BUD Racing Kawasaki is very proud to announce his 2021 race Team ! 4 titles 2020 champions in the Team !

Young but very strong riders with multi 2020 champions to join Team BUD Racing Kawasaki for 2021 International & French championships !

The riders age will be very young for the 2021 race team but all are very strong and with high goals for the future. All the riders have signed multi year agreement with the Team to prepare the future for Kawasaki.

Norwegian sensation Haakon FREDRIKSEN who just turned 18 last week, 2020 Norwegian champion and 3rd at European EMX250 championship is confirmed to be the Team leader to contest the EMX250 class aboard the all New very performant KX 250 2021.

French 2020 Junior 125 champion & 2019 French 85cc champion Quentin PRUGNIERES (15 years old) will continue with the Team but will step to the 250 class to compete the European EMX250 championship and learn for his 1st year in this very competitive class.

Amandine VERSTAPPEN French 2020 Women champion will also continue with the Team in 2021 to keep his title but also to race the entire World women WMX championship with goal to reach the podium.

In 2021, Team BUD Racing Kawasaki will increase his line up by creating a supported “BUD Racing Junior Team” and the very talented twins coming from Belgium Sacha & Lucas COENEN (not yet 14 years old !) will join the team for a multi years agreement, they will compete the 2021 European EMX125 championship… Sacha literally dominated the French 85cc championship in 2020 and clinched the title showing amazing speed !

The TEAM will not only race the EMX championships but the riders will also compete French Motocross/supercross championships in their respective class as well as the Beach Races / Sand championship when the championship will finally start this winter. To finish, the Team also plan to travel to USA and join BUD Racing USA workshop / structure to compete some of the American Supercross & Motocross highest level races with the kids.

The Team will continue with Thierry Van Den Bosch to be the Team’s coach and to take care of the whole rider’s training and program. Thierry is multi time Supermoto champion and very experienced multi winner coach at MXDN with French team the last few years. Riders & coach will spend lot of time at the sandy “BUD racing Training camp” to prepare the season but will also travel to USA & Spain to complete the preparation.

Top eight for Prugnières and Locurcio in the EMX championships

BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Lorenzo Locurcio ended the season seventh in the EMX250 Motocross Championship, while Quentin Prugnières ended eighth in the EMX125 after the final rounds at Lommel in Belgium.

The Venezuelan, who joined the team and the series during the summer and had thus missed the opening round in March, quickly settled into his new environment and strung together a number of impressive performances, highlighted by three moto podiums plus a third place overall at the sixth round of the series in Italy. Despite no previous experience of the tortuous deep sand he faced for the final two rounds at Lommel he displayed admirable resolve to post top-fifteen finishes in each of the four motos (12/15 and 14/10), showing improvement each time to secure tenth place in the last race of the series and a seventh in the final championship classification

Quentin Prugnières ended the season with his best result, always scoring his best race during the second moto! Eleventh overall (14/8) at the first Lommel, Quentin was stronger during the final round of the series with a seventh overall (14/4) and a great second moto in the deep Belgium sands. For his first season in the 125 class, Quentin secures an eighth position overall, best “Rookie” of the class.

In the EMX250 Pierre Goupillon was eventually classified twenty-first in the final series standings after a season interrupted by injuries. The Frenchman sat out the three final races after suffering a dislocation of the knee for the second time in a fortnight at the penultimate round on Saturday; he faces an operation in November.

Lorenzo Locurcio: “I had a big crash on Tuesday during the qualifying session and hurt my ankle; after that it was a struggle. I had a lot of pain all day but my tenth place in the second race secured my seventh place in the series. My thanks to BUD Racing and Kawasaki for giving me the opportunity to race the series.”

Quentin Prugnières: “It’s great to end the season with a good result, finally! It was a tough event, the most difficult races for me as the track was rough but finally I had some fun for my first time here at Lommel. I am just disappointed as I didn’t get any podium this season in the EMX 125 after my French 125 title.”

Amandine Verstappen French champion, Lorenzo Locurcio moto runner-up in Spain

And one more! This weekend Amandine Verstappen offers another French title to team BUD Racing Kawasaki, while Lorenzo Locurcio got a second-placed moto finish in the eighth round of the FIM European EMX250 Motocross Championship, where he scores more points than ever this season. In the 125 class Quentin Prugnières also claimed at the intu-Xanadu entertainment complex near Madrid his best result of the season with a fifth position overall.

After a double win in Fublaines a few weeks ago, Amandine was again dominant in Ecublé as she won both motos to stay undefeated this year. For sure it was a short championship with only two rounds, but Amandine won all the motos to get her second consecutive title.

In Spain, fifteenth out of turn one in the first moto Lorenzo was already through to eighth by lap two and, posting lap times in the same window as the leaders, took over sixth place four laps from the end but he had no opportunity to advance further as the riders ahead of him had escaped early in the moto.. Advancing rapidly from a better start in race two he had stormed to third place within two laps; the race-long leaders had already sprinted ten seconds clear but the ebullient Venezuelan once again maintained his momentum, taking over second place with a thrilling pass three laps from the end to get his best season result with a second place in moto 2 ! he misses the overall podium by just a single point. He has consolidated his seventh place in the championship standings prior to the two final rounds next week in Belgium.

Pierre Goupillon run top six for most of the 1st race but made a mistake and crashed at the end of the race; his bike was damaged in the impact and forced him to continue at a significantly reduced pace simply to finish the race and collect a single championship point. Once more gating inside the top five in race two his luck ran out already on the opening lap when he was involved in a further collision and was last when he rejoined the race; at the finish he had charged through the pack to eleventh place.

In the 125 class Quentin Prugnières did his best performance of the season, thanks to better starts than usual. Tenth after the opening lap in the first moto, Quentin did a strong race to come back sixth; with a better start in moto two, as he was seventh in the opening lap, Quentin had a great rhythm in this moto and scores a fourth position, only five seconds behind the race winner! Fifth overall, our 15 years rider is now ninth in the standings during his first season in the 125 class.

Lorenzo Locurcio: “My start was not the greatest in the first moto but I came back to sixth. In the second moto I got a better start around tenth position and came through to second after a big charge and a lot of passes. It was a good weekend; I’m happy to get my best moto result of the season with a second place but I’m a little bit disappointed to miss the podium by just one point!”

Pierre Goupillon: “The timed practice session was OK with the eighth position and in the first race I was sixth for most of the race but with two laps to go I crashed together with another rider. Unfortunately my front wheel was damaged; I tried to fix it again but I had to slow down to finish the race. Second moto I was third from the start but in the fourth corner I collided with another rider again. I was last to restart and came back to eleventh; it was not really what I was expecting today.”

Quentin Prugnières: “It was a pretty good day for me, and it could have been better with better starts. We’re working on starts, today I was more consistent than in the previous races and got my best result of the season. Now the goal is to do even better in Lommel for the last two rounds of the series.”

Podiums for Lorenzo Locurcio in Italy

Lorenzo Locurcio claimed several race podiums at Mantova, and enjoyed his first podium celebration last Tuesday when he finishes third overall during the sixth round of the EMX250 Championship.

Three rounds of the EMX250 were at the program within one week in Mantova, and Lorenzo shows again tremendous tenacity in all races to score his best season results on the brand new 2021 Kawasaki KX 250. Seventh at Mantova 1, he did his best performance at Mantova 2; third in his timed practice group, he had his best gate pick since arriving in Europe and put in two scintillating rides through the pack after he was hampered at the first turn each time by other riders falling in his path. In both races he was one of the fastest rider on track, and came back fifth and third to secure that position in the overall classification. The third and last round was not as good but once more Lorenzo never give up to score another race podium and to advance in seventh in the series despite missing the first round in the Netherlands.

Team mate Pierre Goupillon was not as successful as he was involved in several crashes and could only finish two races in the top six position at Mantova 2 and 3. Pierre struggles with some race incident and crashes, suffers from an old meniscus injury and finally moves back home with a painful shoulder, however he will be ready to fight at Spanish MXGP next week-end.

In the Women World Championship Amandine Verstappen missed the first GP as she was at the opening round of the French championship; just two days after winning this race she claimed a seventh position at Mantova with a fifth and a ninth in the motos. She’s also leading the French women series.

EMX125 was also at the program last Sunday, and Quentin Prugnières at 15 years old scores top ten results with a ninth and a tenth to advance tenth in the standings. Poor starts reduces hois chances to fight for the podium but the speed and fighting spirit is here and he will go for more during the next races.

Lorenzo Locurcio: “I felt great on Tuesday with my best qualifying and two strong motos. Both races I had people crashing in front of me on the start and me hitting them so I had to come a long way through the pack. The track was good; it was really rough with lots of square edges so I could play a lot of the techniques I’ve been practising and it paid off. I never gave up and was racing all the way to the chequered flag each moto to make those late passes which gave me this first podium; it really gave me the chills seeing my Venezuelan flag up there! My thanks to BUD Racing and Kawasaki for giving me the opportunity to race the series. “

Pierre Goupillon: “At Mantova 2 I struggled with a damaged meniscus; it’s not a fresh injury, but a piece of bone moved and even if it was very painful I found a good rhythm all race long to finish sixth despite the pain with the knee. Then at Mantova 3 I had a good speed to come back sixth in the first moto, but the second heat was not that good; I was involved in a big pile up in the second corner and crash. I came back to seventeenth but in the waves section I hit a neutral and had a big crash; nothing is broken but my shoulder was so painful that I had to retire.”

Amandine Verstappen: “I raced and won a French championship round in Fublaines on Sunday and we came straight from there to Mantova for this race so there was not so much time to rest; I was pretty tired as Fublaines was a muddy race but I was happy to be back at the GPs! My first race was good with a fifth, but my second start was bad; I was outside the top twenty and it’s very difficult to pass here. I spent most of the race fighting with Papenmeier; I posted good lap times but I need to work on my starts as there’s still one round remaining in both the French and the world championships.”

Lorenzo Locurcio at Mantova: 9/5/5/3/14/3
Pierre Goupillon at Mantova: 19/13/16/6/6/DNF
Quentin Prugnières at Mantova: 8/9
Amandine Verstappen at Mantova: 5/9

Another title for Quentin Prugnières and Bud Racing!

During his first season in the 125 class Quentin Prugnières confirmed his potential, as he claimed the 125 French title at only 15 years old and confirmed the expectations of Stephane Dassé and the Bud Racing Kawasaki team.

Not so many riders claimed the 85 title and just one year later the 125 one, but this weekend Quentin entered in the history of French motocross! Leading the series coming to Rauville la Place, Quentin did a strong opening race as he increases his leadership with a second position ahead of his last rival for the title. His second moto was even better, as despite a bad start he won the race to clinch the title with panache.

The final round of the French MX2 was also at the program; posting the fastest lap time and taking the Holeshot, Pierre Goupillon was the boss in the first race during most of the period, but a crash with two laps to go relegates him in fourth place. More focus in the second race he missed a good start but came back second to secure the fourth position of the day and, more important, the third position in the championship despite missing round #2 due to injury. It was a tougher day for Lorenzo Locurcio, who was hit by other riders during the first lap of each moto; Lorenzo never gave up, coming back from 31st to 11th in race one, and from 40th to 8th in race two. What a strong ride from him!
This week the Bud Racing Kawasaki Team will move to Mantova (Italy) for another triple GP within one week; three rounds of the European 250, and also one round of the European 125 will be at the program.

Quentin Prugnières: “Happy to get the title, just a shame that I missed both starts this weekend! I was able to come back twice in the pack; I’m now use to this 125 class, today I had a lot of fun riding the 125 and the results were good. We’ll continue to work, to get some great results in the European championship.”

Pierre Goupillon: “I missed the heat win in moto 1 when I did a mistake with two laps to go, always frustrating to lose a race due to a stupid crash in a corner. Between both motos we worked mentally with Thierry to prepare the second race, but I missed a good start as I did a wheelie; I was eighth and came back second, and then joined the leader. Happy with this second moto as I didn’t do any mistake and posted the fastest lap, I will go to Italy confident.”

Lorenzo Locurcio: “A tough day for sure, things were out of control as in the first moto some guy cut the track and hit me, I went down. I run out of tear off in the second lap, came back eleventh with the fastest time in this moto. Second moto some guy came from the inside and hit me, we went down and I came back from last to eighth. Speed was good this weekend, just unlucky and now I’m very excited to be in Mantova.”