Mitchell Harrison scores another top ten result on his Bud Racing Kawasaki for the final round of the World MX2 Motocross Championship on a purpose-built track just outside Shanghai, for the first ever MXGP of China.

a bad gate pick as he was forced to retire in the qualifying race, Mitchell Harrison ended his maiden GP season with tenth place overall in the GP of China. The American made a superb recovery to eleventh in the first moto after a first-lap error had left him last of the GP regulars. He added a solid ride in race two, and finish the MX2 world championship season in fifteenth position overall after scoring points in 24 of the 30 races as he joins the season at round four.

Team mate Brian Moreau qualified in sixth position after a strong race on saturday; he emerged from turn one just outside the top ten, and started to move methodically forward and by the finish had advanced to sixth. He started slowly in the first moto but fight to finish ninth at the chequered flag. A top-six start in race two offered promise of a fine conclusion to his GP campaign and he retained a top-nine ranking for five laps before overenthusiasm led to errors and his eventual withdrawal from the race following a crash.

Mitchell Harrison: “It was a fun weekend; it was a really good track design and dirt and it felt a lot like back home in Florida with the humidity. I was riding really good at the start of race one but I crashed; I came back really strong to eleventh. The second race wasn’t quite so good but I gave it my all and came away with tenth overall. Now I will fly back to the US until November where in come back to France for Paris SX & Team testing and then try to get down to Florida to train in the sand during winter time. I know what I have to do for next year; the fitness is there but I have to work on the little things which will keep me in the top five every week.”

Brian Moreau: “It was a long season and it felt even longer for me as I didn’t get the results I was expecting. This weekend was a mixed one with a good result in the first moto but a DNF after a crash in the second one. I was surprised to find such a track in China; in the second race I got a good start and raced with the fastest riders during the first few laps, but I’m not used to that. I tried to follow them but it was not possible and in the end I crashed. I learnt a lot from my mistakes this year and I will try to keep that in mind for the future. »

Back this year in the World Championship after several seasons in the European series, team Bud Racing Kawasaki and Mitchell Harrison continue to gain experience for 2020.

Involved in the last two rounds of the championship in Turkey last weekend and then in China, team Bud Racing Kawasaki discover new countries and experiences as this two events are treated like ‘oversea races’ which mean than the bikes are send from Europe in crafts while riders and staff fly to the events. The teams have limited parts and material for these races, compared to the European races where the racing truck is there with a lot of tools and parts, so everyone has to do with what they bring in their luggage!

The mechanics had a tough weekend as Mitchell’s bike had some troubles during this sunny weekend in Turkey.

Mitchell Harrison was affected by some technical issues, and was unable to enter the qualifying race on Saturday. Last behind the gate for the races he couldn’t get any good start but thanks to his pugnacity he came back thirteenth in the opening race and was twelfth in the second one when the bike had troubles and forced him to retire.

After a good qualifying race on Saturday, Brian Moreau was tenth behind the gate, and battled with his American teammate during the first moto. He scores a fifteenth place, and lost all his chances when he had an early crash in race two; back in eighteenth position he scores nine points before flying to Shanghai with the team for the last GP of the season.

Mitchell Harrison: “It wasn’t a good weekend for me with bike issues, which give me a bad gate pick for the races. In the first moto I came back thirteenth which was not so bad from where I started and I was riding in twelve in the next race when the bike stopped. I’m not where I want to be; it’s really hard to perform when you don’t have a good gate pick, the start is so important. I want to stay positive, all we are working now will pay next year, we are just progressing every weekend. It’s cool to discover new countries, just hope to end the season in China on a positive note.”

Team Bud Racing Kawasaki is pleased to confirm Mitchell Harrison for the 2020 MX2 FIM Motocross World Championship.

Team Bud Racing Kawasaki did his come back this year in the MX2 World Championship, in a learning season for their riders. Joining the team in April Mitchell had to discover everything in Europe, and made good improvements trough the season as he starts to score regularly top ten results since Germany. Dedicate to his sport, the 21 years old American rider is currently seventeenth in the series and with a few more months of European experience he will be stronger when the 2020 World Championship will kick off end of January. “It’s been an amazing experience racing here, I came over here in April not knowing what to expect and the Bud Racing Team treated me like a family member and it’s cool to have another year with them and a chance to fill in on the podium with them, so very exited! Next year I will know most of the tracks and I will be more adapted to the bike, we already work on that between the races but now we’ll have a full winter to do that. The racing is amazing here, the tracks are unique, different than in the US but I like that” said the likeable native from Michigan, who is excited to travel to the last two rounds of the series in Turkey and China.

For team owner Stephane Dassé, giving another chance to Mitchell was one of his goal as everyone in the team enjoy working with him. “We’re happy to work with him next season, he came late in Europe and had to discover everything. He improves a lot through the season, has a good mentality and we think that after a good preparation during winter and some more European experience he will be able to get strong results. We’re happy to enter again the MX2 World Championship with him, and he will have two top level young team mates to compete and fight for the win in the European EMX 250 & EMX 125 series and French championship; who will be announced very soon,” explains Stephan who is still working on the final line up of his team

Starting the season after all his rivals, Mitchell Harrison improves his results through the season and is now in the top twenty of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship, while Brian Moreau shows regularly his impressive speed but struggles to confirm his potential during the races.

With two back to back races in Italy (Imola) and Sweden (Uddevalla), no one had time to relax inside the Bud Racing Kawasaki team with a lot of travels and races under hot conditions. The artificial track built inside the ‘Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari’ didn’t really suits to our boys as Mitchell put a few points (five) in his luggage while Brian didn’t got any even if he shows good speed with a second position in the timed practice period! Both had a better feeling with the natural track of Uddevalla, and once more Brian was one of the fastest MX2 guys on Saturday with a fifth position in the free practice session and a third in the timed practice period! His gate pick for the races was not that good with a fourteenth position in the qualifying race, while Mitchell who always need time to learn the tracks he discovers each weekend scores a nineteenth position. On Sunday Mitchell Harrison once again rode two good races after poor starts. After chasing forward to fifteenth in moto one, he made a series of solid moves in race two to advance from eighteenth on the opening lap to tenth at the finish to claim thirteenth overall. Scoring points in seventeenth of the last eighteen motos, Mitchell is now seventeenth in the standings and can enter the top fifteen with two more races to go (Turkey and China). Brian Moreau again showed his speed when he outfoxed the series third-placeman in a race-long duel in race one to advance from fifteenth to twelfth. He got another decent start in race two, but crashed out of thirteenth early in race two and didn’t score points.

In the final round of the European 250 Jimmy Clochet struggles with the track and even if he qualified he couldn’t take points and ends the series in fifteenth position with a second position in France as best result of the season.

Mitchell Harrison: “We continue to work with the team on the settings of the bike, and I feel more and more comfortable. We made another step in the right direction, we’re working to prepare next year as I get more and more used to the tracks in Europe. We have two more GP’s to go and I will do my best to show what I can do in Turkey and China.”

Brian Moreau: “It’s so frustrating to show good speed in practice session, and not being able to confirm in the races. I make too many mistakes and again crash this weekend in the second race; the first one was good as I charged to come back twelfth, just behind a group of riders fighting for the seventh position. In the second one I was eleventh when I crashed after two laps, not easy at the moment to keep focus during the races.”

The World Championship stopped last weekend in Lommel, for the most demanding round of the season. With its deep sand the Belgian track is one of the most difficult track, and when you have four different classes in action during the weekend it’s even worse than you can imagine!

For the fourth time in his young career Brian Moreau was visiting this track where he got a podium result in the 125 class a few years ago, but his weekend didn’t start that well this year. He was penalised during the timed practice period and lost his tenth position. Twenty-eight behind the gate, he couldn’t get a decent start but his race was solid as he came back eleventh at mid period; then believe it or not he hit a big stone – not sure there’s two stones in the sand at Lommel – and damaged the bike, forced to retire! He will get his revenge in the second heat, as he did a solid race to score a eighth position, his second ‘top eight’ result after Loket one week ago.

As always it’s a new track and new conditions that our American rider Mitchell Harrison discovered this weekend, always happy to travel all over Europe. Mitchell will learn a lot watching the best sand specialists and his results will be better and better all weekend long; fourteenth in the qualifying race, he will score a twelfth and a thirteenth position despite an early crash in race two. The track was rougher than ever, but he came back from twenty eighth to thirteenth. Next race for Mitchell & Brian will be the GP of Italy (Imola) in two weeks time.

This week-end, the GP structure and BUD racing staff will be at big youth event named « Rookies cup» with Quentin Prugnières and the 500 kids racing this event !