Yamaha Motor Europe is delighted to announce that EMX250 bronze medalist Rick Elzinga will join fellow EMX250 title challengers Andrea Bonacorsi and Dave Kooiker at the Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 team for the 2022 EMX250 European Championship campaign. Meanwhile, the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team has retained its current crop of young stars, Ivano van Erp, Karlis Reisulis and Ferruccio Zanchi, for the 2022 EMX125 season.
Spearheading the effort in the MX2 feeder class, EMX250, Elzinga makes his return to the Yamaha Family after a two-year hiatus. The Dutchman demonstrated his capabilities in the 2021 EMX250 Championship with an emphatic overall victory at his home round, the first of his career. The 19-year-old went on to score another three podiums, before securing the EMX250 bronze medal with a third-place finish at the final round in Mantova, Italy.
After winning the EMX125 Championship in 2020, Bonacorsi moved up to the highly competitive EMX250 class in 2021, joining the Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 team. Raising the bar for the next crop of up-and-coming talents, the 18-year-old Italian completed his first full term in the 250cc category in fourth overall after proving his true potential with a pair of back-to-back race wins at two of the three rounds in Pietramurata, Italy. The rookie sensation also raced his GYTR kitted YZ250F to the podium on three further occasions and will look to add to that tally to mount a title challenge next year.
Remaining with the Hutten Metaal set-up for a third full-season, 16-year-old Kooiker hopes to line up fit and strong in 2022, eager to inch closer to the front runners.
Wim Hutten
Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 Team Owner
“I am happy and proud to run Yamaha’s Official EMX250 Team for a third year in a row. For this upcoming season, we add Rick Elzinga to the team, which is exciting because we are a Dutch-based team and he is a Dutch rider, and is also close to the Hutten Metaal area. It is also nice to keep Andrea, after an excellent rookie season, and Dave who will continue with us for another year as well. We see a lot of potential in this line-up, and our team will do all we can to give them the best opportunity to show what they are able to achieve.”
Words: Yamaha Racing