The EMX250 championship kicks off in Spain this weekend at the Redsand MX Park. There are 92 riders entered so it’s going to be very competitive in this stacked class, with 11 rounds finishing at Assen in September.

Here are my picks for potential front-runners and a promising number of British entries this weekend.

James Dunn

We canā€™t start this feature without mentioning James Dunn. He made history at the last EMX250 race in Villars-sous-Ecot last year by becoming the first man to win a round on a two-stroke. Back to a full championship assault this year on his GL12 Racing KTM two-stroke, its history in the making.

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Alberto Forato

The Assomotor Honda rider finished fourth last year and with the top three moving up to MX2 that should make him the default favourite. But heā€™s a big man for a 250 and will need to make better starts than last year.

Steven Clarke

Clarke won the EMX250 title in 2014 so knows how to do it. Racing in America in 2017 (but with injuries that broke up his racing), heā€™s fit and back in Europe now on a Carglass Honda.

Josiah Natzke

Natzke was one of the KTM 125 wonder kids a few years ago but struggled to find his feet on the 250. A move to Buildbase Honda seems to have given him a happy place, so hopefully, the likeable Kiwi will show his full potential.

Tristan Charboneau

Moving from Bud Racing Kawasaki to SDM-Corse Yamaha after finishing the year in fifth, the American will be hoping for a better championship position. He won the five motos last year but scored no points in six motos so consistency will need to improve this year.

Brian Moreau (BUD/Monster Kawasaki), Mikkel Haarup (Rockstar Factory Husqvarna) and Gianluca Facchetti (Silver Action KTM)

This trio of riders are last yearā€™s EMX125 top three and all move up with great support from their respective teams. These riders dominated the 125 class last year with only Norwegian Kevin Horgmo getting close to them. Expect all three to want to keep the momentum going and make an immediate impact.

The Brits are coming

Josh Spinks, Jack Bintcliffe, Todd Kellett, Christopher Mills, James Dunn, Dylan Woodcock, Oliver Benton, Ashton Dickinson, Mel Pocock, James Carpenter, Josh Gilbert, Taylor Hammel and Steven Clarke. 13 Brits are entered so if they all qualify thatā€™s almost a third of the start gate. Good luck to one and all, see how they get on in our exclusive Brit Report here on dirtbikerider.com

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