Alberto Forato

Alberto Forato (born 30 March 2000) is an Italian professional Motocross racer. He has been competing in the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2019.

Forato has represented his nation at the Motocross des Nations three times, including being part of the team that finished in third at the 2023 edition.

He has won two MX1 Elite class titles as part of the Italian Prestige Motocross Championship with his last coming in the 2023 season.

Career

Junior career

Forato first competed at a European level during the 2013 European Motocross Championship, in the EMX150 Honda class. In what was the inaugural season of the class, Forato finished runner-up in the final standings. In 2014, he moved onto a 125 and concentrated on the Italian domestic scene, racing in the Junior 125 class and finishing the season as the second placed 'rookie' rider. He debuted in the EMX125 class of the 2014 European Motocross Championship at the opening round in Trentino, scoring no points.

250 Career

By 2015, Forato had already moved onto a 250cc machine, returning to riding a Honda. Again, his main racing efforts were concentrated in the Italian domestic scene. Moving full-time to the MX2 class, Forato placed within the top-20 throughout the season and eventually finished fifth in the under-21 subcategory. He made one appearance in the EMX250 class of the 2015 European Motocross Championship, failing to score in both races.

Forato signed for the new Assomotor Honda Junior Team in 2016, which would allow him to race the EMX250 championship alongside his normal Italian Championship duties. With this support, he was able to register several points scoring finishes in the EMX250 championship, culminating with fourth overall in Ottobiano. Domestically, he was able to become Under-21 Italian Champion, a class that was run within the MX2 category. He stayed with the Assomotor team for the 2017 European Motocross Championship, where he had a breakthrough season in EMX250. He made an immediate impact by finishing third in the first race at round one in Trentino and posted several more top-ten results before taking his first European Championship race win in the second race at the French round. This came after he charged through the top-ten to make a pass on his teammate Mathys Boisramé on the last lap and allowed him to finish third overall for his first EMX250 podium. He consistently posted top-ten finishes in the remaining rounds to end fourth in the final standings. In Italy, he finished twelfth overall in the MX2 class in the first season he was classified as an 'Elite' rider.

The 2018 season turned out to be a tougher campaign for Forato, with him finishing fourteenth in the 2018 European Motocross Championship and only competing a part-campaign in the Italian Championship. 2019 marked a change of direction for Forato, with him joining the Maddii Racing Husqvarna team, a change of team and manufacturer. Forato started the 2019 European Motocross Championship in the best possible way, by winning both races at the opening round in Great Britain in a dominant fashion. The following week he made his World Championship debut in the MX2 class of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship as a wildcard, achieving impressive scores including seventh in the second race. Returning to the EMX250 class, he again obtained a maximum score at the second round and after holding the championship lead got involved in a tight battle against Stephen Rubini and Roan van de Moosdijk. Despite picking up more overall podiums he did not return to race winning ways until the final round and did not take another overall victory. In what was a close race he eventually finished third in the standings, which was the same position he obtained in that season's MX2 class in the Italian Championship. After his strong results he competed in the last two MX2 world championship rounds in Turkey and China, finishing in the top-ten twice in Turkey. After these results and due to injuries to other riders, Forato was selected to represent Italy at the 2019 Motocross des Nations. He again performed impressively finishing fifth in his Saturday qualifying race and helping his country to sixteenth in the final standings.

Forato stayed with Maddii Racing team in 2020 but moved up to compete in the MX2 class of 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship full-time. He had a strong start to the COVID-19 effected season, placing fifth in the very first race. However, injuries meant that he missed multiple rounds and resulted in him finishing in sixteenth in the final standings.

450 Career

It was initially planned that Forato would remain in the MX2 class when he signed for the SM Action Gas Gas team for the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship. However, due to his height and build, it was decided that he would move up to MXGP instead two months before the start of the season. After struggling for points in the opening rounds, he improved to become a consistent point scorer, with a standout result at the second Turkish round with sixth overall.

The 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship would see Forato improve drastically in the MXGP class. He routinely recorded top-ten race finishes, including a fourth place in the first race in Latvia. Despite missing two rounds due to injury, he managed to finish eleventh in the final standings, as well as winning his first Italian Elite Motocross Championship in the MX1 class dominantly. Forato again improved throughout the 2023 season, finishing the majority of the races in the top-ten. His push further towards the front culminated at the penultimate round in Maggiora, where he won the Saturday qualifier to secure his first pole position, before finishing the first race in third to secure his first Grand Prix top-three. This resulted in seventh in the final standings alongside him successfully defending his Italian Prestige MX1 Championship title. He then made his second appearance for Italy at the Motocross des Nations. After a tough qualifying for the nation, Forato and his teammates were able to climb the podium and finish third overall.

Forato moved to the Standing Construct Honda MXGP team for the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship. Having surgery for a thumb injury a week before the start of the season meant he could not race at the opening round. Following this, he had a big crash training for the second round of the season, resulting in eight broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He returned to world championship action at the thirteenth round and despite his long time away from action was able to improve over the final part of the season. After an injury at the final round for Mattia Guadagnini, Forato was drafted into compete for his country at the 2024 Motocross des Nations. Following the conclusion of the season, it was announced that Forato had signed for the Honda Motoblouz team for the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championship.

Honours

Motocross des Nations
* Team Overall: 2023
European Motocross Championship
* EMX250: 2019
* EMX150: 2013
Italian Prestige Motocross Championship
* MX1: 2022, 2023
* MX2: 2019
* U21: 2016
Italian Junior Motocross Championship
* Junior 125 - 'Rookie': 2014

Career statistics

Motocross des Nations

FIM Motocross World Championship

By season

References

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Living people
2000 births
Italian motorcycle racers
Italian motocross riders