The picturesque scenery of Arco di Trento hosted the fourth round of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship. The hard pack track nestled in the mountains saw an amazing show by the Fantic riders, starting with Simone Mancini’s EMX125 victory and Noel Zanocz keeping the red plate on the Fantic XX 125. In the MXGP class, Glenn Coldenhoff placed his XXF 450 in a brilliant third place in Saturday’s qualifying race, followed by a solid P7 overall on Sunday.
Fantic Factory Racing EMX125
Simone Mancini got off to a perfect start on home soil clinching the pole position. At the start of race 1, the young Italian was quick to place himself in second place. His race pace allowed him to put pressure on his main rival, Simone took over the lead with a few laps to go and grabbed his first ever EMX125 race win. His teammate Noel Zanocz went down on lap 1 after a contact with another rider and had to fight back from last, eventually finishing 13th.
A strong start saw the Fantic duo in the top 5 right at the beginning of the second moto. Zanocz earned himself a second place, while Mancini secured the GP win with a third place in race 2. Zanocz also kept the Championship leader’s red plate.
Simone Mancini: “It was a fantastic weekend, I got the pole position and won the race on Saturday. Today the start was not so good after some contacts with other riders but I managed to come back to P3 and take home the overall. It is my first ever victory, so I am super happy and looking forward to Portugal now.”
Noel Zanocz: “I still hold the red plate so it was not a bad weekend. I had a bit of bad luck yesterday, I crashed at the third corner and had to come back from dead last to P13. In the second moto I got a quite good start, around P5, and I managed to finish second. It was a good race in the end. I will work on the starts for the next round in Portugal.”
After a strong fifth place in Sardinia, Douwe Van Mechgelen struggled to find the right feeling and lap time and, unfortunately, did not qualify for the two races in Trentino.
Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
Glenn Coldenhoff was phenomenal in the qualifying race on Saturday, placing the Fantic XXF 450 in third for a promising start to the MXGP of Trentino. In Sunday’s races, the Dutchman could not quite take profit from the good gate pick. Starting outside the top 15 in race 1, Coldenhoff had to settle for ninth place. A better start in race 2 saw the Fantic Factory Racing Rider inside the top 10 right from the beginning, a strong sixth place earned him seventh overall.
His new teammate Brian Bogers struggled to find the flow on the hard pack track of Arco di Trento but improved throughout the weekend. P16 and P14 finishes in the two races saw him in 14th overall in only his second Grand Prix back in the MXGP World Championship
Glenn Coldenhoff: ”Saturday was really good, I had a good start and was second for a while. In the end Gajser took me but third was still a confidence boost going into Sunday. My starts were not that great today, especially in the first moto I was in middle of the pack. I also did a small mistake and ended up ninth. The second moto was a bit better, I was just a little bit off the pace. In the last few laps I started to get my rhythm. It was way too late but at least I could run the same lap times than the other guys. I will take the positives. We have two weekends off now to work and get ready for three back-to-back races to hopefully make some more progress. The goal is to be at least in the top 5 – and maybe get a podium.”
Brian Bogers: ”I made it difficult for myself with starts outside the top 20. I also haven’t ridden on a track like this in the last seven months – since Matterley Basin last year. Of course, this is not the result I wanted but if you consider where I am right now, we also can’t be disappointed. I still wanted more but now we have three weeks to get fitter again for the next round in Portugal. We will get better results for sure.”
Fantic Factory Racing MX2
In the EMX250 European Championship, Alexis Fueri placed himself in the top group at the start of race 1. Despite a small crash he secured an eight place. The Frenchman did another solid race in the second moto, finishing once again in eight for seventh overall.
In the MX2 class, David Braceras proved his good feeling with the tricky track with a P12 in the qualifying race. At the start of the first moto on Sunday though, Braceras crashed in the first turn and had to charge from the back of the field to P18. Kay Karssemakers kept a strong rhythm in the first part of the moto, staying in touch with the top MX2 riders. He lost a bit of ground in the end, eventually dropping to 15th place.
Race 2 saw another encouraging performance by Karssemakers who is gradually getting back into his best shape, as he finished once again in P15. Braceras started off strong as well but fell while running in P11. The Spaniard had to retire from the race because of an issue caused by the crash.
David Braceras: “There was another step forward but the results don’t show it, unfortunately. I did quite a good qualifying race on Saturday in P12 and I was in P8 in the warm-up on Sunday. I was feeling really good with the bike and the track. I also felt I had the speed to battle in the top 10 but I crashed in the start of the first moto and had to come back from last to 18th. The lap times were good enough to stay around P11, so I was happy about that. The start was better in race 2, I was running in P11 but I did a small mistake and crashed. That caused a technical issue that forced me to retire. That’s how racing is sometimes, we did not have the luck on our side but me, Fantic, my team and all the people around me are working really hard and it will all come together. We will get there.”
