The ‘Miravalle’ circuit, in Montevarchi, hosted the second and final round of the Internazionali d’Italia Motocross Eicma Series 2025. A sunny day welcomed the public and riders who, after the difficult opening round in Mantua, found the track in perfect condition despite the rain of the previous days.
Fourteenth in timed practice, Ben Watson (Beta RX450) in the first heat was forced to make a comeback due to a crash during the first laps. Starting from the back of the grid, he managed to climb back up to nineteenth position. In the second race, after starting sixteenth, he recovered again to finish in the top ten, tenth. Fourteenth overall on the day, Watson finished eighth in the final championship standings.
Tom Koch (Beta RX450) started the day by setting the fifteenth fastest time in qualifying. The German rider defended his position well in the first heat by finishing fifteenth. In race two Tom improved on his placing, finishing in eleventh place and showing that he had achieved a good feeling with the new bike. In the day’s classification he finished in eleventh place while in the championship he finished twelfth.
Having archived the Internazionali d’Italia, MRT Racing Team Beta will take advantage of the next few weeks to prepare for the first round of the FIM Motocross World Championship 2025. The Grand Prix of Argentina, scheduled for the 1st and 2nd March, will be hosted by the brand-new circuit built in Cordoba.
Ben Watson: ‘I did not have a great day in Montevarchi. I struggled to find the feeling with the track, which is very slippery and full of stones. In the first heat I crashed in the early laps, lost a lot of positions and was forced to make a comeback. Once I was back riding, my arms got hard and I tried to finish the race without making any more mistakes. In the second one, me and Coenen got touched at the start and found myself chasing again. This time my feeling was better but it was really difficult to find good trajectories for overtaking. At the end my speed was fine and when I had a clear track I managed to get back into the top ten. I think without the time lost in the first laps I could have finished even better. Now the focus is on the first round in Argentina where we will definitely find better weather conditions.’
Tom Koch: ‘Today the track was really difficult, especially because of the stones sticking out of the ground; in the time trials I did not do a good lap and was not very satisfied with 15th place. My start in the first heat was good: I came out of the gate well, but then lost a little time in the first corner. I felt good riding, but after five laps I had a strong hardening in my arms and had to slow down. I did not get a good start in the second heat, but then I found a good rhythm later in the race. In the final I suffered a bit with some dubbed riders, but we worked in the right direction. I am looking forward to the start of the world championship in a few weeks and working hard to improve myself.’
