Mikkel Haarup

Mikkel Haarup
NationalityDanish
Born (2001-09-15) 15 September 2001 (age 23)
Silkeborg, Denmark
Current teamMonster Energy Triumph Racing
Bike number11

Mikkel Haarup (born 15 September 2001)[1] is a Danish professional Motocross racer. Haarup has competed in the FIM Motocross World Championship since the 2019 season.

Haarup has represented Denmark twice at the Motocross des Nations and is a five-time podium finisher in the MX2 class of the World Championship.

In his junior career, Haarup won the 125 class in the 2017 Dutch Masters of Motocross and the Junior Cup in the 2014 ADAC MX Masters. He was also runner-up in the 125 class of both the 2017 European Motocross Championship and the 2017 FIM Motocross Junior World Championship.

Haarup is currently signed to ride for the Monster Energy Triumph Racing team for the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship, making him part of Triumph's return to the sport of motocross.

Career

Junior Career

Haarup began riding motocross at the age of three and upon competing at his local club and his talent soon became noticed when he was beating riders on higher capacity motorcycles. To pursue a professional career, he and his family later moved to Belgium.[2]

Whilst riding an 85cc motorcycle, Haarup was able to finish fourth in the 2014 European Motocross Championship. Later that year, he was able to grab the bronze medal at the FIM Motocross Junior World Championship, winning the second race. In addition to this, he won 85 class 'Junior Cup' of that season's ADAC MX Masters. Following this performances in 2014, Haarup was signed by KTM to be a factory-supported rider.[3] At the 2015 European Motocross Championship, Haarup qualified in pole position for the EMX85 class, but a not finishing the first race and a third in the second race meant he finished tenth overall.

For the 2016 season, Haarup moved up to the 125 class aboard a Husqvarna with factory backing.[4] Haarup had a very competitive season in the EMX125 class of the 2016 European Motocross Championship. After a fourth in the second race at round two, he recorded a string of top-six results over the Spanish, French and British rounds. At the Italian round he finished third in the second race and at the following round in Belgium, he was able to record his first overall podium with third overall. Seventh in the final standings as well as third in the Dutch Masters of Motocross 125 class showed Haarup's promise.

Haarup continued his journey with Husqvarna in 2017, starting the 2017 European Motocross Championship by winning both races at the opening round of the EMX125 class by a sizeable margin.[5] He would repeat this feat at the fourth round in Italy and the sixth round in Belgium, as well as winning singular races at the Portuguese and Swedish rounds. These performances saw him finish runner-up to Brian Moreau in the final standings despite winning more races than him. Going to the FIM Motocross Junior World Championship, Haarup was naturally one of the favourites for the crown. He again would come away with the silver medal after placing second and third in the races. In addition to his international achievements, Haarup won the 125 class of the Dutch Master of Motocross in 2017.

250 Career

For the 2018 European Motocross Championship, Haarup moved into the EMX250 class.[6] He missed four rounds of the series but did record two individual race wins in Latvia an Great Britain, his win in Latvia contributing to him finishing second overall at that event. Strong performances in pre-season events such as the Hawkstone International motocross saw Husqvarna promote Haarup to the MX2 class of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship, after he was initially planned to stay in the EMX250 class.[7] This proved to be a tough transition for Haarup, missing many rounds and only scoring ten points. Before the end of the year, Haarup returned to the EMX250 class of the 2019 European Motocross Championship for the final two rounds, finishing third overall in Belgium and winning the first race in Sweden.

The 2020 season marked the end of Haarup's time with Husqvarna, as he was picked up by the Dutch F&H Kawasaki team for the MX2 class of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship.[8] Haarup made a competitive start to the season, finishing third overall at the opening round. After recording several other top-ten finishes, Haarup broke his thumb and missed the final eight rounds of the championship.[9] His second season with the F&H team saw Haarup compete in every round of the MX2 class of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship scoring consistently in all but two races but missing the overall podium throughout. He also made his debut at the Motocross des Nations in 2021, being part of the Danish team that finished tenth overall.

Staying on Kawasaki, Haarup switch teams for the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship, joining the British Big Van World MTX Kawasaki team.[10] The change saw Haarup take a further step forward, securing four overall podiums, three of which came in a row from rounds three to five. An eventual final championship position of seventh was his best season to date at World Championship level. Haarup began the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship with the same team but left after the first round in Argentina. Following his departure, Haarup signed for the German WZ Racing Team to ride a KTM. He showed good speed at times on the bike but picked up an injury at the first Indonesian round and missed the rest of the championship. In the winter following this, Haarup was announced to have signed for the much anticipated Monster Energy Triumph Racing team for his final year in the MX2 class.[11]

Haarup debuted on the new Triumph machine at the opening round of the 2024 Spanish Motocross Championship, where he won the Saturday qualifying race before finishing second overall after the main races.[12] His good form was carried over to the opening round of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship, where he was able to finish third overall in the MX2 class, securing a podium on the Grand Prix debut for Triumph.[13] Haarup had five more top-three race finishes and a second overall at the second Indonesian round throughout the rest of the season. This contributed to him finishing fifth overall in the final standings of the MX2 class. Following this, he made his second appearance for his country at the 2024 Motocross des Nations, where his results contributed greatly to the teams eleventh place finish in the event.

Honours

FIM Motocross Junior World Championship

European Motocross Championship

Dutch Masters of Motocross

ADAC MX Masters

Italian International Motocross Championship

MXGP Results

Year Rnd
1 		Rnd
2 		Rnd
3 		Rnd
4 		Rnd
5 		Rnd
6 		Rnd
7 		Rnd
8 		Rnd
9 		Rnd
10 		Rnd
11 		Rnd
12 		Rnd
13 		Rnd
14 		Rnd
15 		Rnd
16 		Rnd
17 		Rnd
18 		Rnd
19 		Rnd
20 		Average
Finish 		Podium
Percent 		Place
2024 MX2 3 11 7 8 8 7 6 6 7 8 4 2 5 5 4 8 5 5 4 6 5.95 10% 5th

References

  1. ^ "Mikkel Haarup Bio". mxgpresults.com. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Haarup and Horgmo interview". mxlarge.com. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Mikkel Haarup Signed as 85CC KTM Factory Supported Rider". OutdoorHub. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Husqvarna 2016 MXGP Riders". Trev. mcnews.com.au. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Sihvonen and Haarup Victorious at Valkenswaard". mxdose.com. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  6. ^ "The hottest riders to watch in EMX250". Andrew Hill. dirtbikerider.com. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Interview: Mikkel Haarup on his impressive pre-season – MX2 in 2019". Andy McKinstry. gatedrop.com. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  8. ^ "F&H Kawasaki Signs Mikkel Haarup, Announces 2020 Lineup". Press Release. racerxonline.com. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Injury List: MXGP of Europe". James Burfield. mxvice.com. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Mikkel Haarup Signs With DRT Kawasaki". Dixon Racing Team. mxgp.com. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Monster Energy Triumph Racing confirm Haarup and McLellan signings". Edward Stratmann. mxvice.com. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Triumph Racing is ready to show the world in action this weekend". Santiago Crevoisier. mx1onboard.com. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  13. ^ "HISTORIC FIRST PODIUM FOR TF 250-X AT MXGP ROUND ONE". Triumph Racing. triumph-mediakits.com. 10 March 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.