Like Mathis Valin, Valerio Lata, and Cas Valk, Maxime Grau is set for his rookie season in the MX2 World Championship this season, having permanently moved on from the EMX250 series.
At the age of 15, Maxime Grau made his EMX250 debut with the Nestaan Husqvarna team in 2021. The partnership continued in 2022, a year in which he earned his first two podiums in the category, before Maxime spent a season with BT Husqvarna in 2023. His fourth and final season in EMX250 took place in 2024, as he started the season with VHR GasGas before leaving the French structure to sign with WZ Racing.
With the German team, Maxime Grau competed in the ADAC Youngster Cup and took part in his first MX2 World Championship events in Lugo and Loket. A heavy crash during the qualifying race in the Czech Republic, when he was in 8th place, ended his 2024 season as he was fighting for a spot in the top 5 of the EMX250 series.
“It’s true that I unfortunately tore my ACL at Loket last season, just before the pit lane. I took a hit, and unfortunately, when I planted my foot, my knee gave way,” Maxime explains. “I had surgery straight away, and fortunately, we have excellent surgeons in Lyon who took care of me. The treatment was swift, and it was great.”
Six months later, Maxime Grau was able to resume bike training. Since the ACL surgery required six months of rest, Maxime now needs to regain his rhythm, get back to feeling comfortable, and prepare for his first season in the MX2 World Championship. Although this was never officially announced through the usual channels, Maxime is indeed signed with the WZ Racing team for the new season, where he will compete in the MX2 World Championship alongside a certain Quentin Prugnières. Having only resumed training a couple of weeks ago, Maxime won’t be at the first GP of the 2025 season in Argentina but hopes to be back on track soon, perhaps by the second GP in Spain, Cozar.
“For me, the first season in MX2 will be important,” admits Maxime. “There will be 20 GPs to race, and it’s going to be a long season. I’ll have time to build up slowly. My goal is to improve throughout the season and finish strong at the end. Another goal is to finish the championship itself, because we all know that consistency and speed are needed across 20 races. After that, I’ll take things as they come, and we’ll also aim to enjoy ourselves. It will be a season of learning, which will be important for preparing for next season. I’ll also need to get to know all the new tracks we’ll race on this year.”
Now based in Germany – more specifically in Hanover – Maxime Grau had to end his collaboration with Steven Frossard after joining the WZ Racing team. Maxime now fully follows the programme of Waldemar Zichanowisch’s structure, a programme that has proven successful in recent seasons with a certain Oriol Oliver. The Spanish rider was regularly in the top 10 of the MX2 World Championship for two seasons.
“Unfortunately, since I moved to live in Germany and joined the WZ Racing team, I no longer train with Steven. The team wants me to follow their programme, so our paths had to part, but we’re still in touch, and Steven always checks in on me.”
Thibault Benistant, Mathis Valin, Marc-Antoine Rossi, Quentin Prugnières, Saad Soulimani, and Maxime Grau will be the French representatives in the MX2 World Championship this year. It’s worth mentioning that while Maxime has already completed four seasons in the EMX250, he only celebrated his 19th birthday in January, meaning he could potentially compete in the MX2 World Championship for four more seasons, until 2028 (inclusive).
