The MXGP of Türkiye marked the return to action of Fantic Factory Racing MXGP’s Alberto Forato, who scored a strong seventh-place race finish, while the EMX125 campaign concluded with two Fantic XX 125 riders in the top 6 of the final championship standings.

FANTIC FACTORY RACING MXGP

After seven weeks on the sidelines due to injury, Alberto Forato returned to racing with a convincing performance at the Afyon Motor Sport Centre. Despite only receiving the green light to resume riding ten days before travelling to Türkiye, “Alby” was feeling comfortable aboard his Fantic XXF 450 right from the get-go. He set the eighth-fastest time in time practice before putting together a solid qualifying race to finish tenth.

Race 1 was even better, as the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP rider impressed with a strong seventh-place finish, showing good pace and fitness. Luck wasn’t on the Italian’s side in race 2, though, when a stone hit his bike very early in the race, causing a technical issue that prevented him from performing at his best. He still crossed the line in 15th place to finish 12th overall on his return to racing.

His teammate for the weekend, Jörgen-Matthias Talviku, was held back by a few too many mistakes. Initially called up to replace Forato, “JMT” was once again back under the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP awning in Afyonkarahisar, as Brent Van doninck is still recovering from the rib injury he sustained in Sweden.

Talviku made a strong start to Saturday’s qualifying race, but was unable to complete it after his bike was damaged in two early crashes. Unfortunately, he was also forced to retire from race 1 after a heavy fall at the end of the opening lap, while he was fighting for a top-8 spot following another strong start. He managed to regroup for race 2, crossing the line in 14th place and finishing the GP 15th overall.

Alberto Forato:
“I felt great to be back, but it was also a bit of a bittersweet weekend results-wise. I had a really good race 1, finishing in P7, and I was feeling comfortable with the bike. It is just a shame about an unlucky race 2. It looks like I got hit by a stone shortly after the start, which caused a bike issue that didn’t allow me to push properly. Still, I am not one to give up easily, so I kept going, but it wasn’t easy to finish the race. I am still happy to be back, I really wanted to be here. Thanks again to everyone who made it possible!”

Jörgen-Matthias Talviku:
“The weekend started quite well, and I also had the confidence in the first few laps to make some good moves. Especially the start of the qualifying race was really good, but then I crashed out of the race early and couldn’t get any more experience on the track. In race 1, I again had really good first few corners, but at the end of the first lap, when I was in the top 8, I crashed heavily, banged up the bike again and couldn’t continue. I tried to reset for the last race, but I didn’t have the confidence and my riding wasn’t too good. I am also not so used to these conditions, but I have learned a lot over these last few weeks with the team. Of course, I want more results-wise, but things don’t happen overnight. We keep on working on those.”

Fantic Factory Racing EMX

Fantic Factory Racing EMX travelled all the way to Afyonkarahisar for the tenth and final round of the 2026 EMX125 European Championship. Bertram Thorius, one of the season’s standout performers with a race win and three podiums, was once again close to the top 3 at the MXGP of Türkiye.

Fourth in race 1, the 16-year-old from Denmark gave it his all to close the gap to third place with a strong charge in the latter stages of race 2 but eventually had to settle for fifth after a couple of minor mistakes. Thorius missed the podium by just three points, finishing sixth overall. Most importantly, he wraps up his first season aboard the Fantic XX 125 in a strong fourth place in the final championship standings.

Gennaro Utech helped the Italian brand place a second bike in the top 6. Following his career-first podium in Sweden, the 17-year-old from Sicily had a tougher weekend in Türkiye as he had to fight back from a crash in race 1. Seventh and eighth in the two races, he finished seventh overall to close out an exciting EMX season.

Bertram Thorius:
“Fourth in race 1 was a consistent and good result for me. Without a late mistake, it could have been even better, but you cannot count on the ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’… In race 2, I found a pretty good pace, but in the end I also made a few mistakes and finished fifth, and sixth overall, which was a bit unlucky with how close the points were. Overall, I think we have made a big improvement this season. We finished fourth in the championship, with three podiums and a race win, and gained a lot of experience and had some good racing along the way. So overall, I am really happy. A big thank you to my team, everyone at Fantic, my family, my trainer and my sponsors for everything they do for me. Without them, this wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you so much!”

Gennaro Utech:
“We achieved one of our goals with the podium in Sweden, which was really special, and we brought home a solid sixth place in the championship. I am pretty happy with that, even though we could definitely have done a little better. I struggled a bit at the beginning, but once we found the right way, the results were there. I would like to thank my whole team, my sponsors and my family for their support throughout the season.”