Jed Etchells is to make the jump to the Enduro World Championship in the Youth 125 class this season, riding the all-new Fantic XE 125 for an Italian team.

The European Enduro Junior2/Junior 3 champion showed his world-class potential last year by clocking a second place in Junior 2 class on day two of the French GP.

Riding a French-built Sherco he then went on to finish 10th in E3 at the International Six Days Enduro at Portimao, Portugal in November.

Italian manufacturer Fantic Motor (a name from the past that Steve Colley first made his name on in the 1980s) has announced a two-team line-up - namely D’Arpa and Jolly Racing - for the 2020 Youth Cup class.

The D’Arpa team that Etchells signed for has ran factory Fantics in the Italian Under-23 Enduro Championship for four seasons, but this year will also be their first assault on the world championship.

’I’m happy with Jed’s arrival in the team,’ commented team manager Marco D’Arpa. ’Together with Hugo Svard and Giuliano Mancuso we present a team of athletes who will have their say in the world championship, I expect a lot from them because they are guys who have not yet expressed their full potential.’

The young Manxman will travel to Italy in early February to start preparing the 2020 EnduroGP season with his new team-mates. 2020 could be his year to shine in the under-21 class.