FANTIC The boutique Italian brand came out swinging at the opening round of the European MX Championship, held on the eve of the British MXGP at Matterley Basin. Italy’s Nicholas Lapucci topped the EMX250 class, while Norway’s Haakon Osterhagen topped EMX125.

NORWAY And speaking of Osterhagen, he is at the vanguard of a sudden rise in global motocross fortunes for Norway, as the Scandinavian country not only had him as a winner, but also had three of the top five EMX250 riders calling Norway home, as Kevin Horgmo (2nd), Kakon Fredriksen (4th), and Cornelius Toendel (5th) also did very well in Britain. One week later, Osterhagen would sweep both motos at the EMX125 race at Maggiora, Italy.