The MXGP World Championship returned to Europe, and Alberto Forato broke into the top 10 of the premier class aboard the Fantic XXF 450, while Fantic’s youngsters impressed in EMX125: Bertram Thorius secured a race win and third overall to kick off the European Championship campaign.
Fantic Factory Racing EMX
The first round of the 2026 EMX125 European Championship, held in Almonte, Spain, immediately delivered a first podium for Bertram Thorius aboard the Fantic XX 125 – a dream start to the season for the 15-year-old Danish talent, who claimed an impressive race win on Sunday and secured third overall.
Thorius already showed strong pace in race 1 on Saturday, but lost some positions due to a crash, still managing to finish eighth. A fast start on Sunday set the tone for an outstanding race, as the Fantic youngster needed just one lap to take over the lead. He went on to control the race with impressive maturity, responding decisively to attacks from his closest rivals and crossing the line in first place. The race win also secured him third overall at the MXGP of Andalucía – his first EMX125 podium and yet another trophy for the Fantic Factory Racing EMX team led by Daniele Marchese.
It was a weekend of mixed emotions for Gennaro Utech: the young Italian got off to a flying start, setting the fastest time in his qualifying group. Expectations were high heading into the first EMX125 race of the season, but unfortunately a crash at the start immediately put him out of contention. Despite suffering a cut to his face that required four stitches, he bounced back on Sunday, securing a solid fifth-place finish in race 2.
Bertram Thorius:
“It feels really good to get my first race win and first podium – what an unbelievable day! We also had a good Saturday, we were just missing the start a bit, and I made a mistake. Today I got a good start inside the top 5, I took the lead and rode well, so I am really happy. It was my first time leading an EMX125 race, and in the last five minutes I was so nervous I was almost shaking. I am really happy that I managed to win, and it also feels great to take a podium for the team and my mechanic Roberto [who has been dealing with a physical issue]. Now we will keep working and building from here.”
Gennaro Utech:
“The weekend started well, with the fastest time in my time practice group. I lined up second, but in a nasty start crash I suffered a cut to my face and needed four stitches. Sunday went much better: I got a good start and moved into third, but also due to some arm pump I lost a couple of positions. We still wrapped up the weekend with a solid fifth place in race 2.”
FANTIC FACTORY RACING MXGP
Seventh in time practice, tenth in the qualifying race, and fastest in Sunday’s warm-up: on a brand-new racetrack in Almonte, Spain, Alberto Forato showed he has the pace to be right in the mix in a highly competitive MXGP class. In race 1, he was held back by a crash on the opening lap, which prevented him from fighting for a top 10 finish, but he came back through the field to take 13th. Race 2 was off to a better start for “Alby”, and he put in a solid performance to take the checkered flag in tenth, securing his first top-10 overall of this new season as well.
There were positives to take from the weekend for Brent Van doninck too, starting from Saturday’s qualifying race. Despite being involved in a start crash, he fought his way back to 14th with promising lap times. After setting the fourth-fastest time in Sunday’s warm-up, Van doninck came close to the top 10 again in race 1, crossing the line in 11th place. Unfortunately, this positive trend was momentarily interrupted as he crashed out on the opening lap of the final race. The good news is that the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP rider is feeling alright and highly motivated to bounce back already next weekend in Frauenfeld, Switzerland.
Alberto Forato:
“All in all, it was a positive weekend. Considering where we were coming into the weekend, I am very happy with tenth overall. Of course, it is not yet what I am aiming for, but I could see that the speed is there, even this morning in warm-up. I gave all I had this weekend, and in the end, it went pretty well. Now full focus on the next round in Switzerland, let’s keep on building.”
Brent Van doninck:
“With every session here in Almonte, I felt better and better on the bike. Even yesterday in qualifying, crash aside, it was a positive race. I came back from quite far back and set some good lap times. In race 1, I didn’t get the best start, but I still made my way up to P11 and felt strong. I was looking forward to the second race, hoping to finish inside the top 10. Unfortunately, I crashed on lap 1. I was a bit banged up, too far behind, and decided to pull out. But it’s nothing to worry about – I am feeling alright, and we will be back next weekend in Switzerland.”
