A bold retro livery, fast starts and solid performances, rewarded with ninth and eleventh-place finishes in the two races: Alberto Forato and the Fantic XXF 450 stood out at the MXGP of Italy. Brent Van doninck is set to undergo further examinations in Belgium after a crash ruled him out of action.
In scorching hot conditions and on an old-school track that perfectly matched the “Series 26 Heritage Limited Edition” look of the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP team, Alberto Forato wasted no time in putting on a show for his home crowd. In Saturday’s qualifying race, he got off the gate quickly to round the first turn in second place. “Alby” battled hard inside the top 5 for most of the race, holding off multiple World Champions before dropping a few positions in the closing stages and crossing the line in eighth.
Race 1 on Sunday confirmed that Forato has his starts dialled in aboard the Fantic XXF 450: fifth through turn 1, he took a couple of laps to find his rhythm before showing solid pace and securing ninth place. A brief rain shower refreshed the Miravalle circuit ahead of race 2. Forato was less fortunate around the first corner this time, finding himself outside the top 10. Spurred on by the Italian crowd, he tried to recover as much as possible and managed a couple of passes to finish eleventh. He wrapped up a consistent weekend with plenty of positive takeaways, securing the same position in the overall classification of the Grand Prix.
Forato was the sole Fantic Factory Racing MXGP rider on track on Sunday, as Brent Van doninck was sidelined following a crash in time practice. The 30-year-old Belgian was able to walk away from the incident, but experienced discomfort in his lower back. Following an assessment at the on-site medical centre, Van doninck was declared unfit. He is set to undergo further examinations back home in Belgium to determine the extent of the injury.
With the home round for the Italian brand now wrapped up, sights are already set on the upcoming MXGP of Portugal, round 10 of the 2026 campaign.
Alberto Forato:
“It is always special to race at home, so thank you everyone for the support! Looking at the final results, I feel they don’t fully reflect the progress we are making. It wasn’t easy to deal with the heat, but I felt pretty good. I am also really happy with the three good starts I managed to get. In race 2, Renaux was right in front of me at the first corner and I think he made a mistake, so I had to brake hard, which cost me a few positions. We are still working on the intensity in the opening laps, where I am still missing a little bit, but overall it was a good weekend. We learned a lot from this GP, we know where we need to improve and we are looking forward to the rest of the season.”
