It was an extremely busy year for the JK Yamaha team as they contested the MXGP World Championship events as well as the Italian series – there weren’t too many free weekends once the season got up and running. The Italian based team signed up Isak Gifting for his rookie MXGP season and he adapted to the bigger bike well posting some good results before a virus stopped his momentum but it was a year he’d have learnt a lot.
The team have agreed a deal to keep Gifting under the awning for the 2025 season and joining him will be British talent, Jamie Keith as he will contest his first full year in the EMX125 championship. Nellie Fransson has also been signed to contest the WMX series.
We caught up with Boschi to discuss his team and much more…
GateDrop: Let’s touch on the 2024 season, it was the first season for the team working with Isak Gifting. How was it working with him and how would you reflect on his season? Before he had a health issue he was doing really well…
Boschi: This season has been a mix of ups and downs for Isak. As it was his rookie year in the class, he had to adapt to a completely new bike having only ridden Austrian bikes before. Despite the challenges, his speed improved consistently, and he made great strides throughout the year. There were some setbacks along the way, including a minor hand injury and a virus after Indonesia, which left him feeling weak and unable to train properly. However, we’re very happy with his progress and are excited to begin the new season with him.
GateDrop: I was speaking to Isak at Lommel when he was dealing with his health issue, for people that don’t know can you tell us a bit about what he was suffering with?
Boschi: Everything began after the trip to Indonesia. He had been feeling sick and weak before the Loket GP, but initially it seemed like just a normal flu. When his condition didn’t improve in Lommel, we decided to run more tests and it turned out he had contracted a virus during the trip to Indonesia.
GateDrop: You’ve managed to keep Isak for the 2025 season, I believe he had some offers from other teams… was it difficult to keep him for next year? Maybe you had to offer a pay rise (laughs)…
Boschi: Yes, he had offers from other brands and teams, but both of us wanted to stay together. We had built a strong relationship and a solid setup with the bike. Thanks to our sponsors, we were able to secure the budget to keep him with us, and we’re really happy about that.
GateDrop: What are the goals for Isak in 2025? In MXGP and domestically? Without his problems he’d have been in with a chance of the Italian title this year…
Boschi: There’s no specific focus on results but the main goal will be to achieve the consistency that was lacking a bit this season. For the Italian championship, the clear objective is to fight for the title and always be up front. This year started off strong, with him holding the red plate for the first three rounds, but unfortunately, it didn’t finish as we had hoped.
GateDrop: I have to ask you about the Swedish GP, he was on fire and leading. How was that for you guys watching him battle and fight really hard at the front…
Boschi: The Swedish GP was the highlight of the season. Leading a GP in his home country, with that crowd was simply a priceless feeling. He was also the only non factory rider to led an MXGP race this year, this meant a lot for us
GateDrop: The team have worked with a lot of Swedes in the past – Isak, Alvin Ostlund, Anton Gole and you’ve also signed Nellie Fransson to contest WMX for the 2025 season. What is it about Swede you guys love so much?
Boschi: Yes we had many swedes throughout the years. I think we just feel good and we have a good connection in general with them (laughs).
GateDrop: I know very little about Fransson to be honest apart from the fact she is very young! What can we expect from her in the WMX class next year?
Boschi: Yes, Fransson is young but a promising rider with strong potential. In the 2025 WMX season, we can expect her to improve steadily aiming for top 10 finishes and possibly challenging for top positions as she will gain more experience from us. We can’t wait to get it started.
GateDrop: There’s a lot of excitement around Jamie Keith in the UK and rightly so. Despite limited races outside the UK he impressed at the JWC and Arnhem this year. You must be happy to work with him in 2025?
Boschi: Yeah, we are absolutely excited to start working with Jamie. He already showed to have the speed and skills to be upfront in the EMX125 class. We can’t wait to start the winter preparation with him to be as ready as possible at the races.
GateDrop: Where will Jamie be mainly based in 2025? In Italy with the team? Living outside the UK could really help him…
Boschi: He’ll be with us in Italy for some time during the winter. For the rest he will be based in UK as he’ll be doing the British Championship too. I think joining Isak and the rest of the guys in trainings during winter time will help him a lot.
GateDrop: What do you expect from Keith next year in the EMX125 class?
Boschi: I expect Jamie to continue building on his progress in the EMX125 class next year. If he can stay consistent, get good starts, and adapt to the tracks, he should be in the mix for top results. With a bit more experience, he could definitely challenge for podiums.
GateDrop: There are some teams leaving the paddock heading into the 2025 season, it seems very tough for privateer teams at the moment. How do you find it all – is it getting more and more expensive?
Boschi: For sure the costs are getting higher in everything and the money involved are still the same if not less sometimes. I think for the teams that closed it wasn’t a money problem, probably they were expecting some help from the factory that they didn’t get and they got fed up with the whole situation taking the decision to quit or take a break to comeback at a better time in the future.
GateDrop: Do you think the organisers can help the teams more and if so what? Did you read the David Luongo interview we recently did and if so what did you think?
Boschi: I feel like there’s always something to improve. In my point of view, having a good quality live streaming service on TV worldwide would help a lot the sport to grow and to find new out of sector sponsors. Then certainly the fact that the defending world champion decides to move to join another championship is not a good sign for anyone.
GateDrop: What’s your thoughts on the 2025 calendar? The final three rounds will be expensive…
Boschi: Basically the calendar looks similar to the 2024 season. Lately we have so many races and for us riding also in the Italian Championship is becoming very difficult to organize everything logistically because sometimes we can have up to 15 consecutive weeks of racing. Regarding the last 3 rounds, for sure, they are so expensive, however it’s also true that we are talking about a World Championship. The organizer should know that if they want to try to fill up the gate they maybe have to consider to help a bit the teams to go there. But anyway there’s a long season before those races, we will see at the time what’s happening.
