He is the latest young talent to blossom under the guidance of the Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki team and, just 18 years old, he is one of the most promising young riders from Spain. In common with so many youngsters Francisco discovered motocross when his parents bought him a small bike. « My father was not a great motocross rider but he likes this sport and when I was young he offered me a bike; that’s how it started. I was six when I rode my first race on a little mini-bike, and then I graduated though more local races to national events,” explained Francisco, who had to learn everything alone. “I am not a rider whose family was deeply involved in motocross, so I discovered everything by myself. I was twelve when I jumped on a 125 for the first time, and the following season I entered my first EMX race at the Spanish round. But then I suffered several injuries so my first full season was last year. But despite those injuries I had a great progression and a good feeling.”
After three seasons in the 125 class Francisco moved up to the European EMX250 championship in 2024 with the Spanish national team. After scoring his first EMX podium in the second race at Arco his season ended prematurely after seven rounds due to a cruciate ligament rupture. But he had shown enough potential for Stephane Dasse to sign him for Bud Kawasaki in 2025. It was a successful season as Francisco won eight motos and three rounds overall to claim the FIM Europe bronze medal at the end of season. And a few days before his eighteenth birthday he was selected by the Spanish Federation to race the MX of Nations on a KX450 Kawasaki, helping his national team to a top-ten result.
With the experience gained during that first full season he has dominated the early stages of this year's EMX250 series, finishing every round on the podium! He is leading the European championship by forty-one points after four of twelve rounds, and needs just ten points from a potential score of one hundred at the final round of the French Elite to clinch the title. Even though his body size doesn't help him at the starts he is able to come back strongly over his rivals. “I had an injury this winter but I worked a lot with the team. I can’t explain the reason why at some moment but I have shown that I can increase my speed and pass three or four riders in the same lap. But I need to stay calm even if I always want to win.”
For Bud Racing trainer Thierry Van Den Bosch that’s one of the point he has to work on. “It took a lot of work to channel his energy, as he was a boy who tended to get very hot-headed very quickly. But he's a motivated and very attentive young man! At first, there was a language barrier - he didn't speak much English, and I don't speak Spanish - but from the outset I was quite demanding of him; he found that strange at first but he quickly got down to work. He's easy-going, easy to work with and a very determined young man. He is a warrior in racing, who has made a lot of progress in his riding and trajectories, even if sometimes with his size he rides a little too forcefully. He had a fantastic start to the season, but we know that the season is long and he needs to stay calm and keep working,” is Thierry's analysis of the Spanish teenager's potential.
As reward for his impressive results so far this season he will race his first MX2 Grand Prix this weekend, together with teammate Jake Cannon. And last but not least, as the 250 European Championship will have a long summer break between the rounds in Portugal and Belgium, Bud Racing will take Francisco and Jake to compete in their first race in the United States at Southwick in July.
Francisco Garcia
Birth Date: 9/10/2007
2025 : 3rd in the 250 European Championship
2nd in the 250 French Elite Championship
2024: 10th in the 250 European Championship
3rd in the 125 Junior World Championship
2023: 6th in the 125 European Championship
4th in the 125 Junior World Championship
2022: 10th in the 125 European Championship
8th in the 125 Junior World Championship
2021: 31st in the 125 European Championship