focused on the EMX125 class in the past but have decided to expand the team and inked a deal with Matteo Puccinelli to contest the EMX250 series.

Puccinelli had some great rides in the EMX125 Championship last year but wasn’t consistent so it could be much of the same in 2018 for him considering the depth in the EMX250 class. However, Puccinelli is very smooth and has good potential for the future.

Isak Gifting (Team: KTM Scandinavia/JE68 KTM): The Swede is an exciting young prospect. He always seems to pick up little injuries which means he can’t get a full season under his belt but he’s got good speed.

Last year in Ottobiano highlights that as he finished third in both the moto’s. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the 250cc machine but he could be one that benefits from not having the pressure of a big team behind him as he’s in a privateer setup.

Paolo Lugana (Team: Ceres71 Yamaha): The Italian would have expected much more from himself last year as was sitting eighth in the championship after the first five rounds. Unfortunately, injury put an early end to his season but he’d have wanted more from the first five rounds.

Lugana now moves to Yamaha machinery, it will be a learning year for him in preparation for better results in 2019.

Scotty Verheaghe (Team: VHR KTM): The French rider has a good team behind him and he’s fast on hard pack but unfortunately has an ankle injury and is expected to miss the first round of the series.

Christopher Mills (Team: Theo Eggens Racing): The Theo Eggens team makes a return to the GP paddock with the young Brit. The team have had Glenn Coldenhoff and Marc De Reuver under the awning in the past and have decided to make a comeback.

Mills could have stayed in the EMX125 class another year but he got an offer from the team he couldn’t turn down and he’ll make the switch to Honda machinery. Mills is very tall so the 250cc might suit him better than the 125cc. He looked good at Hawkstone International so he’ll look to adapt to the bigger bike as soon as possible and learn as much as he can for the 2019 season.

Jett Lawrence: There will be another Lawrence in the Grand Prix paddock in 2018 as Hunter’s brother will contest the EMX250 series. Lawrence was only on an 85cc last year and will make the big jump to the very competitive EMX250 series.

I was disappointed when I heard he wouldn’t contest the EMX125 series as he would have been right at the front in that class. However, when it was revealed he’s signed a deal to go to America next year to ride a 250cc it makes sense for him to adapt to the bike before he heads Stateside. For the first few rounds if he can qualify it will be huge achievement as it’s a deep field of quality riders.

Karel Kutsar (Team: Estonian Express Racing): The Estonian has contested the MX2 World Championship since the young age of sixteen but has never raced an EMX250 race. However, he’s set to have his first EMX250 race this weekend at Redsand. It does remain to be seen if he’ll contest the full series.

Kutsar has some impressive speed in the sand so could certainly surprise if he gets a good start. In one of his better rides in the MX2 class he finished eleventh in a moto at the Lommel GP in 2016 so it shows he has the speed.

Luca Milec: The Slovenian moves up to the EMX250 championship this year as a privateer. He’s showed some promise in the EMX125 cass but it’s not going to be an easy step in the EMX250 series with a lot of quality in the class. The goal should be to qualify and try to learn from the more experienced riders in the class.

Rasmus Hakansson (ProGrip Yamaha): Hakansson stays with the ProGrip Yamaha team that was a new team in the paddock last year. He has a good setup and people behind him there. Hakansson is quite a big guy so might be more suited to the 250cc.

Matteo Del Coco (Maddii Racing): The Maddii Racing team have decided to expand the team and have an EMX250 rider this year. They’ve decided to stick with Del Coco who will be hoping to learn as much as possible. If he can qualify at the first few rounds it will be an achievement within itself.

Pic: Adriano Dondi