Ferruccio Zanchi (born 6 September 2006)[1] is an Italian professional Motocross racer. Zanchi has competed in the FIM Motocross World Championship since making three wildcard appearances in the 2023 season.
| Ferruccio Zanchi | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Italian |
| Born | 6 September 2006 Florence, Italy |
| Current team | Team HRC |
| Bike number | 73 |
Since the 2024 season, Zanchi has been part of Honda's factory Team HRC squad. In his first season with the team, he finished tenth in the final standings of the MX2 class.
Prior to racing at World Championship-level full-time, Zanchi scored six race wins in the European Motocross Championship, spread across the EMX125 and EMX250 classes.
Career
editJunior career
editZanchi won the 65 class of the Italian Junior Motocross Championship in 2017, winning all but one race on the way to the title.[2] In the same year, he made his debut in the FIM Motocross Junior World Championship and competed in the EMX65 category of the 2017 European Motocross Championship, where he finished eighth overall. Moving up to race an 85cc motorcycle in 2018, Zanchi won the Junior 85 class in the Italian International Supercross Championship and finished second in the 85 Junior class of the Italian Junior Motocross Championship.[3] Zanchi finished third in the 85 Senior class of the Italian Junior Championship in 2019. He also raced in the FIM Motocross Junior World Championship, which was staged in his native Italy, where he finished eighth in the opening race. In the EMX85 class of the 2019 European Motocross Championship, he finished sixteenth overall - again finishing eighth in the opening race.
For the 2020 season, he joined the Husqvarna Junior Racing Maddii team. Zanchi was involved in a controversial ending to the 2020 Italian Junior Motocross Championship. After initially being crowned champion in the 85 Senior class due to rival Alfio Pulvirenti jumping on a red-cross flag, an appeal lodged in January 2021 found Zanchi had also jumped on the red-cross flag.[4] This resulted in Zanchi being docked positions that left him third in the final standings. He made his debut in the EMX125 class of the 2020 European Motocross Championship at the fifth round where he scored a point.
Zanchi was signed by MJC Yamaha for 2021, Yamaha's official team in the EMX125 class of the 2021 European Motocross Championship.[5] He made an immediate impact on the class, being classified as the race winner in the second race at the opening round, after the race was red-flagged due to a crash he had.[6] Zanchi missed the second round due to the injuries sustained in this crash but would take a second race at the fourth round in France, while he finished the season ninth in the final standings.
Staying with the MJC Yamaha team for 2022, Zanchi started the season by finishing second in the 125 class of the Italian International Motocross Championship. This good form was carried through to the start of the 2022 European Motocross Championship, where he won the opening race. He was able to pick up one overall podium throughout the year and finished seventh in the final standings. Zanchi represented Italy at the FIM Junior World Championship where he finished sixth and the Motocross of European Nations, where he was part of the team that finished second overall.[7] Domestically, Zanchi enjoyed a dominant season in the Italian Junior Championship, winning all but one race to take the 125 Junior crown.[8]
250 Career
editZanchi moved up to compete in the EMX250 class of the 2023 European Motocross Championship, being signed by KTM's factory team in the championship.[9] He adapted quickly to the new class, scoring two consecutive podiums at the second and third rounds. Zanchi took his first race win in the class in the opening race at the sixth round in Germany, a feat he followed up two rounds later in The Netherlands. A third race win came at the final round and he finished the season in fourth in the standings. Alongside this, he made three wildcard appearances in the MX2 class of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship. On each occasion he showed speed that saw him race inside the top-ten, with an eighth in the second race at the French round being a noticeable result. Domestically, Zanchi competed in the Elite MX2 class of the Italian Prestige Motocross Championship, finishing fifth in the final standings with two race wins.
Zanchi was signed by the Honda's factory Team HRC squad for the MX2 class of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship.[10] He took the overall win at his first pre-season race on the factory Honda in Riola Sardo.[11] The World Championship season started with a strong sixth overall at the opening round but injuries sustained in a practice crash saw him miss rounds three, four and five.[12] His return saw him qualify in fourth place at the sixth round and throughout the rest of the season he placed regularly within the top-ten to finish tenth in the final standings. At the conclusion of the season, Zanchi travelled to Japan to race a Japanese championship round on a 450, winning both races.
Honours
editMotocross of European Nations
- Team Overall: 2022
Italian International Motocross Championship
- 125: 2022
Italian Junior Motocross Championship
- 125 Junior: 2022
- 85 Senior: 2019 & 2020
- 85 Junior: 2018
- 65 Cadetti: 2017
Italian International Supercross Championship
- Junior 85: 2018
Career statistics
editFIM Motocross World Championship
editBy season
edit| Season | Class | Number | Motorcycle | Team | Race | Race Wins | Overall Wins | Race Top-3 | Overall Podium | Pts | Plcd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | MX2 | 73 | KTM | Team VRT KTM Factory Juniors | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 23rd |
| 2024 | MX2 | 73 | Honda | Team HRC | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 393 | 10th |
| Total | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 440 |
References
edit- ^ "Ferruccio Zanchi Bio". mxgp.hondaracingcorporation.com. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Campionato Italiano MX Junior. Ottobiano laurea i Campioni 2017!". xoffroad.dueroute.it. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "I nuovi campioni degli Internazionali d'Italia 2018 sono Khunsith Vongsana (Supercross), Filippo Zonta (SX Lites), Raffaele Giuzio (Junior 125) e Ferruccio Zanchi (Junior 85 )". xoffroad.dueroute.it. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "ACCOLTO IL RICORSO DEL M.C. MILANI – ALFIO PULVIRENTI E' CAMPIONE ITALIANO SENIOR". mxreport.it. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "MJC Yamaha fields three-rider EMX125 team". David Miller. dirtbikerider.com. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Video: Zanchi and Karssemakers collision at Matterley Basin". Andy McKinstry. gatedrop.com. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "France and Spain Victorious at the 2022 Motocross of European Nations and Women's Motocross of European Nations!". Infront Moto Racing. mxgp.com. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "INTERVISTA A FERRUCCIO ZANCHI – CAMPIONE ITALIANO JUNIOR 125". mxreport.it. 2 October 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "VRT KTM Factory Juniors READY TO RACE for 2023 EMX motocross". ktm.com. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Official: HRC Honda sign up MX2 GP rider for 2024 – Ferruccio Zanchi". Andy McKinstry. gatedrop.com. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "International Italy: Tim Gajser and Ferruccio Zanchi win Round 1 – Riola Sardo". Santiago Crevoisier. mx1onboard.com. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Ferruccio Zanchi injured: misses Riola GP". Santiago Crevoisier. getdirt.it. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.