11-04-2022	MXGP News
Isak Gifting shows top-three potential in Italy

The Grand Prix of Trentino, run at the scenic track of Pietramurata, was the destination for the Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee team this past weekend. The venue was the setting for the fifth stop of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship. Isak Gifting was joined beneath the team tent by an EMX125 signing, Cole McCullough.

For Gifting, the Grand Prix of Trentino was very similar to Portugal in many ways. '517' qualified in the same position, sixth, and then used the power within his KTM 250 SX-F to pull yet another fantastic start. Running inside of the top three with ease early on, he looked composed and comfortable towards the front. A minor error cost him dearly, however, but he salvaged a tenth when the chequered flag waved. The race served as yet another reminder of his potential though.

The second moto was a dogfight from the moment that the gates dropped; Gifting battled in the lower half of the top ten with a gaggle of riders. After running as high as seventh, he reached the finish in eighth. The Grand Prix of Trentino was a consistent outing for him – he was classified in eighth overall – but the result was not a true representation of how much potential he has aboard his Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee steed.
 
Cole McCullough, a youngster tackling his first EMX125 race with the team, narrowly missed the cut during the qualifying process on Saturday. McCullough missed out by just a second, but gathered some knowledge that will serve him well in the future.

The Grand Prix of Latvia is the next stop on the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship schedule. A very popular circuit that first landed on the calendar in 2009, Kegums will host round six. Before then, however, the second round of the ACU British Championship will be run at Foxhill on April 17.

Isak Gifting: "My shoulder felt better than in Portugal this weekend. I went down after running third for fifteen minutes in moto one, which was pretty disappointing, and then P8 was all I had in moto two. Hopefully I can start practicing in the week again now that my collarbone feel a bit better!"

Roger Magee (Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee Team Owner): "Isak showed again today that he has the speed to run top three with a great start in moto one, where he held onto that position for half the race until a small crash demoted him to P9. Eventually coming home in tenth, after suffering arm pump due to a restriction in his preparation to allow the collarbone time to heal. Moto two saw another good start and a real dogfight of a race with so many riders being really competitive in the top ten this year. With P8 at the Grand Prix of Trentino, he has now regained tenth in the World Championship classification and is the second KTM  after Factory KTM's Tom Vialle."