MXGPOfficialmotocrossJuly 19, 2026

Bauer Storms To Perfect Weekend In Great Britain, Takes Over Emx125 Championship Lead

FOXHILLS (Great Britain), 19th July 2026 – Round 8 of the EMX125 European Championship Presented by FMF Racing at Foxhills belonged entirely to Austria's Norman KTM Factory Rookies' Ricardo Bauer,...

FOXHILLS (Great Britain), 19th July 2026 – Round 8 of the EMX125 European Championship Presented by FMF Racing at Foxhills belonged entirely to Austria's Norman KTM Factory Rookies' Ricardo Bauer, who swept both races for a perfect 1-1 to take over the championship lead. Denmark's Fantic Factory Racing EMX's Bertram Thorius was the model of consistency with a 2-5, enough for second overall, while New Zealand's Yamaha Europe Monster Energy MJC's Levi Townley produced the ride of the weekend in Race 2 to complete the overall podium in third.

Bauer's double victory moves him 31 points clear at the top of the championship of teammate Moritz Ernecker, who will miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg at the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship. Yamaha Europe Monster Energy MJC's Sleny Goyer, third in the standings, lost more ground after retiring from Race 2 with a mechanical issue having finished fourth in the opener.

Head Photo: Ricardo Bauer; Top Photo: EMX125 Start Foxhills

Dreams Racing's Luca Colonnelli was an early faller, pitched off the front of the field at the first corner, though he was able to remount and rejoin. Thorius, on Fantic machine, grabbed the holeshot and led the field away, with Bauer shuffled back to third and then fourth in the opening scramble.

It didn't take Bauer long to put things right. He picked his way past for third and then found a way down the outside of Thorius before the end of the opening lap to snatch the lead at the first time of asking. Thorius settled into a lonely second place, a position he would hold for the rest of the race, unable to find a way back past.

Behind the top two, the battle for the final podium spot ebbed and flowed. TMX Competition's Liam Bruneau and Emil Ziemer swapped third back and forth several times, with Goyer and Dreams Racing's David Cracco both mixing into the fight. It was Ziemer who came out on top, taking third at the flag ahead of Goyer and Bruneau.

Fantic Factory Racing EMX's Gennaro Utech, Thorius's teammate, worked his way through for seventh, just ahead of Townley, whose teammate Goyer had got the better of him earlier in the race. Ryan Oppliger and Arno Cazet rounded out the top ten, while home riders JK Racing Yamaha's Drew Stock and Chambers KTM Racing's Hayden Statt came home 13th and 14th.

Bauer's win – his fifth of the season – was a comfortable one in the end, and it sent him into Race 2 as the new championship leader.

Lucas Leok grabbed the holeshot in Race 2 with Thorius right behind him, but the order at the front was rewritten within the opening corners as Bauer, who had rounded the first turn in third or fourth, picked off both to lead before the lap was out. Leok's race unravelled just as quickly, he ran wide at the bottom corner and dropped out of the top ten almost as fast as he had arrived at the front.

Thorius, meanwhile, found himself under siege, losing places to Oppliger, Bruneau and his own teammate Utech in quick succession. Townley, who had found his rhythm behind the two Fantic riders, picked off Thorius with authority on lap two to move into fifth.

Bruneau then made a mistake that let Utech through, but the Frenchman responded immediately, retaking third on lap three. Townley, running just behind the pair, saw his chance and muscled his way past Utech and up to fourth. Two laps later he found better traction on the uphill to pass Bruneau as well, taking third and the fastest lap of the race in the same move. Goyer, who had been working his way forward, passed Utech for seventh, before his race ended in retirement on lap six with a bike problem, a costly blow to his championship charge.

By now the front three, Bauer, Oppliger and Townley, had come together within two seconds of each other, and with the laps ticking down all three still had something to play for. Oppliger, chasing his first EMX125 podium, threw everything at Bauer over the closing stages, but the Austrian kept his composure and held on. Townley then joined the fight for second, pressuring Oppliger so hard that the Swiss rider went in too fast on the downhill and had to fight to stay on his bike, running off the track in the process. Townley pounced to take second and chased Bauer to the flag, but had to settle for the runner-up spot.

Bauer's second win of the day completed a perfect 1-1 weekend – his first of the season – while Townley's late charge earned him another podium with a runner-up finish. Oppliger came home third, with Bruneau fourth and Thorius recovering to fifth, a result that was still good enough to secure second overall for the round with his 2-5.

Bauer leaves Great Britain as the new championship leader, 31 points clear of the injured Ernecker, with Goyer's DNF dropping him further off the pace. Townley's fighting drive to third overall was the standout ride of the weekend, while Thorius's consistency kept him firmly in the title picture as the series heads to Sweden.

Ricardo Bauer: "Now I have the red plate, so I just need to stay consistent, make some good points and finish the season off well. I'm happy to stay healthy, and thanks to the team and my sponsors, who've been around."

Bertram Thorius: "It was a good weekend for me. In the first race I got a good start, took the holeshot, and Bauer was just faster than me, so I managed to hold on for second. In the second race I got an okay start, around fourth, but I didn't have the best opening laps, so I need to find my rhythm there. Still, I finished fifth, and that's my first second overall of the season, really happy about the weekend. Thank you to my family, my dad, my mum, my brother and sister, and of course the team, Fantic Factory SDM Racing Team, for all the hard work."

Levi Townley: "Both my starts were pretty average, my first laps weren't good enough, so I had my work cut out for me from there, bit of a shame. In the second race I got terrible arm pump around lap two or three, and my goggles broke the day before, so it's been a bit of a weekend of what could have been. But that's how it is, I'll come back stronger in Sweden."

1. Bertram Thorius; 2. Levi Townley

EMX125 - Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), 29:30.064; 2. Bertram Thorius (DEN, Fantic), +0:04.460; 3. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), +0:05.767; 4. Sleny Goyer (FRA, Yamaha), +0:06.475; 5. Liam Bruneau (FRA, KTM), +0:16.277; 6. David Cracco (ITA, KTM), +0:21.358; 7. Gennaro Utech (ITA, Fantic), +0:21.869; 8. Levi Townley (NZL, Yamaha), +0:22.276; 9. Ryan Oppliger (SUI, KTM), +0:28.048; 10. Arno Cazet (FRA, Yamaha), +0:37.236. Fastest lap: Ricardo Bauer – 2:05.778 (lap 3)

EMX125 – Race 2 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), 30:24.272; 2. Levi Townley (NZL, Yamaha), +0:00.636; 3. Ryan Oppliger (SUI, KTM), +0:03.892; 4. Liam Bruneau (FRA, KTM), +0:19.328; 5. Bertram Thorius (DEN, Fantic), +0:21.411; 6. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), +0:21.867; 7. Gennaro Utech (ITA, Fantic), +0:22.739; 8. Lucas Leok (EST, KTM), +0:51.343; 9. David Cracco (ITA, KTM), +0:51.996; 10. Oleguer Riba (ESP, GASGAS), +0:54.462. Fastest lap: Levi Townley – 2:02.040 (lap 4)

EMX125 Overall - Top 10 Classification: 1. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), 50 points; 2. Bertram Thorius (DEN, FAN), 38 p.; 3. Levi Townley (NZL, YAM), 35 p.; 4. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Liam Bruneau (FRA, KTM), 34 p.; 6. Ryan Oppliger (SUI, KTM), 32 p.; 7. Gennaro Utech (ITA, FAN), 28 p.; 8. David Cracco (ITA, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Rafael Mennillo (FRA, KTM), 19 p.; 10. Sleny Goyer (FRA, YAM), 18 p.

EMX125 Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Ricardo Bauer (AUT, KTM), 319 points; 2. Moritz Ernecker (AUT, KTM), 288 p.; 3. Sleny Goyer (FRA, YAM), 258 p.; 4. Bertram Thorius (DEN, FAN), 226 p.; 5. Emil Ziemer (SUI, KTM), 199 p.; 6. Gennaro Utech (ITA, FAN), 185 p.; 7. David Cracco (ITA, KTM), 174 p.; 8. Liam Bruneau (FRA, KTM), 152 p.; 9. Lucas Leok (EST, KTM), 146 p.; 10. Riccardo Pini (ITA, TM), 144 p.

EMX125 Manufacturers - Top 10 Classification: 1. KTM, 389 points; 2. Yamaha, 314 p.; 3. Fantic, 269 p.; 4. TM Moto, 217 p.; 5. GASGAS, 80 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 71 p.;

EMX125 Podium Great Britain 2026