Having joined the Maddii Racing Honda structure this winter with the aim of relaunching his MX2 World Championship career, Marc-Antoine Rossi has – according to our sources – left the Maddii family team after the International Italian Championship. His MX2 World Championship seat is also reportedly about to be handed to another French rider, with the team expected to communicate about these changes shortly.
Maddii Racing without Rossi?
An early departure that would come as a surprise, given that the project presented a few months ago seemed, on paper, tailor-made to help the Corsican rider rebuild after two particularly difficult seasons.
Because while the talent and speed were clearly there, luck has not been on Rossi’s side over the past two years. In fact, the Frenchman has taken part in only 8 of the 40 Grands Prix held across the last two campaigns.
After shining in EMX250 with VRT KTM in 2023 – and impressing during his MX2 wildcard appearance in Villars-sous-Écot with a seventh-place finish – Rossi opened the doors to the prestigious Red Bull GasGas De Carli team alongside Simon Längenfelder and Jorge Prado. The start of the 2024 season showed great promise: he finished fourth in a moto in Argentina, setting the fastest lap of the race, and went on to secure several top-ten results. But injuries would halt that momentum. A crash in Italy, thigh complications, a DNF in Lugo, another injury in France… before tearing his cruciate ligaments in Germany. It was the season over and a difficult winter followed.
The 2025 season would be no kinder. Announced at Red Bull KTM, Rossi injured his shoulder before the second round. Surgery, a long recovery, a brief return in the French Elite Championship… But hampered by persistent shoulder pain and further knee complications, the Corsican rider never returned to the MX2 World Championship and ultimately called time on his season.
Rossi was not retained by the KTM group for 2026. He was set to bounce back with Maddii Racing, the Italian structure now backed by Honda following the end of its partnership with Ducati.
A project cut short after the International Italian Championship?
The plan was clear: offer Rossi an opportunity to relaunch with an MX2 World Championship ride aboard the team’s CRF250, in a less high-profile environment than the Factory sphere, with the chance to rebuild confidence and regain a sense of calm.
The Internationals of Italy in Alghero (14-16) and then Mantova (DNF-11) were meant to serve as the first preparation ahead of the start of the World Championship. Ultimately, those two events may well mark Rossi’s only appearances in Maddii Racing Honda colours.
And now?
This latest twist would leave Rossi facing yet another turning point in his young career. At just 19 years old, the potential of the Corsican rider remains unquestioned. The question now is where his next opportunity will come – in motocross or elsewhere – and whether 2026 will finally bring the stability he has been searching for. That’s certainly what everyone hopes for him.
