EMX250

To start 2021 with a bang WZ Racing team owner and manager Waldemar Zichanowisch, has released his rider line-up for the upcoming season, which means a new challenge for the team as well.

Cato Nickel will represent the team in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing category, as he stays with the German team. The 16 years old has already showed his pace and ability to be a front runner in 2020 and in 2021 could be one of the favourites in the fight for the title.

A new challenge awaits Rasmus Pedersen. The young Dane will step up to EMX250 for his rookie season on a 250 KTM.

Rasmus Pedersen: “I’m definitely looking forward to be riding the 250 and to put in some work. It’s going to be hard for sure as it’s my rookie year. But I will give it my best and just going to keep working and improving throughout the season. The goal is to try and be consistent every race and I definitely want to be in the top 10 or even top 5”.

Rasmus is strengthened by his new teammate Mike Gwerder in the EMX250. The Swiss is coming back from a tough injury and is looking forward to work with WZ Racing.

Mike Gwerder: “After my femur injury I want to ride as good as possible. My goal is to be one of the frontrunners! I think, it’s going to be a good year and will be fun to work with WZ Racing”.

Bastian Bøgh Damm can also look forward to a new challenge in 2021, because his World Championship dream will come true. The 19-year-old is upping his game with the German KTM team by his side and is going to ride the MX2 FIM Motocross World Championship.

Lion Florian, a German talent, is also taking the risk of the MX2 World Championship and is fulfilling his childhood dream.

Lion Florian: “I’m really looking forward to ride the MX2 class, even if it means a big step for me. 2021 will be the decisive year for me and I want to take the opportunity. I’m definitely aiming for the top ten”.

Photo Copyright: Ralph Marzahn

After the last two seasons in MX2 and MXGP, the KTM Beddini Racing Team is pleased to announce the signing of Max Palsson for the 2021 season of the EMX250 European Championship.

The Swedish rider, directly under contract with KTM, is back from a brilliant season in EMX125, during which he conquered fourth final place, taking three podiums and an overall victory, winning the last two heats in the deep sand of Lommel.

Palsson, under the supervision of the new Team Director Joakin Furbetta, former team rider in MX2, will compete with the Italian team, which has now moved to its new headquarters near Rome.

Important new partnerships will be announced in the coming weeks.

Max Palsson #568 EMX250: “I’m really excited for this new chapter of my career with KTM Beddini Racing Team! It’s going to be tough in the EMX250 class because the level of the riders is very high, but we got a good plan and I’m working hard with Joakin Furbetta and we are going very well together with him and the Team. I would like to thank my old Team for the amazing season in 125, Dario Beddini, Furbetta and KTM for this chance and for believing in me. And Jonte Engdahl of JE68 for his great help through the years”.  

Dario Beddini - Team Owner: “Today a new important chapter in our history begun. By temporarily leaving the MXGP and MX2 World Championship we apparently take a step back, in reality for us it is a new beginning; Max's engagement has strengthened the partnership with KTM and allows us to be in close contact with the Austrian manufacturer, making us grow further. Now the Team has moved to Rome where the technical side is managed by Joakin Furbetta, of whom I am particularly proud, while the logistics will benefit from the proximity to a large city and to high-level sports facilities, such as the Malagrotta track. The news does not stop there and soon we will announce other exciting challenges that we will face in 2021. I thank KTM Austria and the Palsson family for their trust and I’m sure that together we will achieve great results”.

Joakin Furbetta – Team Director: “I'm happy to start this new adventure, even if I will miss my rider’s life. Now I want to be able to make Max do what I was unable to do, even though I came close to hitting the target. I would like to make my dreams come true with the rider I follow; it will not be the same emotion but for me it would still be a great goal. Max has recently been in Italy and since the first day he arrived he has made big improvements despite the fact that we have left training on the bike a bit, focussing on the physical side together with our trainer Giuseppe Chiodi. Max still has a lot of work to do, but I'm confident because he's very determined. We will soon go to Sardinia to complete the winter preparation on the bike and then we will be ready to see what level we will be at the first stage of the Internazionali d’Italia MX in Riola Sardo”.

Photo Copyright: KTM Beddini Racing Team

hostettler Yamaha Racing is a newly formed team entering the FIM Motocross World Championship. It is supported by powerful partners and features excellent competitors for the world championship and the Swiss championship.

The hostettler group is one of the leading economic drivers in Central Switzerland and continues to expand its commitment to the MXGP with hostettler Yamaha Racing. The Swiss motorcycle brand iXS and the venerable watchmaking company Tissot are two other strong partners supporting the project. The operational side of the business is handled by Riding Factory GmbH with team owner Jef Janssen. The Dutch national is considered a top training authority. He is a former world championship rider and has been known in the paddock for years. All those involved are proud of the collaboration and have been hard at work for weeks for the new team.

As a Swiss company, the support of the home-based riders is important to the hostettler group and therefore three out of the four racers are from Switzerland. We are pleased to have enlisted in the MXGP class two world-class competitors, Arnaud Tonus and Valentin Guillod. Both have previously shown their potential and won various GP podium positions. While Tonus is clearly focusing on the world championship, Valentin Guillod’s sights are primarily set on the Swiss championship, in addition to the world championship events.

Petr Polak and Joel Elsener will ride the Yamaha YZ250F. Petr Polak, a Czech national, is starting his third year of GP racing and intends to continue establishing himself. The young Swiss rider Joel Elsener will compete in the EMX250 class. All four will also participate in the Swiss championship and in selected races.

Jef Janssen, team owner & manager: “We have a big job ahead of us, but we are excited about it. We have an excellent and highly motivated crew. With the hostettler group and Yamaha, we have the support of two of the most powerful partners that you could hope to have. We will start with the training shortly and I look forward to optimally prepare the team for the new season.”

Arnaud Tonus: “I’m really motivated and happy to stay with Yamaha. I have been on that bike for years now and it’s great to continue with them. Having the support from hostettler is very helpful und I’m thankful for that. It’s actually a challenge for a new team to put it all together, but we have a really good group of people and that makes the team perform well. We have a bit of time now before the season starts, let’s have a good preparation and a great season.”

Photo Copyright: hostettler Yamaha Racing

After the outstanding return to motocross competitions, entrusted to the team managed by Corrado Maddii, which led the Fantic XX125 to win the European EMX125 Championship title with Andrea Bonacorsi, Fantic has increased its commitment for the 2021 motocross season.

The Fantic Factory Team Maddii is born, with Corrado Maddii and his son Marco joining forces to benefit from their incredibly strong background. It is Corrado Maddii’s enviable motocross experience, which led him to clinch countless victories through the years, both as a rider and team manager, through scouting and accompanying young guns and turning them into champions.

Now united with his son Marco, former race and title-winner rider and team manager (the Maddii team has won 5 World Championships, 6 European titles, and over 30 Italian titles), they go hunting for new ambitious goals together with Fantic.

In 2021, the Fantic Factory Team Maddii will attend the European EMX 125 with title hopes with two young talents riding the Fantic XX125, as well as the European EMX 250 with another two riders lining-up with the new Fantic XX250, in addition to the main Italian races and championships.

Photo Copyright: Fantic Factory Team Maddii

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 1^st December 2020 – To celebrate this special time of year, MXGP is very proud to present the official 2020 MXGP Advent Race Calendar!

With Christmas fast approaching and MXGP are here to help you count down the days to the most magical time of the year with 24 of the best and most epic races of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship Calendar, the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship and European Championships!

For the next 24 days, MXGP-TV will unlock a new race every day, which will be available to watch on MXGP’s YouTube channel, starting with day 1, today! 

We kick things off with the opening MX2 race from the MXGP of Great Britain, that saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle claim the first Fox Holeshot of the season, though a small mistake later in the race allowed Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jago Geerts benefit from that, as he was able to close in and take over the lead, to secure his first race win of the season!

Click HERE to watch the full race, or check it out below.

Don’t miss out on the moment a brand-new race in unlocked for our 2020 Advent Race Calendar and make sure you subscribe to the MXGP YouTube channel! Click HERE to subscribe.

After an intense 2020 season, different than all the others due to the impact of Covid-19, team VRT KTM Nordpesca Holland is working on the future and will enter the 2021 European championships with a new line up.

The season just ended a few weeks ago, and it’s already time to prepare the next one even if the first races will be scheduled later than usual. For Mickael Vrignon, owner of the team based in Vendee near Les Sables d’Olonne, everything is already organised to welcome two new riders in the team.

Mickael Vrignon, Team Owner: “We’ll have three riders under our awning in 2021. But before talking about the future I want to thank Tom (Guyon) and Saad (Soulimani) for their investment with us during the past seasons, I wish both of them all the best for the future. Next year we’ll continue to work with Cayenne Danion, who will turn eleven next month; this year he had no 65cc races, so he starts training on an 85cc, to prepare the 2021 French and European championships. We have a long commitment with him,” says Mickael who will have a European squad next season as one British and one Spaniard rider joins the team.

“During the season I watch races, talk and analysis before signing two young prospects: Eddie Wade and David Braceras. Both are young, got already top results, and our goal will be to help them to clinch European podiums but also to perform well in national championships as Eddie will race the French Elite and David the Spanish series.”

Seventeen years old and 85 World Champion in 2017, Eddie Wade was unfortunate this year as he couldn’t confirm his EMX125 podiums of last season due to two collarbone injuries. For David Braceras 2020 was a great year, as he finishes runner up in the EMX125 series with two heat wins and five podiums. David will now jump on a 250 and join Eddie in this class.

Photo Copyright: VRT KTM Nordpesca Holland

Yamaha Motor Europe and the Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 Team are pleased to confirm a three-rider line-up for the 2021 EMX250 Championship. The team have retained 15-year-old Dutch talent Dave Kooiker and are thrilled to welcome two new riders, reigning EMX125 Champion Andrea Bonacorsi and EMX250 podium finisher Jeremy Sydow, to the team.

Already a proven talent following his EMX125 title success, Bonacorsi in an exciting addition to the highly acclaimed Dutch team. The 17-year-old Italian celebrated seven EMX125 race wins, four overall victories and five podium finishes on his way to the 2020 EMX125 crown and will enter his first EMX250 season as a rider to watch.

Completing Yamaha’s bid for EMX250 success, Sydow celebrated an EMX250 podium finish on his way to sixth overall in the 2019 EMX250 Championship. Following a successful year inside the EMX250 class where he proved he was a top-three contender, the 20-year-old made the jump up to MX2 and instantly impressed with a top-10 race finish at the Grand Prix of Italy, in Imola. After a 2020 season hampered by health issues, Sydow will return to the EMX250 Championship next season, determined to fight for a top-three finish in the series standings.

All three riders will be racing a GYTR kitted YZ250F. The 2021 EMX250 Championship is provisionally scheduled to take place over 10 rounds and is set to start in Agueda, Portugal on May 8th.

Wim Hutten, Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 Team Owner: “This year was fantastic. We are very happy that we have become European Champions in the EMX250 class. It was our goal and we made it happen! I would like to thank Yamaha and my entire team for this. We have needed each other to achieve this. Teamwork makes the dreamwork! Going into next year we will continue with Dave Kooiker. He is only 15 years old, but we expect a lot from him in the future. He is a very talented rider. We are also happy that we have contracted Italian rider Andrea Bonacorsi for next season. This year he became European Champion in the EMX125 class, and we think he could be a surprise inside the EMX250 Championship. As the third rider, we welcome the German Jeremy Sydow to our team. He is an experienced rider on the bike. We think we have a nice mix of riders with him. Our goal remains the same, we want to become European champions in the EMX250 class again. We are looking forward to 2021!”

Thorsten Lentink, Yamaha Motor Europe MX Racing Coordinator: “We are very happy with the rider selection for next year. Hutten Metaal have already proven they are a very professional and serious team, which is really important for Yamaha to have a solid base to our Yamaha Racing pyramid, that is used to promote and develop the next generation of racing talent in a safe and professional manner. Our pyramid structure has already proven to be successful with the success of Thibault Benistant securing both the EMX125 title and this year’s EMX250 title within our Official Yamaha teams. With that said, we believe in the Hutten Metaal team and we are really looking forward to continuing with them in 2021 with a new line up. Starting with Dave Kooiker, Dave is young talent and has already shown that he is very capable, although he is very young, and we understand that this will take time to develop. This will be the same for the newly crowned EMX125 Champion Andrea Bonacorsi. Andrea will also need some time to adapt to the bigger bike, the 250cc, and for the two young riders Dave and Andrea our main goal will be consistency. Our German rider Jeremy Sydow has already shown some good things on the 250cc and is already experienced, so we hope that he can follow the same path as our 2020 EMX250 Champion Thibault. It is an exciting line up, and we look forward to adding to the Yamaha story in 2021.”

SIXTYTWO Motorsport Husqvarna team has officially confirmed the rider line up for the 2021 season. We will keep focusing on young talented riders, third year in a row with Jaka Peklaj (EMX125) and second year with Filip Olsson (EMX250).

Jaka Peklaj (EMX125): It's going to be his first year in EMX125 and he's already preparing like a beast. We are thrilled to work with such a talented rider as he is. He may not reach the ground with his feet but we can assure you, he is going to reach the points.

Filip Olsson (EMX250): After a crash in Latvia, surgery and rehabilitation, nothing can't stop him from going on that bike again. His desire and passion is everything! We are honored to stand by his side also in the 21' season.

Klemen Gerčar: “I'm proud to re-sign Jaka and Filip again in the next season. I was always searching for young riders with an attitude to work hard and have a desire for winning championships. I know they both have it by winning different championships in the past and we will support them to achieve our common goals. A huge thanks to our sponsors who support our goals and looking forward to future collaboration”.

Photo Copyright: SIXTYTWO Motorsport Husqvarna