2024 – Most of the top teenage racers on the planet are heading to the Circuit Kamperweg Heerde in the heart of The Netherlands for the FIM Junior Motocross World Championships this weekend, and whilst we have seen successful events in Romania, Greece and Finland in recent years, the Dutch venue, in a classic sandy woodland setting, has attracted a massive entry of hopeful young riders who all hope to push their name forward as a future prospect in the sport.
Words and Images by Infront Moto Racing – Feature Image by Team GB
Nearly 300 riders from 40 separate countries are entered for the event this weekend, with riders coming in from every continent, including entries from the USA, Columbia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uganda, South Africa, Iran, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand. They congregate on a superbly professional circuit that has seen World Championship Sidecarcross action in recent years, as well as hosting the World Junior Championships back in 2008, when a certain Dutch kid called Jeffrey Herlings took the 85cc title! Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis also climbed the podium that day, and the 125cc class was won by Matiss Karro, with current Fantic Factory rider Glenn Coldenhoff in third!
Long-time fans of the sport will see familiar surnames as the next generation of riders comes through, such as Bervoets, Gundersen, Leok, Van Drunen and Townley! Local fans will have several favourites to cheer on as well, as nobody enjoys such a home advantage as the Dutch riders with their native sandy terrain, so look for such local heroes as Dani Heitink, Gyan Doensen, Dean Gregoire, and Dex van den Broek to get their home fans behind them!
While the individual winners will claim the title of World Junior Champion in the respective classes, there is also an overall team victory to be racing for, which was won last year by Italy, with The Netherlands a close second ahead of France. For sure the local supporters will be making some noise to urge their team to go one better at Heerde!
This year the 125cc category features an incredible line-up that includes the entire top ten of the current EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championships, including the series leader, hot Hungarian Noel Zanocz for the Fantic Factory Racing EMX125 squad and his teammate Simone Mancini, who lies third in EMX125 and was third in last year’s World Juniors event. However, it’s certain that local hero and 2022 85cc World Junior Champ Gyan Doensen will draw the loudest cheers from the crowd! The sandiest race of the year in EMX125 so far was in Sardegna, and it was Zanocz, Doensen, and French Yamaha hotshot Mano Faure who got on the podium there!
As well as the established 125cc regulars, the entire top three of last year’s World 85cc Championships are also in this year’s 125cc field! That includes Champion Dani Heitink, who lives less than an hour from this year’s venue, and one of those famous sons, Jarne Bervoets, who won the second race in Romania last season and has scored top five finishes in EMX125 this year. Dutch ace Dean Gregoire was third in 85cc last year and also scored points in Sardegna. Last year’s 85cc British Champion Josh Vail was also fast on his EMX125 debut at Sardegna and could spring a surprise for SJP Moto KTM, as could his domestic rival, Yamaha-mounted Jamie Keith! Last year’s EMX85 Champion, Italian Nicolo Alvisi, will also be gunning for glory in the unfamiliar sand!
Riders from overseas include the talented Koby Hantis, fresh from winning the Australian MX3 Championship for 14- to 18-year-old riders, although he has been used to a 250cc four-stroke Yamaha back home. The USA is represented by Brennon Harrison, who finished 6th in last year’s Loretta Lynn’s youth Championship last year, and Chace Lawton has also set tongues wagging on his rise through the youth ranks. South African teamsters Trey Cox and Tristan Durow both come from strong MX families and have been winning in their national Championships this year.
The 85cc category holds the largest entry of the weekend, with 108 riders all looking to qualify for the main races! With last year’s top three all moving up, the new generation will be sweeping in to look for the top places, and many European countries have their young hopefuls right in the mix! The South West / South East zone EMX85 Semi-Final was dominated in early June by Italian Andrea Uccellini, ahead of French youngsters Kenzo Ferez and Leo Diss-Fenard. British star Hayden Statt won the North East / North West zone Semi-Final in Lithuania the following week, and leads his national series from Alfie Geddes-Green, who has multiple beach race wins to his name so will be at home in the sand! Race winners at the Lithuanian event, Lucas Leok from Estonia (and another big MX family!), and Latvian Jekabs Hudolejs should be right in the mix as well, with Leok looking for his second World Juniors title after taking the 65cc version in 2022!
Antipodean hopefuls include Seth Thomas, the Australian 85cc Champion, and New Zealand national Champion Levi Townley, whose younger brother Jaggar is also in the class (the pair are 14 and 12). Levi finished fourth in the Aussie series so should have good pace as well as the knowledge of his famous father Ben to draw from! The USA fields multiple Loretta’s winner Easton Graves, who was second in the 65cc World Juniors last year and has carried his speed to the bigger bike. South African 65cc champion Evan Frost is also looking good in his move up to the 85cc class.
The 65cc class is usually a wildly unpredictable affair as the youngest riders get throttle-happy in search of their first taste of World Championship silverware! The South East / South West EMX65 Semi-Final saw a clean sweep for Croatian rider Roko Ivandici, although again the French kids filled the podium with Timotei Cez and Mathys Agullo. The North-East / North West EMX65 Semi-Final saw two British riders win the races, in the shape of Cohen Jagielski and Jett Gardiner, although the overall victory was taken by German Husqvarna pilot Luca Nierychlo. Another Brit, John Slade, was incredible in the Arenacross series in the winter and could really spring a surprise, but the incoming racers from overseas will be a massive threat for the podium positions!
Jaydin Smart leads the charge for the Americans after he won at Loretta Lynn’s in 2023, so he will be looking for major success before he moves to an 85cc machine, and New Zealander Nico Verhoeven has also been sharpening his skills in the USA. Lewis-Jay Carafa and Mason Ezergailis secured first and third in the Australian national 65cc series earlier in the year, so will also be hoping to represent in green and gold at Heerde!
Later this evening, an Openin Ceremony at the circuit will officially launch this great event with the official riders’ and team’s presentation who will compete for the overall standings for their respective country.
The MXGP-TV crew will be onsite this weekend in Romania to cover the junior event, with a special feature being aired on www.MXGP-TV.com in the following days after the event. You will also find plenty of video content from the event on MXGP’s YouTube channel.
WEEKEND TIMETABLE (CEST)
SATURDAY: Timings Schedule to be confirmed later Friday
SUNDAY: 09:00 Warm-up 65cc, 09:25 Warm-up 85cc, 09:50 Warm-up 125cc, 11:30 Race 1 65cc, 12:15 Race 1 85cc, 13:10 Race 1 125cc, 14:30 Race 2 65cc, 15:15 Race 2 85cc, 16:10 Race 2 125cc
