First European podium for Kim Savaste in sandy Belgium

Team Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki enjoyed good results in the penultimate round of the FIM European Motocross Championships, with a solid podium for Savaste and a fourth and a fifth place for Sanayei and Moreau in difficult conditions at Lommel in Belgium.

The sandy circuit has long been a rigorous test for young Darian as he never encounter such conditions in his homeland, but the teenager showed great spirit to achieve a commendable result in the circumstances. He already showed his determination to qualify second from his group and the resultant choice of gate enabled him to holeshot the first moto and lead for a couple of laps before the sand experts pushed him back to fourth; he showed great spirit to recover third place again before the finish. Race two saw Darian miss the overall podium on the points tie after crossing the line fourth, just over a second from third. He retains second in the series standings and has a comfortable thirty-seven point advantage over third as they go to the final round in Switzerland next weekend.

Kim Savaste has more experience of sandy tracks and the young Finn show great form with a second position in his qualifying group. His start was not the best one in the first heat, but Kim came back from a top fifteen to the fourth position, just a second behind the third rider! His second race was even more exciting, as he came back from last after a crash at the start to the second place! With these two great results Kim got his first podium of the season with a second overall with a 4/2 motos finish and is now eighth in the standings.

Not as used as his teammate to sand tracks, Brian Moreau increased his performances during the weekend; ninth in his qualifying session, Brian got a good start in the first race to finish sixth, and did even better in the second one as he came back from ninth to third! Fifth overall with a 6/3, Brian got his best result of the season and is now ninth in the standings, tight with Kim before the final round of the series this weekend in Switzerland.

Darian Sanayei: “This weekend was a bit tougher for me; we don’t have any track like this one in the USA ! I was second in my qualifying group; that was my first goal to get a good gate pick for the races. In the first race I got the holeshot, and finished the two races in third and fourth position. I’m not happy with the results but it’s not too bad for my first time in Lommel; I salvaged some good points before the final round next weekend, and I want to thanks the whole team and our sponsors for their support.”

Kim Savaste: “It was a very good weekend, even if on Saturday I was not so happy with my riding. For the race we made some changes on the suspensions and it was working a lot better; my start in the second heat was not very good, then I crashed in the second corner and was nearly last but I wanted this podium and I charged my way and made many passes to come back 2nd !. I’m of course very happy with the result, thanks to team Bud for their great support.”

Brian Moreau: “I struggled on Saturday for the qualifying, but the feeling was better and better for the races. We worked a lot on sand riding with the team trainer Thierry Van Den Bosch during the weekend and French Federation trainer Pascal Finot during the week, it helped me to get these good results. I finished the last four races in the top six, and will go confident to the final round in Switzerland.”

Podium and Win in SX pour Boog and Moreau

The French SX Tour was back to action this weekend in Brittany, and it was a good opportunity for the Monster Bud Racing Kawasaki riders to get some more trophies with a win & a podium results. In the SX1 class Xavier Boog got a third overall, while Brian Moreau Strubhart did an amazing performance as he won the Junior class in what was his first official Supercross.

Third round of the summer tour after Estillac and Chateauneuf, La Bosse de Bretagne opened a new chapter in the season as there are no more French Motocross now after the final round of the French Elite one week ago. Unable to train during the week after his injury in Chateauneuf (broken rib), Xavier Boog did a strong performance; third in the practice session and second in his heat race, Xavier got a third position in the main event and remains a title contender as he is ten points behind series leader with two more races to go. Still recovering as he start practicing only one month ago, Maxime Desprey just lost a top ten result at the end of the main, after a fifth in his heat race. This event was the first official Supercross for Brian Moreau, the youngest riders involved in the Junior class; third of the first race, Brian was even stronger in the second one and beats all his rivals to get the overall win.

Next weekend the 125 and 250 European championships are back in action, with the last two rounds in Lommel (Belgium) and Frauenfeld (Switzerland) for Brian Moreau, Kim Savaste and Darian Sanayei.

Brian Moreau :” It’s super cool to be back on the first step of the podium for my first official Supercross race. I really enjoy riding SX and had only some training at the Team’s track during the week but i immediately felt good on the bike. I was not so fast in the whoops at the beginning but i improved at each session, so it was good, to finally win the overall. The bike was good also, it was really fun to race.”

Xavier Boog: “Due to my broken rib in Chateauneuf I can’t train as I would like between the races, but luckily when I’m on the bike it’s not too painful. I had a good practice session and qualified in second in my heat race; in the main I had a good start in the top five, but when I was in third I never found the opportunity to pass anyone. I’m a little bit disappointed, but I think that soon I will be able to practice normally.”

Maxime Desprey: “Each weekend I have a better feeling, even if I would like to be already at 100%! I’m not totally confident in some sections, like the whoops, but I was back on a bike just a few weeks ago so I need to practice and to race to be back at the top. Every week I saw the improvements, and I know what I have to do in the next days; in the main I was tenth, and tried to move to ninth but finally lost one position! Now we have two weeks to prepare the next round in St Thibery, and two weeks to work.”

Xavier Boog French vice champion

Winner of the MX1 French Elite series, Xavier Boog finish this season runner up in the main French Championship. Coming to the final round of Iffendic in third position, the Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki rider finished runner up of the event behind Romain Febvre and runner up in the series behind Gregory Aranda.

With three ‘MXGP top guns’ racing this final round (Febvre, Paulin et Tixier), things were not easy for the three riders (Aranda, Teillet et Boog) fighting for the title. Coming to Iffendic in third position fifteen points behind series leader, Xavier Boog was still disturbed by a broken rib sustained one week earlier in a French SX tour event; sixth in the timed practice session, Xavier was followed by team mate Maxime Desprey who travelled all night after racing an International MX in Gimont on Saturday.

Xavier got a great start in the first heat, coming third behind Teillet and Febvre after one lap. Paulin, Tixier and Aranda passed him later, and Xavier who struggled with the track was only eighth at mid race; he finally earned three positions during the last laps, to finish fifth. The Alsacian rider was stronger in the second race, with a third position in the same lap as Febvre and Paulin who finished first and second of this last heat; as Teillet struggled during this event, Xavier earned one position to finish runner up in the series. For Maxime Desprey who entered two events in a row Iffendic was a tough event, with high temperatures in Brittany; fourth on Saturday night in Gimont with three strong races (2/6/5) among GP riders, Maxime did an impressive opening race in Iffendic with a fourth overall behind two GP riders (Febvre and Tixier) and the series leader. In the second heat he retired after two laps, tired after so many races in a row and a very short night.

Two weeks before the next race of the European MX2 Championship, Darian Sanayei was also racing in Gimont and as usual he improved his results race after race; fifth, fourth and second of the races, he finished runner up of this event with his 250 Kawasaki, among 450 riders.

Xavier Boog: “With my injury I can’t train at the moment during the week, but this weekend I didn’t suffer so much except at the end of the second race when I had some troubles to breathe normally. My feeling with the track was not really good in the first race, and I had a bad rhythm; it was much better in the second heat, and I scored a third behind Romain Febvre and Gautier Paulin who had a ‘GP rhythm’ in this race. I earned one rank in the series, now it’s Supercross time with another round of the SX Tour in La Bosse de Bretagne next weekend. The last round in Chateauneuf was not really good for me as I crashed during the practice sessions and broke one rib; I save some points with a ninth position, after a very bad start and another crash when I was fighting for the fifth position. I’m currently third of the series, only five points behind the leader so everything is still possible.”

Maxime Desprey: “It was a busy weekend for me with an International MX in Gimont and then the Elite Championship in Iffendic, but at the moment I need to do as many races as possible to be back at my best level! I finished fourth in Gimont, just a shame that I missed two good starts; then I drive all night long to join Iffendic, where I posted a seventh position in the practice session. I was happy with my riding in the first heat, coming back from eighth to fourth, but then I was unable to finish the second heat; I had a bad start, and felt tired so it was better to stop. But it was a good weekend for me; at each race I feel improvements, and have a better feeling; for example I had some arm pumped in Chateauneuf one week ago at the SX Tour, but this weekend I had no troubles.”

European Moto win for Darian Sanayei in Italy, SX Tour win for Xavier Boog in France

It was another busy weekend for team Monster Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki, involved in Italy with the European series and in France with the opening round of the SX Tour. On both side of the Alps, the Bud riders offered some wins to the team.

Since the French round of the EMX250 championship Darian Sanayei is stronger and stronger, and once more in Mantova he got a good second position in the qualifying session and later dominates the first race. The American teenager enjoyed a terrific duel with his series rival before eventually coming out on top in Saturday evening’s opening moto, and he appeared to be headed for a double victory until he had an engine problem and crashed at the end of the second moto on Sunday morning, which was a devastating end to what should have been an awesome week-end. He remains a clear second in the series standings with two rounds still to race.

In the Euro 125 the team got his best result of the season with both riders in the top five of the event! Leader of the first race during most of the period on Saturday, Kim Savaste finally got his best ever result in the class with a second position. On Sunday he didn’t rode so relax, and crashed several times; eleventh of the race, he finished fifth of the event tight in the points with team mate Brian Moreau. On the rough track and under very hot temperatures (over 30°C all weekend long) Brian scored his best performance of the season with two consistent races; even if he is the youngest rider in the series, Brian didn’t do any mistakes to collect two fifth positions and a fourth overall. He is now ninth in the standings, followed by Kim.

The youngest team representatives were in Italy, and their experimented teammates were in South west of France for the opening round of the famous SX Tour championship. After a test during the week, Maxime Desprey was coming back racing alongside Xavier Boog. The Alsacian was the fastest riders in Estillac, and dominates the event; second in the timed practice session, Xavier won his heat race and the main event! Maxime didn’t got similar results as it was his first race since four months, but he got a good fifth in his heat race and a thirteenth position in the main event. The SX riders will be this weekend in Maricourt for a new SX series, while Brian will start training SX at Team private track during the EMX series break.

Darian Sanayei: “I did pretty well in practice, even if we didn’t made the best decision concerning the tyre choice but my speed was good and I got a second position. In the first moto I took the holeshot; I was riding good but I made some mistakes and Olsen just get around me about ten minutes in. I followed him, saw his lines, knew the track better and made a pass on him after twenty minutes to win the race, which was pretty cool. In the second race I got another holeshot and was riding good again; Vaessen was second, Olsen was pretty far back and I was getting better and better but unfortunately I had some troubles with the bike, fell and had to retire.”

Brian Moreau: “ It was great weekend for me, especially on a sandy track who is not my best usually! I got good starts and rode carefully in both races, as I never got two good results at a race this season. It’s a great feeling to be twice in the top five, I still need to work physically to be able to race for a podium result and that’s what we are doing with the team.”

Kim Savaste: “It was a good weekend for me as I got my first second place during the first race; I was leading until 3 laps to go but the weather was very hot and I felt tired during the last laps, but I was happy with my riding. Second race I think I had some little pressure for the podium, I got another good start but felt twice during the race when I try to make some passes. This weekend I was happy with my riding, for sure I’m Finn so when it’s sandy it’s easier for me.”

Xavier Boog: “Practice was good as I got the second position but very close from the poleman, with a couple of fast laps. I won pretty easily my heat race and again in the main event I started in third; in the second lap I took the lead and posted a couple of fast laps to make a gap, and then to control my rivals until the finish line.”

Maxime Desprey: “I was back on a bike end of May on Motocross tracks, and last week I just try to ride on the team’s Supercross track and finally decided to race in Estillac. I had a good feeling on the bike but knew that I will not have the rhythm during fifteen laps, and still struggle in the whoops missing some confidence. I got a fifth in the semi final but then I got a bad start in the main, crashed and had some troubles to keep the rhythm and finally had some arm pumped. I finished thirteenth, happy to be back racing, and I know that I still need to train and ride to be strong physically.”

Darian Sanayei consolidates second in England

Darian Sanayei consolidated second place in the FIM European EMX250 Motocross Championship for Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki after finishing joint top points scorer at Matterley Basin in England.

The American teenager twice outpaced the series leader as he swept to a five second victory in the opening moto before finishing a close second to a local wild card rider in race two; their duel had taken them nearly half a minute clear of the remaining riders in the race. Having contested the British round of the series last year Darian already knew the track and finished top of his qualification group before two close battles with the English wild card rider, a former champion; they finished the weekend tight on points. With three rounds remaining Darian remains 56 points behind the series leader, but he has increased his advantage over the third-placed rider to 69 points.

The European 125 was also at the program of the British GP, and in the timed practice session Brian Moreau shows again his potential at 14 years old when he posted the fastest lap time of his group. On Saturday afternoon Brian got a good start in the first race, coming fourth but he lost time in a crash; ninth after three laps, he came back sixth. The second race on Sunday was not a good one for him, as he didn’t score any point after an early crash in the 1st lap. He remains tenth in the standings, before the GP of Lombardy this weekend. Teammate Kim Savaste had a consistent weekend, scoring points in both races for the first time since Arco; the young Finish rider scored a Seventh of the GP, he is now eleventh of the series, just a few points behind Brian.

Our 85KX rider Thibault Benistant was in Portugal, and entered the last qualifying race of the 85 European series. It was his third appearance since his elbow injury begin of march, and Thibault had a very good weekend with two podium results and a strong second overall at Fernao Joanes.

The EMX250 and Euro125 series will continue next week in Mantova (Italy), while Xavier Boog will enter the French SX Tour with the first round of the series in Estillac.

Darian Sanayei: “In the first moto I had a pretty good start and passed Clarke and then Prado to get the lead. I made a small gap and won this race; it was cool to win again. Then in the second moto I got a good jump of the gate but started wheeling; Prado was at my inside and I just came wide open in the first corners to get the lead again. That was pretty cool and my speed was good but Clarke, who was just doing this race, hit me a couple of times. We had a really nice battle for a couple of laps and I just missed out on this win, but I won the qualifying and the first moto. Second overall is not so bad for the championship. The track was awesome; I enjoyed it last year and again this time.”