The 2025 FIM Motocross World Championship concludes its first quarter with the return to the Italian mainland for the classic “Il Ciclamino” circuit at Pietramurata.
This weekend’s Monster Energy MXGP of Trentino is one of 33 circuits in Italian territory to play host to a Motocross Grand Prix.
Pietramurata has run more of these events than any of the rest, this being the 21st time that World Championship Motocross enjoys the sound of engines bouncing off the cliff faces next to the track.
The first winner here was an Italian, on an Italian machine, as Massimo Contini claimed overall victory on his 125cc Cagiva in 1987.
This will be the 14th year in succession that Trentino has hosted an event, and during both pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021 we even held three GPs here within eight days.
In terms of most victories at this iconic circuit, well it comes down to the icons of World Motocross in the 21st Century, as four riders have each taken five GP wins… and three of those will line up this weekend.
The clearest candidate for taking a record sixth win is the current MXGP Championship leader, Tim Gajser, who took the very first of his 51 GP victories here in 2015, the year of his MX2 world title.
He will be looking to take his third GP win of the year for Honda HRC, or at the very least extend his 34-point Championship lead in front of what is the closest thing he has to a home crowd, as his fan club make the short journey from Slovenia to make some noise for their hero.
While the winner of the last two GPs here in the premier class, Jorge Prado, is not racing, the other two five-time winners here are, namely Red Bull KTM Factory Racing legend Jeffrey Herlings, and the exciting return to action of nine-time World Champion Antonio Cairoli (pictured here).
The Sicilian icon will take to the circuit for Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team at the age of 39.
His five wins here include the most recent GP win of his career, in October 2021, and this may very well be the last ever GP of his incredible time as a racer.
The MX2 class is once more being led by the reigning World Champion Kay de Wolf, who won the first race here last year for his current team, Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, but fell in the first corner of race two.
In a title race that sees the top four covered by just 14 points, and with all of them enjoying good recent results at Trentino, the MX2 races are sure to be wide open and entertaining. Flip a coin, or even roll a die, to take a guess at the winner.
The EMX250 European Championship returns to action this weekend, with two-stroke Wozniak MX Racing Team hero Adrien Petit leading the way by just a single point from VHR VRT Yamaha Official EMX250 rider Janis Reisulis. Reisulis won at Trentino in EMX125 in 2023. The top Italian in the series is Brando Rispoli for Ghidinelli Racing Team KTM, but last year’s EMX125 winner here, Simone Mancini, will have high hopes to get the crowd excited for Fantic Factory Racing EMX250.
Hungarian Aron Katona leads the EMX125 championship for Racestore KTM Factory Rookies after a double win in Sardegna, with fellow sand lover Dani Heitink in second for the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 squad. Behind them in the Championship sit four Italians, all hungry for success on home soil.
Francesco Bellei for Fantic Factory Racing EMX125, Katona’s team-mate Nicolò Alvisi, and Niccolò Mannini on the TM Moto CRD Motosport machine will all be looking for home glory. Riccardo Pini for MCV Motorsport TM is also right in the mix, and there is a real chance of an all-Italian podium on home hard-pack and we should watch out for Kiwi rider Levi Townley too to get his campaign back on track after a frustrating outing at the previous event.
The Monster Energy MXGP of Trentino is one of the most celebrated events on the World Championship Motocross calendar, and it promises to deliver incredible racing across all four classes.
Photo courtesy Ducati
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STANDINGS:
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 215 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 181 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 156 p.; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 141 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 125 p.; 6. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 114 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 110 p.; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 104 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 86 p.; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, DUC), 84 p.
MX2 – World Championship Classification:
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 185 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 177 p.; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 175 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 171 p.; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 143 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 128 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 118 p.; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 115 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 97 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 84 p.