LACAPELLE MARIVAL (France) 24 May 2026 – Round 5 of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing series delivered a thrilling two-race weekend at Lacapelle Marival, with the Norman KTM Factory Rookies squad dominating proceedings but in contrasting fashion across Saturday and Sunday. Norman KTM Factory Rookies’ Moritz Ernecker took Race 1 in dominant style, but it was his teammate Ricardo Bauer who reversed the result in Race 2 to claim the overall win. Sleny Goyer from Yamaha Europe Monster Energy MJC capitalised on his home race to get a much deserved third step on the podium.

EMX125 Start France

The start was eventful with one rider going down on the outside of the first corner, but Ernecker was untroubled at the front as he grabbed the holeshot and converted it into a commanding start-to-flag victory, leading all 16 laps.

Behind him, Fantic Factory Racing EMX’s Bertram Thorius and Storm Maymann were initial challengers before Andrea Uccellini riding for TM Moto CRD Motosport Factory Racing came flying through, passing Emil Ziemer and Fantic Factory Racing EMX’s Gennaro Utech in quick succession. Uccellini’s momentum was a highlight of the early laps, the Italian making a stunning outside pass to firmly establish himself behind leader Ernecker.

Ernecker, running on red plates and already 4.5 seconds clear of Thorius, was controlling the race with authority. Uccellini passed Thorius also mid-race. The race’s defining move came with ten minutes plus two laps remaining, when Ricardo Bauerwho had a bad start, passing the opening lap in 12th, patiently found his rhythm and methodically moved passed every riders in front of him until lap 10 of 15 where he opening and passed Thorius for second. He pushed hard to close on Ernecker but the gap held.

Goyer had a difficult start, running as far back as ninth before working his way through to fourth, his progress hampered by a cross-rut mistake and a well-timed pass from Bauer at a jump. Thorius ran strongly in second for much of the race but crashed in the closing laps, dropping from second to ninth at the flag. Levi Townley from Yamaha Europe Monster Energy MJC delivered a standout seventh for New Zealand, with Utech fifth, Ziemer sixth and Edoardo Riganti eighth.

Race 2 saw Ernecker grab the holeshot once more, but it was Bauer who emerged from the opening corners in a stronger position this time, slotting into second immediately behind his teammate. Jorge Salvador briefly ran second but Bauer was not to be denied, charging down the inside to move to the front of the chase group, with Goyer slotting into third behind the two Austrians as they powered up the hill.

Bauer did not wait long to make his move for the lead. On the very next lap he swept past Ernecker and immediately began to build an impressive advantage. Meanwhile, Fantic Factory Racing EMX’s Thorius was charging through the field and at one point moved into second, getting alongside Oleguer Riba before passing him too. The Dane was running strongly, but his race would be undone by a post-race penalty: a loss of 10 positions for not respecting a waved yellow flag, which dropped him from third on the road to 13th in the official classification. Similarly, RFME Spain National Team’s Pau Caudet received a 10-position penalty for not respecting a waved medical flag.

Bauer crossed the line to claim his second race win of the season in 30:42.278, 7.455 seconds ahead of Goyer, who secured a strong second. Ernecker came home third on the road but was classified third after Bauer’s win, completing another Norman KTM Factory Rookies podium lockout. Fantic Factory Racing EMX’s Utech was fourth, Townley fifth and Ziemer sixth. Maymann delivered a much-improved seventh after his difficult Race 1, while Dreams Racing KTM’s David Cracco was eighth. Riba took ninth and MCV Motorsport-TM Moto’s Riccardo Pini tenth. Bauer also set the fastest lap of Race 2, a 1:44.380 in lap three at 51.734 km/h.

In the Grand Prix overall, Bauer’s 2-1 scorecard gave him 47 points to take the round victory over Ernecker’s 45 (1-3). Goyer was third overall on 40 points with a 4-2. In the championship, Ernecker maintains his lead on 223 points with Bauer on 185 and Goyer on 166 in third. The series continues to be one of the most competitive in European motocross, with five rounds still to run.

Ricardo Bauer: “In the first race I didn’t have a good start, but managing to come through from mid-pack to second was actually pretty amazing. Today I had a pretty good start, managed to stay at the front for almost the whole moto, so I’m pretty happy about it.”

Moritz Ernecker: “It was a clay weekend, I would say. The first moto was good, I took the win, so yeah. The second moto, maybe I took not so good lines and wasn’t fast enough. But I’m happy to still take the second overall and still keep the red plate.”

Sleny Goyer: “It was a good, even race. I made the start around the top five, and then I passed my way through, first fifth, then fourth, then third, then second. I had the speed and good lines. But I couldn’t pass Ricardo, so yeah. A good second race and third overall — it was good. Thank you to all my sponsors and my team.”

EMX125 Race 1 Top 10 Classification: 1. Moritz Ernecker (AUT, KTM), 30:37.592; 2. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), +0:01.618; 3. Andrea Uccellini (ITA, TM), +0:09.240; 4. Sleny Goyer (FRA, Yamaha), +0:10.852; 5. Gennaro Utech (ITA, Fantic), +0:22.576; 6. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), +0:26.963; 7. Levi Townley (NZL, Yamaha), +0:29.720; 8. Edoardo Riganti (ITA, Yamaha), +0:42.023; 9. Bertram Thorius (DEN, Fantic), +1:00.884; 10. Pau Caudet (ESP, GASGAS), +1:01.631

EMX125 Race 2 Top 10 Classification: 1. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), 30:42.278; 2. Sleny Goyer (FRA, Yamaha), +0:07.455; 3. Moritz Ernecker (AUT, KTM), +0:23.245; 4. Gennaro Utech (ITA, Fantic), +0:27.594; 5. Levi Townley (NZL, Yamaha), +0:51.668; 6. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), +1:02.582; 7. Storm Maymann (DEN, Yamaha), +1:08.574; 8. David Cracco (ITA, KTM), +1:11.212; 9. Oleguer Riba (ESP, Yamaha), +1:11.869; 10. Riccardo Pini (ITA, TM), +1:18.604

EMX125 Grand Prix Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), 47 pts; 2. Moritz Ernecker (AUT, KTM), 45 pts; 3. Sleny Goyer (FRA, Yamaha), 40 pts; 4. Gennaro Utech (ITA, Fantic), 34 pts; 5. Levi Townley (NZL, Yamaha), 30 pts; 6. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), 30 pts; 7. Bertram Thorius (DEN, Fantic), 20 pts; 8. Andrea Uccellini (ITA, TM), 20 pts; 9. Edoardo Riganti (ITA, Yamaha), 19 pts; 10. David Cracco (ITA, KTM), 18 pts

EMX125 Top 10 Classification: 1. Moritz Ernecker (AUT, KTM), 223 pts; 2. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), 185 pts; 3. Sleny Goyer (FRA, Yamaha), 166 pts; 4. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), 123 pts; 5. Bertram Thorius (DEN, Fantic), 122 pts; 6. Andrea Uccellini (ITA, TM), 111 pts; 7. David Cracco (ITA, KTM), 111 pts; 8. Gennaro Utech (ITA, Fantic), 102 pts; 9. Edoardo Riganti (ITA, Yamaha), 101 pts; 10. Lucas Leok (EST, KTM), 96 pts

EMX125 Manufacturers Championship Classification: 1. KTM, 242 points; 2. Yamaha, 191 p.; 3. TM, 153 p.; 4. Fantic, 149 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 39 p.; 6. GASGAS, 36 p