British privateer James Barker is quietly putting in the hard work and making his mark in the highly competitive EMX250 series, all while juggling the demands of running his own program alongside his sister Lucy, who’s competing in the WMX series. After a strong winter spent training in Spain and Sardinia, Barker has shown flashes of real potential in 2025, including a standout ride at Lugo. We caught up with James to talk about his preparation, the challenges of racing as a privateer, the differences between British and European competition, and his goals for the rest of the season.
GateDrop: James, let’s go back to the winter, how was your preparation coming into the 2025 season? I believe you spent a lot of time in Sardinia and Spain as well?
Barker: My preparation coming into the 2025 season was probably the best winter preparation that I’ve had. We spent December and a little bit of January in Spain at RedSand. For the rest of January and February, we spent a lot of time in Sardinia. That was where things started to come together and you were practicing on tracks that you race. The conditions are similar to the race tracks. So yeah, winter prep was the best that I’ve had.
GateDrop: Lugo was really good for you. You were battling in the points for most of the moto and even passed some top guys back, I noticed you had a great battle with Skovbjerg for a couple of laps! You must have loved that moto…
Barker: Lugo was really good. I felt like the speed was good from the beginning. So, from free practice on to time practice. For the first moto, I had a decent start, but then had a really good few laps where I passed quite a few guys and I just felt really comfortable and fast in the race. It was all going well until like three minutes plus two laps to go where I made a few mistakes and dropped back. I think with not racing at all last year, with having like six months off with a broken wrist to then go, race and being 13th, it’s very intense. I haven’t been in that situation before so was hard. It’s not physically, physically I’m fit. It’s more mentally and being mentally switched on for over 30 minutes. It’s tough but I really enjoyed the moto.
GateDrop: The EMX250 races have been so tough this year with a lot of rain, are you enjoying the muddy/difficult tracks (laughs)?
Barker: The EMX250 races this year have very tough. The first round in Spain was very wet. France wasn’t too bad, but the races have been pretty extreme conditions so far. It’s not so bad when you’re racing because you just have to think and t’s the same for everyone. But it’s the aftermath of the races. I don’t have a mechanic and I’ve got a guy that helps me out in the weekends. It’s the Mondays after the race, I’m the one that’s having to sort out all my own bikes and when the bike’s completely ruined from a mud race, it’s very hard and financially, it’s not good. It’s very a expensive weekend when there’s a mud race.
GateDrop: You’re racing the British Championship this year as well and finished tenth at Hawkstone Park – you must have been happy with that? Canada Heights didn’t go so well but you really needed a good start at that place!
Barker: I am racing the British championship this year. Hawkstone was good for the first round, two bad starts made the day even harder but the top 10 was good for the first round. It’s definitely a good starting point and I know I can do a lot better. I am hoping for some better results in the British this year. Canada Heights didn’t go so well. The first race, you couldn’t really call it as a race with it being four or five laps long? It was ridiculous why it didn’t get rerun. Then the second race, I had two big crashes and that was the day done then. I definitely want to forget about it, I really struggled with that with that weekend on the track.
GateDrop: What’s your thoughts on the British Championship? A lot of guys are fast in the UK but then not as strong outside the UK… Being at Canada Heights it does feel a way off GP’s/EMX?
Barker: The British championship is good. It’s nowhere near as intense as a European championship but it’s still a very good championship. The top 10 is very fast, there’s a lot of fast guys. The only thing that feels different between racing an EMX than a British championship is the intensity. At the British championship, there’s a lot of bigger gaps in between riders. There’s so many more riders that are fast, if that makes sense but the speed at the front is still the same, I’d say. It’s just not as many fast riders, if that makes sense.
GateDrop: Not so many Brits race the EMX250 series, it is obviously expensive, but you really do learn a lot racing that class, don’t you?
Barker: Not so many British riders are racing the EMX. I mean, it’s not exactly cheap to go and race one and not easy, but then there’s also how much people actually want to race it. So, if people want to race it then they’ll find a way to race it, if that makes sense. It’s just how badly people want to do it because you can find a way. If you really want to race it, you’ll find a way to race it. If you haven’t got the financial funds for it, there’s always still a way. Sometimes it’s harder for other people, but then you just need to make them sacrifices in life. If you really want to race it then you can make it happen because a lot of people make it happen on a very small budget.
The amount you learn racing and the speed it gets you in the qualifying is, yeah, you can’t learn that anywhere else. You really have to go to the events, to the races and experience how fast riders actually are.
GateDrop: You are doing it the privateer way, how difficult is that? You must really appreciate what your Mum and Dad do for you – it’s not cheap!
Barker: Me and Lucy are both privateers. We get no financial support whatsoever. So, yeah, we don’t have a main sponsor and we don’t have support buying bikes. So, everything we have to buy ourselves. We’ve got some really good sponsors that help us out in different ways with different materials and stuff for the bike, which is really good. We’re really grateful for them but, no financial support whatsoever so it’s hard. It is hard for my mum and dad. They have to make a lot of sacrifices and keep working, really. But, yeah, we still make it happen.
GateDrop: Long term do you think the setup sustainable, how many years can you continue this route or is the plan to try and get on a team?
Barker: For the long-term situation, it’s never getting any easier racing on your own, and especially when there’s two of you. I mean, we’re in the garage on a night until sometimes nine, ten o’clock at night doing the bikes, as well as doing everything else. It is pretty full-on and very hard work. The dream is to be on a team, and for someone to be able to do the bikes for you would be absolutely amazing. I’d be so, so grateful for that and it would make life a lot easier.
GateDrop: You’ve got Lucy racing the WMX races, it must be pretty cool to be travelling all around Europe and racing together?
Barker: With Lucy racing WMX. It’s really cool when we can both race at the same track. It’s really nice for us both to be at the same track and race. I think we’ve only got a few this year, but when we do, it’s really nice. We can share track knowledge, and we have a really good time together, and training as well to train together. I mean, she’s always got someone to chase, so I’m a really good training partner for her. She learns a lot off me, and I sometimes learn some stuff off Lucy so we have a really good time together.
GateDrop: What are your goals for the rest of the season in the EMX250 championship as well as the British?
Barker: The goals for the rest of the EMX250 season is to be scoring points consistently. That’s the goal. I know I can run at that speed. I just need to stay consistent, and then it’s the same with the British. It would be nice to finish inside the top ten, and even further up but the top ten is the goal. I know if I can consistently stay there, then the results will get better and better each time I do it.
