| Mikkel Haarup | |
| Nationality: | Danish |
| Birth Date: | 15 September 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Silkeborg, Denmark |
| Current Team: | Monster Energy Triumph Racing |
| Bike Number: | 11 |
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 represented Denmark at the 2021 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.
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.
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]
FIM Motocross Junior World Championship
European Motocross Championship
Italian International Motocross Championship