It is an exciting time for the DreamTeam Fantic team as heading into the 2025 season, they have secured official support from Fantic to take on the EMX125 series. The team also have a new rider line up for the up coming season with the signing or Cole McCullough and Andrea Roberti.
We recently caught up with Lariani Moreno who owns and manages the team to get his thoughts on a range of topics heading into the 2025 season.
GateDrop: Lariani, Before we get into the 2025 plans, for people that aren’t aware of your team can you give me a bit of background about yourself and the team with what they’ve achieved/focused on so far?
Moreno: Our team was created in 2012 when I was following some guys at the regional championship, every year we always tried to raise the bar of the goals until in 2019 we participated in the MXGP rounds with Suzuki and a strong Italian rider. In 2020 when Covid turned the world upside down we decided to take the opportunity and change by moving to the junior world forming in 2021 with Husqvarna a strong team that saw us win the Italian 85cc championship with Alessandro Gaspari, and stay in the top riders at the European and JWC. Since the 2022 season we have been in fixed form in the EMX125 first with Yamaha and for the last two years with Fantic.
GateDrop: There are big plans for your team have now been revealed for the 2025 season. First of all, how did the opportunity come around for you to receive factory support from Fantic?
Moreno: We are one of the few Italian teams to participate in the entire European championship, we have a structure on a par with the official teams. We can host riders and mechanics at our headquarters, we have those who deal with suspensions, those who deal with the engine, we have a line of special parts designed and manufactured by us, we have a trainer specialised in motocross. On top of that, our location is about an hour away from at least ten tracks where we can train. I think this whole package has made us interesting for the parent company.
GateDrop: You’ve signed up Cole McCullough who so far has showed glimpses of what he can do in the EMX125 class. Can you remember the first time you noticed him and initially what impressed you about him?
Moreno: I remember him the first time still with KTM in 2022, his first EMX race at Arco di Trento. Young but fast, I was sure he would become a top rider.
GateDrop: You’ve decided to sign up Cole for the 2025 season to contest the EMX125 championship, you can be impressed with a certain rider from the outside but you won’t always decide to sign them. What made you sign up Cole for 2025?
Moreno: Those who do our work mainly do it out of passion and one of the biggest challenges for those who work with young people is to try to take them from being very fast youngsters to being almost complete riders, able to handle races, championships and various pressures. Cole is one of the fastest youngsters on the European scene at the moment, but due to a series of circumstances he has put fewer trophies in his trophy cabinet than he could have. Taking him and trying to complement him by improving his weak areas is an exciting thing for us.
GateDrop: 2025 will be his first year living outside Ireland and without his father, Philip who has played a key role so far. How do you plan to make him comfortable living in Italy etc?
Moreno: We Italians have always been hospitable people, when we share the same goal or passion I think it becomes even easier. Here the boys live together in a flat next to the team headquarters and also live off-bike days with the mechanics and other team members. The world of sport now requires athletes to become adults very early because they have to bear pressures and responsibilities that a normal kid does not have. If you look at all the top talents of recent years in our sport they are all kids who left their families early and grew up fast.
GateDrop: The team have also signed up Andrea Roberti, he hasn’t done many EMX events to date so when where you first aware of him?
Moreno: I noticed him last year at the first Italian championship final when in moto one he finished third in his first year of racing on the 125cc, ahead of Simone Mancini with whom I was in negotiations to have him in the team for this season.
GateDrop: Roberti has had some races on the 250cc as well as the 125cc, he actually contested the EMX250 event at Lommel. For him it is probably just an achievement for him to qualify at that race because the conditions are brutal – I doubt he has much experience in the brutal sand?
Moreno: No, on the contrary he is quite strong on the sand. He was born and lived in the south of Italy where they have tracks on the beaches of the sea, situations a bit like Riola Sardo, I think he missed racing in the EMX series. In the last two years he has only raced a few races in Italy, and when you compare yourself with guys who travel around Europe and contest 25/26 races a year you are certainly penalised.
GateDrop: What are your expectations of both riders for the 2025 season?
Moreno: Obviously every year you start out with big goals, but honestly this year we start out with the goal of doing well and having fun. In these categories it’s always difficult to make predictions, every year new guys come in and those who stay over a winter really grow in speed and physique but we hope to be among them.
GateDrop: For 2025, you will fully focus on the EMX125 championship but if you want to continue with at least one of the riders for 2026, will you think about running an EMX250 rider in the future again or do you think you’ll focus on the EMX125 class for the future to develop young talent?
Moreno: I don’t want to close any doors, but our plans are to stay with the 125cc and try to become a factory structure for this category. Certainly Fantic is a reality in which we believe a lot, it’s all young people, passionate, with a desire to work and win.
