Final podium in the French Elite MX1

In the final round of the French Elite championship organised in Pernes les Fontaines in southern France, Maxime Desprey secured the final third spot of the MX1 series on his Monster Bud Racing Kawasaki.
In the MX2 class, Tristan Charboneau and Marshal Weltin scored a top five result in this last Elite race of the season.
Muddy in the morning due to heavy rain on Saturday evening, the track came dryer on Sunday and there was even some dust in the last races of the weekend. Maxime Desprey was not at his best due to a big crash while practicing in the week. Hopefully the gate pick is not so important in Pernes, and in the first race Maxime did a great start and got the holeshot as he wasn’t involved in a collective pile up in the first corner! Riding with a painful arm Maxime did a strong race and finished fifth, five positions ahead of his last rival for the podium of the championship; after another good start in race two he secured his third position in the series and become the MX1 rookie of the 17 season.

Recovering at home from his arm injury before the next round of the European 125 series in Italy, Brian Moreau was not there; so Americans Tristan Charboneau and Marshal Weltin represented the team in the MX2 class. Seventh in the timed practice session just a second slower than the pole position, Tristan did a good start in 4th position and passed the competitors to lead the race for a few laps before crashing at mid period and making an other mistake in the last lap to finally finish ninth of this race, he had a stronger result in the second heat with a fourth position and a fourth overall. Tenth in the timed practice period Marshall had a goos start in race 1 with a 3rd position but while wanted to pass the guys in front, he crashed in the first lap to come back from 21th to 7th. He start not as well in race 2 but never give up as usual to come back from 15th to 6th; fifth overall of the day, he finished also fifth of the series.

This weekend both will be in Sochi (Russia) for the next round of the European 250 & MXGP event, and in three weeks both European 125 and 250 series will move to Italy where Brian Moreau will defend his red plate of EMX 125 leader.

Maxime Desprey: “I wasn’t sure to be able to ride when I came here, as the doctors fixed eight stiches in my arm after a big crash while practicing. The arm was painful and I had also pain in my upper body in the timed practice period, so I was ready for a tough day but thanks to the physiotherapist of the French Federation I had a good treatment before the races. After my holeshot in the first heat I was able to get a top five; I tried to avoid any mistake, stay focus on my riding and keep a good rhythm even if I was not fast enough to keep the lead. My second start was also a good one, and with another fifth position I kept my third position in the standings; I’m happy to reach my goal before this race, it’s good for everyone in the team to get a podium.”

An Elite podium for Maxime Desprey

The penultimate round of the French Elite Championship took place last weekend in St Thibery, and Maxime Desprey put his 450 Monster Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki on the third step of the box. He is now third in the standings.

It was a sunny weekend in Southern France for this fifth round of the French Elite, and the entire team was there. In the MX1 class Maxime did a great opening moto as he got the holeshot and led the first laps; then Boog passed him and they stay together all race long, but Max didn’t find the spot to pass him and finally another rider passed them! Third of this race Maxime scored a fourth position in the second one, to finish third overall; also third in the standings, he will defend his podium in two weeks’ time for the final round in Pernes les Fontaines.

In the MX2 class it’s Marshal Weltin who was the strongest Bud Kawasaki rider, scoring a fifth overall only three points from a podium result! Fifteenth in the practice session Marshal did as always two strong races, coming back from eleventh to fifth in the first one and then scoring a sixth position with very good lap times in the last part of the races. Tristan Charboneau got a better result in the practice session (twelfth) but couldn’t finish the first heat; after a good start in the second race he collided with some riders in the opening lap but finally came back from thirteenth to eight.

Nineteenth in the practice session with his 125, Brian Moreau delivered his best performance of the season in the Elite MX2, just one-week prior the French Grand Prix! He had a tough task at the start among the 250, but he never gave up and did two impressive races coming back from 26th to 17th in race one and from 33rd to 15th in the next one. A very good training for the European 125 this weekend in France!

This weekend the team will be in Ernée for the next round of the European 125 and 250 championships, during the MXGP of France. And on Monday, on the same track, some journalists will have the opportunity to ride the 250 KX Kawasaki 2017 and also the 250 KX Kawasaki that Marvin Musquin was riding ten years ago!

Maxime Desprey: “In the first race I got the holeshot but in the first part of the race I didn’t had the best lines and Xavier passed me, we did all the race together but I never could pass him and finally another rider passed both. I had a good feeling in this race, much better than in the second one where I was not fast enough to do better than fourth. I was on the box and now I’m third in the standings before the final round. Thanks to the Bud Racing team, now focused on the MXGP of France.”

Brian Moreau leads the Euro 125

On the podium of the first round of the 125 European Championship two weeks ago in the Netherlands, Brian Moreau did even better this weekend in Kegums (Latvia) as he won his first ever European race with a strong 1/1 and got the leadership of the series.

After Valkenswaard it’s on another sandy track that the European championship went this weekend, and it was a good venue for Brian. Fastest rider in his qualifying group, Brian came second after a few corners in the first race and passed Italian Facchetti before mid race for the lead. Then he had to resist to the come back of Norwegian Horgmo, who was never in a position to attack him so Brian claimed his first heat win. On Sunday morning the second heat was similar; Brian did a few laps in second position, then put some pressure on the leader and passed him at mid race to get another heat win. Winner of this round Brian is the new leader of the series, and will arrived at the French Grand Prix in his club (Ernée) with the red plate for the third round of the series.

In the European 250 class our three riders qualified with a 9th position for Tristan Charboneau, à 17th for Kim Savaste and a 25th for Marshal Weltin. Racing this series for the first time this year Kim was the best rider of the team with a tenth overall; starting twice outside the top twenty, the Finish kid came back strongly in both races. Eleventh overall Marshal recovered pretty well from his bad gate pick, while Tristan was not so successful. Involved in a pile up at the start of the first race he came back from last to 21st and then retired in the second heat.

No race for the team next weekend, but then three busy ones with a French Elite (St Thibery), the European series (Ernée, French GP) and the final round of the French Elite (Pernes les Fontaines).

Brian Moreau: “It was a good weekend, I didn’t do any mistake to win both races and it was cool to hear the French anthem on the podium. It was very emotional and I had some tears coming! I was able to stay focus from the beginning to the end of the races; we worked a lot on this point with Thierry (Van den Bosch) this winter, and also about the best way to manage the races. Now I take my time, that’s what I did in both races when I was in second position; in the second heat I came back on Notario and passed him after the waves section. It’s my fourth season with team Bud Racing Monster Energy, I was not working too hard during the first two years but now it’s different, I understood that there is not other solution to succeed. I don’t realize yet that I will have the red plate at the next round in Ernée, it will be cool and I will do my best to win also there.”

Stephane Dassé: “This success of Brian is a nice reward for the team who follow him since four years, and we could see his improvements each year. He just turned 15 at the beginning of the year and made a big step this winter, now he is really focused on his job and he offers us some great results in the European series. The championship is still long but these good results will help him to be even more confident and it’s nice to see another kid being successful with us, as were Marvin (Musquin) or Dylan (Ferrandis) in the past.”

Great podium for Brian Moreau in the Euro 125!

The sandy track of Valkenswaard met this weekend the opening round of the European Championships during the European Grand Prix, and team Monster Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki got his first podium in the European 125 class with the second position of Brian Moreau.

Racing the Elite championship on his 125 two stroke at only 15 years old against the 250 four stroke, Brian Moreau didn’t get great results so far and came to this first round of the Euro 125 under pressure! He started his weekend with the pole position in his qualifying group, and he had two great starts; fourth at the beginning of the first race he moved to second, but in the last part of the race Swedish Edberg passed him and Brian secured a third position. He grabbed the holeshot in the second heat and got a strong second position, to finish second of the event!

Once again Marshal Weltin, Tristan Charboneau and Kim Savaste struggled in the short lap times qualifying sessions, and all had to go to the last chance session to get a chance to qualify in the 250 class. Both Americans qualified in second and third positions, while Kim didn’t enter the top four of the last chance race. Despite a very bad position behind the grid our Americans did their best during the races; Marshal came back from 35th to 13th on Saturday and from 33rd to 8th on Sunday showing a good speed and fighting spirit that we love at Bud racing, while Tristan moved from 29th to 17th on Sunday after a difficult race on Saturday (19th). Marshal got his first top ten overall with a ninth position, while Tristan finished 21th; they are currently 11th and 17th in the standings but we they are able to show much more soon.

On the 1st of May the team will be in Gaillac for the French Elite championship, and from there they will move to Kegums (Latvia) for the next round of the MXGP and European championships.

Brian Moreau: “I’m very happy with my weekend, I didn’t crash or didn’t do big mistakes and that’s cool to start the series with a podium. The track was rough for the 125 riders, I got two good starts; in the first race I lost one position in the last part of the race but in the second one I kept my second position until the end of the period. It’s great to get such results as in the French Elite it’s not easy to ride with a 125 against the 250. I had some pressure coming here as I didn’t really know where I could be; I saw that I have the speed to race for podiums, but I will not panic and continue to work hard.”

Thierry Van den Bosch: “I really appreciate Brian’s races, he stays on his wheels even if he put some pressure on his shoulders and had some serious rivals against him. He had many questions in mind before this race, he really wants to do well and work hard to achieve good results. He rode tense in the first heat but was more relax in the second one, and finally he got a great podium. Now he needs to be consistent! Concerning the 250 class our Americans are still in a learning period as they arrived in Europe end of March, they have many things to discover including new tracks every weekend; the qualifying session is always tough for them, as it was last year with Darian (Sanayei), but when they are behind the gate they are always real fighters. With a last chance qualification Marshal and Tristan had bad gate pick, but they both recover. Marshal put two strong rides, had some very good lap times and as he is strong physically he came back in the top ten, a great result considering his starting gate. It was more difficult for Tristan who has more talent, but is not yet at his best physical shape. Kim missed his qualification but he’s just back after six months off due to his back injury; he needs to be more relax at the races, and to ride as he does in training. I hope that Latvia will be better for him as he’s a hard worker, but this weekend he has also to prepare some school exams.”