Triumph Factory Racing is excited to announce that Mikkel Haarup has joined its US race team for the upcoming 2025 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. With his extensive experience of competing in MXGP, and with Jalek Swoll sidelined through injury until later in the year, Mikkel will race the TF 250-X in the 250 Class this summer.

Thanks to his development role with Triumph, Haarup has been based at the team’s state-of-the-art training facility in Georgia, USA for a number of months. The Danish racer has been offered the opportunity to get back behind the start gate, and he is now busy preparing for his first assault on the AMA series while familiarising himself with the US-spec TF 250-X machine. The 23-year-old will utilise the time in the championship to stay race sharp, before returning to his testing role.

Haarup joined Triumph for its inaugural season in the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship last year, giving the British manufacturer a number of top five results and a historic first Grand Prix podium at the opening round of the series. Mikkel enjoyed a strong year, concluding the season fifth in the standings.

The unique opportunity to race the outdoors is a childhood dream come true for Mikkel, who is naturally excited for the season ahead. Before the Pro Motocross tour begins, the Dane will compete in lower-profile events to fully prepare himself aboard the TF 250-X in a racing environment, having last ridden competitively at the Motocross of Nations back in October. Mikkel’s first outing with the team will be a Loretta Lynn’s qualifier event in South Carolina this weekend.

The 11-round Pro Motocross series kicks off on May 24 at Pala Raceway in California before concluding on August 23 at Budds Creek, Maryland.

Mikkel Haarup: “First of all, I’m super excited for this opportunity. It’s always been a dream of mine to race in the US, and to be able to do it with a team that I trust and on a bike that I love to ride is just perfect. Of course, it means I am stepping away from my development role for now, but it continues in safe hands with Clement Desalle and Ivan Tedesco continuing the work. My expectations for the season are hard to say. It’s a new racing format for me and there are different rules with the bikes, but overall, the initial goal is to improve round by round. From there, the goals may change after a few races. Round one is not far away now and I can’t wait to get started.”

Jeremy Coker - General Manager Racing: “The addition of Mikkel to our team for Pro Motocross is really exciting – not only for us, but for the series – as it’ll have another rider from MXGP on the start line. Mikkel has been with us for a few months now and he’s been great to work with, and testing has been going really well. When the outdoor season starts, I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do, and it should be a great summer of racing.”

Ian Kimber – Head of Global Racing Programmes: “Having Mikkel based in the US for his 450 development role has put us in a unique position. We’ve been able to utilise his skills and experience to the benefit of our American racing programme, as well as continuing to develop our 450 machine. The 2025 AMA Supercross season has been tough, and heading into Pro Motocross, we won’t have our full line-up of riders competing until later in the season. With that in mind, we’ve drafted Mikkel into the Triumph Factory Racing team for the Pro Motocross series in the 250 Class, which has a lot of benefits for all involved. We’ve been able to take our time, get him used to the US-spec bike, and develop his set-up, so he’ll be fully prepared going into the season. Keeping him race-sharp is important, and he also brings a closer connection between our US and MXGP racing programmes. I’m super excited to see how Mikkel progresses this summer, and I know first-hand that his input will be invaluable for the team. The experience will be great for him, and we’re all looking forward to seeing him on the start gate later this year.”

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