Six rounds have been completed so far in the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championship, with stops in Argentina, Spain, France, a double-header in Italy, and most recently, Switzerland. This week marks a break in the schedule, with Round Seven in Portugal on the horizon. Let’s take a look at how the Brits have fared during the opening portion of the 20-round season.
Words by Edward Heather – Images courtesy of Cult Moto
Starting off in the premier class, MRT Racing Team Beta’s Ben Watson currently sits 11th in the series standings. Watson has secured two top-10 overall finishes in the opening six rounds, with his best moto result coming in the final race in Switzerland, where he placed 7th. Although it’s a solid start for Watson, the results don’t quite reflect how well the Brit has been riding. Struggles getting out of the gate have meant the Beta rider has had to battle through the pack from way back to break into the top 10. These issues aren’t entirely the fault of the #919 either, as technical problems in France and Sardegna allowed the rest of the field to race away into the first few turns before Watson was even able to get underway.
Chambers Racing’s Adam Sterry has made an impressive start to his 2025 MXGP campaign. Sterry is scheduled to compete at every European-based Grand Prix this season and currently sits 21st in the series standings. He has certainly shown flashes of top-10 potential, most notably in Sardegna, where he placed inside the top 10 in the practice sessions and scored a season-best 13th in the opening moto. All in all, it’s been a solid start for both Sterry and the Chambers Racing team to begin the year.
The Lexa MX team is also competing at all European-based Grands Prix in 2025 and has made a steady start to their campaign. Josh Gilbert has picked up championship points in Spain, Trentino, and Switzerland, which currently places him 27th in the series standings. Gilbert’s best moto so far came in the final race in Spain, where he finished an impressive 15th. The other pilot, John Adamson, is yet to score points in any MXGP round this season. However, Adamson injured his knee in Spain and has had his fair share of practice crashes while preparing for upcoming races. As a result, he’s entered many weekends not quite at 100%. The Scotsman has continued to build with each round, edging closer to points-paying positions, and there’s little doubt he’ll break into the top 20 here soon.
The EMX250 class has seen many of Britain’s up-and-coming talents showcase their potential. Dirt Store Triumph’s Billy Askew has found his feet on the European stage—leading laps in the final moto in Trentino and finishing 3rd, as well as running in 2nd for the majority of the final moto in Switzerland before being shuffled back to 5th. Askew currently sits 12th in the EMX250 standings and has shown significant progress in his riding, proving he’s capable of competing at the sharp end of the highly competitive class.
Another rider who has impressed in the EMX250 class is Ollie Colmer. Riding for Chambers Racing, Colmer currently sits 23rd in the series standings but has shown a much higher ceiling in the early rounds. He ran inside the top 10 for the entirety of the final race in Trentino before a couple of late mistakes pushed him back to 13th. If he can consistently start inside or around the top-10 group, there’s little doubt Colmer will begin piecing together some strong overall finishes as the season progresses.
Bobby Bruce has had a torrid start to his final pursuit of EMX250 glory. A long list of incidents has prevented Bruce from piecing together a consistent weekend aboard his Dixon Racing Kawasaki. However, this is by no means a reflection of the speed he has shown in qualifying—most notably, he qualified 2nd fastest in Trentino. This isn’t how the Dixon Racing team or Bruce would have envisioned their season starting, but don’t count him out just yet. With a bit of luck on his side, he will undoubtedly be competing for top honours in the class.
James Barker has been popping up on the results sheet at all of the EMX250 rounds in 2025. The class receives an extremely high volume of entries at each round, making the fight to qualify inside the top 40 incredibly intense. Barker has managed to fight his way into the top 40 at every round so far and looks to continue chipping away toward the points-paying positions.
In the EMX125 class, Northern Irishman Cole McCullough is having a breakout season aboard his Dream Team Fantic machine. McCullough first secured his maiden podium in the class in Sardegna, piecing together 5-3 moto scores to land himself on the third step of the podium. The #555 then ticked off another career first just one week later in Trentino, winning the opening race in dramatic fashion. Unfortunately, a bike issue in the second race robbed McCullough of the opportunity for back-to-back podium finishes. Nonetheless, 2025 is shaping up to be a massive year for the youngster, as he currently sits 9th in the standings.
Both Drew Stock and Hayden Statt have managed to score points on different occasions in their EMX125 pursuit. Stock has secured 13 championship points so far, placing him 27th in the series standings. His best outing on paper came at the treacherous Spanish mudder; however, more impressively, Stock qualified inside the top 10 in Switzerland and hovered around 12th position for the majority of moto 1, until a couple of late mistakes pushed him back to 17th. With each round, Stock seems to be finding his feet in the class and looks to push toward the top 10 as the season progresses.
Hayden Statt has also shown flashes of speed at various points this season but has yet to fully translate that pace across an entire weekend, and currently sits 33rd in the points. Statt’s most impressive round so far came at Trentino, where he ran as high as 5th in the first moto and held 10th position until the latter stages of the race. In only his first season aboard a 125 machine, the youngster is already proving he has the speed to mix it with the fastest 125cc riders in Europe.
All in all, it has been a positive showing from the British competitors to begin the 2025 MXGP campaign. Although some may feel they haven’t yet displayed their true potential, each has shown flashes of speed and proven their worth at the highest level. Hopefully, this short break provides them with an opportunity to find more comfort ahead of Round Seven in Agueda, Portugal.
