2025 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship Recap from France

2025 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship

Team France delivered a masterclass on home soil despite the unpredictable conditions, clinching two Golds and a Silver to lock down the top step of the team standings with just four points. Italy took the runner-up spot overall, while Great Britain matched last year’s effort with another strong third-place team finish.

The EMX125 class belonged to local favourite Mano Faure, who overcame a handful of small crashes in Race 2 to post a 1-3 scorecard and secure overall honours for Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC. Italy’s Filippo Mantovani was the model of consistency on his KTM, earning the Silver Medal with solid results across both races, while Jekabs Kubulins stormed to a win in Race 2 to grab Bronze for JK Racing Yamaha.

In the 85cc category, it was all about Rafael Mennillo, who rode to a pair of second-place finishes to claim a popular win for France. Estonia’s Lucas Leok once again proved his class with a win in Race 2 – just like he did in 2024 – which helped him to Silver. Australian Seth Thomas rounded out the podium with a standout ride that made the long trip worthwhile, as KTM swept the class podium.

The 65cc World Cup riders faced the toughest of the weather, with conditions forcing the cancellation of Race 2 and results decided from a single outing. American Kannon Zabojnik rose to the challenge aboard his Cobra MOTO, taking Gold ahead of France’s Mathys Agullo on KTM, while another American, Levi Geis, grabbed the final podium spot – also on a Cobra MOTO.

JMX125 Race One

The 13–17-year-old category enjoyed the best of the weather at Romagné, with the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing stars delivering a standout display on a track that remained deceptively tricky with patches of grip and moisture throughout.

Local hero Mano Faure rose to the occasion in style. The Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC rider, racing just a stone’s throw from his team base, blasted to the Fox Holeshot after topping Qualifying Group A on Saturday. From there, he never looked back.

Britain’s Charlie Richmond initially slotted into second for S Briggs Commercials Yamaha, but soon came under fire from Nicolò Alvisi of Racestore KTM Factory Juniors. Just as the Italian looked set to mount a serious challenge for the lead, disaster struck—Alvisi misjudged the run into a big downhill table-top and flew off track in dramatic fashion.

Richmond gratefully retook second, while a fierce fight broke out behind him between Ryan Oppliger (Switzerland), Vitezslav Marek (Czechia), and Niccolo Mannini for third. Oppliger faded to ninth by lap two, while Mannini surged past Marek on lap four to claim third.

Alvisi regrouped quickly and was soon back inside the top five, bringing countryman Filippo Mantovani with him. Both Italians moved past Marek, and on lap seven, Mantovani pounced to take fourth from Alvisi with a clean move.

Up front, Faure was untouchable, crossing the line 36 seconds clear to the delight of the home crowd. Richmond held strong for a career-best second, while Mantovani’s late-race pace earned him the final podium spot as top Italian. Mannini had to settle for fourth, and Dutch talent Dani Heitink edged out Alvisi late in the race for fifth.

JMX125 Race One Result

JMX125 Race Two

Race Two in the 13–17-year-old EMX125 category delivered another dramatic twist at Romagné, but in the end, it was France’s Mano Faure who etched his name into the history books—becoming just the fourth French rider to claim the 125cc Junior World Championship, joining an elite list alongside Jordi Tixier, Maxime Renaux, and Mathis Valin.

Faure stormed to another Fox Holeshot Award, immediately chased by Jekabs Kubulins (JK Racing Yamaha), as the home favourite looked set to replicate his dominant Race One performance. However, an early fall in the downhill left-hander after pit lane saw Faure lose the front end and drop to fourth, handing the lead to a poised Kubulins.

Further drama struck as Nicolò Alvisi again crashed on the opening lap while running fourth behind Filippo Mantovani, echoing his first race misfortune. Dani Heitink and Niccolo Mannini rounded out the top five at the end of the opening lap, but Mannini soon crashed himself, tumbling to 13th.

Heitink moved up to third after an intense scrap with Faure, but his efforts were undone by a post-race disqualification for gaining advantage by running the entire length of the start straight off-track—on smoother terrain—after an early excursion.

Out front, Kubulins rode flawlessly to take a convincing win for Latvia, and with his 12th place in Race One, it was enough to secure the Bronze Medal overall. Mantovani, smooth and consistent as ever, brought home second once again to clinch Silver, making him Italy’s top finisher of the event.

Despite tipping over multiple times, Faure managed to fight back to third ahead of teammate Jarne Bervoets, with Liam Bruneau rounding out the top five in front of the cheering home crowd.

Overall standings saw Vitezslav Marek claim sixth as the top Czech performer, followed by Alvisi and a frustrated Richmond, who couldn’t recover from a poor start and ended Race Two in 16th. Bervoets’ 10-4 results earned him fifth overall, narrowly edged by Mannini (4-8) in fourth.

But the weekend belonged to Faure, whose 1-3 finishes crowned him Junior World Champion on home soil. With the EMX125 red plate still in hand, all eyes will now turn to Finland next weekend, where the Yamaha youngster will look to extend his form on the European stage.

JMX125 Race Two Results

JMX125 Overall

JMX85 Race One

The opening 85cc race at Romagné delivered a captivating showdown in tricky conditions, as the 12–14-year-old riders battled intermittent rain and a slick, unforgiving surface. Ultimately, it was France’s Enzo Herzogenrath who emerged victorious after a thrilling duel with countryman Rafael Mennillo, securing a celebrated 1-2 result for the host nation.

Latvia’s Martins Cirulis took the early spotlight by grabbing a surprise Fox Holeshot Award, edging out top Group B qualifier Mennillo. Britain’s Brian Gyles slotted into third briefly before a crash dropped him down the field. Meanwhile, Tim Lopes held steady in second for France early on, coming under pressure from Lucas Leok of Estonia, who was pushing hard before a crash on Lap 1 saw him fall to 15th.

Up front, Mennillo soon found his rhythm, surging into the lead and opening the door for Herzogenrath, whose size and strength helped him carve through the pack into second. The two French riders then engaged in a fierce, race-long contest—swapping the lead on multiple occasions and even suffering minor tumbles, yet never relinquishing their grip on the top two positions.

Team USA’s Gauge Brown, another tall and aggressive rider, had climbed to third before Cirulis’ race ended prematurely due to a crash. But Australia’s Seth Thomas, recovering from an early fall, staged a strong late-race charge. He clawed his way from ninth to snatch third from Brown on the final lap.

Despite two separate incidents, Lucas Leok used his blistering qualifying pace to claw back into contention, briefly reaching fourth by the fifth lap before fading again. He eventually finished eighth, still the highest-placed lapped rider behind the leading duo.

New Zealand’s Tripp Glasgow was in the mix early on, but Spain’s Pau Caudet emerged to claim fifth, just ahead of Louis Morette, the third Frenchman in the top six.

Although the official lap charts don’t show a position change between Herzogenrath and Mennillo, the battle between them raged relentlessly, with Herzogenrath countering every attempt Mennillo made to reclaim the lead. At the flag, just 1.733 seconds separated the pair, their intense rivalry drawing cheers from the home crowd and marking a perfect start to the weekend for the French contingent.

JMX85 Race One Results

JMX85 Race Two

Estonian ace Lucas Leok made a decisive statement in the second 85cc race at Romagné, storming to a flawless Fox Holeshot Award and leading every lap to take an emphatic victory. His opening lap was an astonishing 12 seconds faster than any other rider, and from there, he was never challenged, crossing the finish line nearly a minute ahead of the field.

While Leok charged off into the distance, France’s Enzo Herzogenrath, winner of Race 1, initially slotted into second but suffered a dramatic off-track moment on a tricky uphill jump, dropping him outside the top 30. He mounted an impressive comeback to finish 13th, which still secured fifth overall for the day.

New Zealand’s Jaggar Townley also slipped down the order after an early fall, eventually finishing 15th. Behind Leok, the race for second heated up between Gauge Brown (USA) and Rafael Mennillo (France). Brown would ultimately get stuck in a rut, falling back to ninth, while Italian Francesco Assini and Spain’s Pau Caudet fought hard for the final podium place.

Assini made a late-race move on Caudet to claim third in the moto and emerge as Italy’s top finisher in the class, taking seventh overall. Britain’s Harley Marczak, disappointed with 16th in Race 1, rebounded with a solid ride to fifth in Race 2, capitalising on a late mistake from Australia’s Seth Thomas. Marczak’s effort secured 10th overall—the best of Team GB and pivotal in clinching third in the Nations standings.

Gauge Brown ended the weekend as the top American in sixth overall, while Caudet narrowly missed the overall podium by just a single point.

Despite Leok’s dominant moto win, his second runner-up finish in as many years, the day belonged to Rafael Mennillo, who calmly rode to another second-place finish to clinch the 2024 FIM Junior 85cc World Championship, becoming the first French rider in history to do so.

The result capped a memorable home event for Team France, who also took top honours in the Nations classification. Many of these rising stars now look toward the EMX85 Finale in Loket in three weeks, while others prepare to make the jump to the 125cc category in 2025.

JMX85 Race Two Results

JMX85 Overall

JMX65 Race One

In a cruel twist of fate, the youngest competitors of the weekend were met with the worst weather, as torrential rain struck just as the gate dropped for the 65cc Junior World Championship race at Romagné. The downpour quickly turned the scenic valley circuit into a treacherous battleground for the 10–12-year-old riders, challenging even the most experienced in the field over their scheduled 12-minute plus two-lap race.

American standout Kannon Zabojnik fired his Cobra MOTO machine to the Fox Holeshot Award, but it was local favourite Mathys Agullo who surged to the lead a few corners later, drawing loud support from the French crowd after showing strong pace in Free Practice on Saturday.

The lead pair were initially shadowed by Levi Geis (USA), Izan Rodriguez (ESP), and Daniel Corda (ITA), with Brits Cohen Jagielski and John Slade carving their way through the pack from deep starting positions. Rodriguez’s fall from fourth allowed both British riders to move into fourth and fifth, while Geis held third despite falling on a slippery uphill section.

The lead changed again on lap two as Agullo suffered a fall at the end of the wave section, handing the advantage back to Zabojnik, who held it until the end of lap four. But lap five brought high drama: Zabojnik collided with a lapped rider and crashed, moments before Agullo also went down at the same spot.

In the chaos, Slade produced a sensational charge—overtaking Jagielski, Geis, and closing down on Agullo—before slicing through traffic and taking the lead as the race looked set to enter its final lap. However, with the main uphill completely blocked by multiple fallen riders and machines, officials red-flagged the race for safety reasons.

With few riders making it past lap five, the result was rolled back to the end of lap four, handing victory to Zabojnik, with Agullo second and Geis third. Jagielski was classified fourth, with a frustrated Slade in fifth despite leading when the race was stopped.

Conditions slightly improved for the scheduled second moto, and Agullo grabbed the early lead from Jagielski and Slade. But as a different section of the track became blocked with stranded riders, the race was red-flagged before the end of the opening lap, and with deteriorating track conditions, the decision was made to cancel Race 2 entirely.

As a result, Kannon Zabojnik was crowned 65cc Junior World Champion, becoming the first American to win the class since 2013, and securing Team USA’s first Junior World title since Caden Braswell’s 85cc triumph in 2018.

The focus for these rising stars now shifts to the EMX65 Finale at Loket in the Czech Republic, where many of them will continue their 2024 campaigns on the MXGP weekend of July 26–27.

JMX65 Race One Results

JMX65 Overall

1. Kannon Zabojnik (USA, COB), 25 points
2. Mathys Agullo (FRA, KTM), 22 p.
3. Levi Geis (USA, COB), 20 p.
4. Cohen Jagielski (GBR, GAS), 18 p.
5. John Slade (GBR, GAS), 16 p.
6. Daniel Corda (ITA, KTM), 15 p.
7. Liam Morette (FRA, HUS), 14 p.
8. Tobe Vandeneynde (BEL, KTM), 13 p.
9. Kye Sproule (AUS, YAM), 12 p.
10. Alfie Cotter (GBR, KTM), 11 p.