Another win for Xavier Boog in Ernee

Xavier Boog enjoyed his third win of the season during the penultimate round of the French Elite Championship, and remains a contender for the MX1 title before the final round of the series scheduled on July 17th in Iffendic. In the MX2, Junior and Hopefull classes, the Bud riders all collected a race podiums or win.

It was busy program this weekend in Ernée, home last year of the Motocross of Nations. The four French classes 85cc, Junior 125, Elite MX2 & MX1 were involved in this meeting, and the club did a great job to prepare the track; the weather was not really good this weekend, but the organisers did a fantastic job to offer the best racing conditions to the riders between the showers.

Fastest in his qualifying group Xavier got a good start in the first race, but except during the first few laps he wasn’t able to follow the rhythm of Valentin Teillet who was very fast this weekend; Xavier was close from him during a few laps, but then Teillet made the gap and Xavier secured his second position. Xavier got a better start in the second race and passed Aubin for the lead during the opening lap; he pushed hard during a few laps and then just secured his win. Overall winner for the third time this season, Xavier is always seven points behind Teillet in the standings, but is now only fifteen points behind the leader Gregory Aranda before the final round.

The slippery conditions were perfect for Nicolas Dercourt, who was the fastest MX2 rider during the practice sessions. His first start was in the top 5, but Nico was impressive during the first lap and came second behind Florent Richier; he passed him straight away and made a good gap, but in the last lap a technical issue stopped him! Disappointed, Nico rebounded in the next race, winning it forty seconds ahead of his rivals and keeping some chances for the title, as he is now tight in the standings with Richier, behind Boisrame.

With their entire program the same day, including practice session, qualifying race and two heats, the Junior 125 riders (and also the hopeful) had a very long day! Fastest in his group Brian Moreau grabbed the holeshot in the first race but crashed one time while he was leading the race, and then a second one! Sixth at mid race he came back third, and later got another holeshot in race two; he lost some positions after a crash, but came back fourth to end this event tight in third position, his best result this season for the youngest rider of the pack.
Back racing after an injury end of May in Slovenia, Thibault Benistant entered in Ernée his second race of the season. Second of his qualifying race behind the leader of the 85 hopeful series, Thibault was impressive during the first race as he came back from ninth to third; unfortunately he crashed and was twelfth, but again came back strongly in seventh. He confirmed his good speed in the second race, coming back from eighth to third and just missing the final step of the podium.

Xavier Boog:” It’s cool to win my third race this season, unfortunately I got a second and a first position and just score the same number of points as Teillet. But at least I don’t lose any points compared to my rivals, so it’s positive. In the first race Valentin was very strong; I didn’t rode so well, and wanted some revenge in the second one. I had a good start and passed Aubin during the first lap, and then I pushed to make a gap and win this race. The club did a very good job, they prepared the track as it was for the Motocross of Nations and that’s just a shame that the weather was not better.”

Nicolas Dercourt: “The conditions were not easy in Ernée this weekend, but I’m very happy with my riding. I got two good starts; in the first race I passed Richier and was leading easily but in the last lap the bike stopped and I was so disappointed. I got the holeshot in the second race, had again a very good rhythm and won the race with the fastest lap time and forty seconds ahead of my rivals. That’s good for the next races.”

Brian Moreau: “The track was really difficult to ride with the rain, and I did too many mistakes; in both races I got the holeshot, but I was pushing too much on a slippery and rough track so I crashed several times. Even if I got my best overall result in the French series I’m frustrated, as I missed a podium result. The positive point is that I had a good speed, Rubini and Goupillon are strong and helped us to be faster; it will help us for the next European rounds.”

Thibault Benistant: “After my elbow injury three months ago I was back racing earlier than expected; Ernée was my second race, two weeks after a round of the European Championship in Slovenia, where I got a fifth and an eleventh position. Ernée was not so bad for me; in the first race I chose the outside gate, as I did in the qualifying race but that was not a good choice. I got a bad start and came back seventh, then in the second race I had an average start and finished third. I’m pretty happy with my riding in this race, now I will go to Portugal for the last qualifying race of the European series; the goal is to qualify for the final round in Loket.”

Darian Sanayei double winner in France

Darian Sanayei scored an emphatic double victory for Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki in the French round of the FIM European MX250 Motocross Championship at St Jean D’Angely. For the team who lined up five riders, it was also a great opportunity to welcome partners and fans.

The young American, faced with the need to learn a new circuit at every round, qualified eighth and made a solid start to the opening moto in third position before quickly taking the lead on lap three and moving relentlessly away from his chasers for a nine second victory. Another good start in race two saw him initially second before taking the lead already on the opening lap for another convincing win, again nine seconds clear of his closest rival. The fifty point maximum score for his first ever series victory has seen Darian advance to second in the series standings.

Teammate Nicolas Dercourt also made his best result of the series so far when he took fourth overall from 4-6 moto finishes, missing the podium by just one point. The French youngster twice had to charge up the leaderboard from moderate starts; in the first moto he advanced from eighth to fourth and in the second race he converted an initial eighth into sixth place. Nicolas is now eighth in the series standings.

In the European 125 class Brian Moreau qualified with the second fastest lap of his group, while Kim Savaste had to go through the last chance race to qualify. Brian missed his start in the first heat and fight hard to pass many riders to finally get a seventh position, but he crashed at the start of the second race and had to come back from far last to fifteenth; tenth overall, he’s also tenth in the series. From the outside gate Kim had more troubles at the start, and had twice to come back from very far; he retired with a technical issue in the first race but then came back eighth in the second heat.

Sixteen and fourteen of the practice session, Xavier Boog rode the MXGP class and had to come back from eighteenth to fifteenth in the first race, he didn’t had time to improve his result in the second heat as he damaged one radiator in a crash with another rider after three laps.

Even if the World and European Championships have a break next weekend, the team will be in Ernée for the penultimate round of the French Series.

Darian Sanayei: “It was good. The track was really nice, just some stones, so my goal was to take some good starts so I wouldn’t get too much stones in my face. I was third at the start of the first race and I had some difficulties with my hand guard touching the clutch but with the track conditions that wasn’t such a problem; it just made me ride smoother. I nearly got the holeshot in the second moto. I was second and took the lead at the second or third corner; after that I just tried to ride my own race, to stay strong and make a gap to my rivals. I rode this track a few weeks ago and, even if the conditions were totally different, I think that helped me to get a good qualifying result. I’m used to discovering new tracks, but at least I knew the track layout here, and it will be similar in the UK as I raced there last year. It was awesome to hear the national anthem; it was my goal to win some races here in Europe this season.”

Nicolas Dercourt: “ It was a good weekend for me, as I got my best overall result of the year with a fourth position overall. I had the eleventh gate pick but missed a good start in the first race; I rode a good opening lap to move to eighth, and then found a good rhythm to advance to fourth at the finish. My second moto was pretty similar, as I moved forward from eighth to sixth and just missed the podium by one point.”

Brian Moreau: “I was expecting a lot from this GP, trained hard so of course I’m disappointed with the results. In the first heat I was around twentieth at the start and came back seventh, the track was really rough and slippery; then in the second heat Geerts took my front wheel on the starting line and I crashed. I was last and came back fifteenth, it’s a learning year for me!”

Kim Savaste: “On Saturday I can’t explain why I didn’t qualified in the series, and I was upset to go to the last chance race to qualify. I won it and get used to the track; in the first race my start from the outside was not so good but I came back from twenty first to eleventh when i bent my chain guide in a rut and my chain came off with four laps to go. Then in the second race I didn’t got a good start but my riding was better and I came back eighth.”

Xavier Boog: “I’m happy to finish this French GP on my foot, as I got injured in the last two editions and that was somewhere in my mind! I was expecting better results, but without a good start now it’s nearly impossible to enter the top twelve. In the second race I had a good rhythm but I crashed with another rider and damaged the bike, my race was finished. It was a good practice before the Elite round in Ernée, we are not used now to have a full weekend of racing as the French Motocross and Supercross races are a one day event.”

Top ten for Moreau, Dercourt et Sanayei in Spain

Coming soon…

Second place for Darian Sanayei in Trentino

Darian Sanayei raced his Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki to second place in the fourth round of the FIM European EMX250 Motocross Championship at Pietramurata in northern Italy. It’s the third podium in a row for the young American rider, third in the standings now.

Darian had found difficult conditions in qualification on a track made rutted and sticky by midweek rain but he used the power of his KX250F to immediately sweep into the leading group and maintain a top three placing throughout the first moto on Saturday evening. An even better start in the second race on Sunday morning saw Darian round turn one in second place before quickly taking the lead to maintain it for four laps before coming home second, thus earning second overall for the weekend. Darian is now third in the series standings after four of ten rounds.

Nicolas Dercourt advanced quickly during the first moto from thirteenth place to fourth before another rider hit him, hurting his leg, in an incident three laps from the finish but he bravely continued to finish thirteenth. Another collision at the third corner of race two on Sunday morning relegated Nicolas to the back of the field but he fought on to cross the line twelfth despite the pain from the leg he hurt the previous day. Nicolas is now tenth in the series standings.

The European 125 was also involved in Arco di Trento, and both Brian Moreau and Kim Savaste qualified well with a second place for Brian and fifth for Kim. Runner up in his group, Brian got twice a very good start and was fifth during most of the races; unfortunately the track was muddy on Saturday for the first race, and Brian did a mistake during the last laps and went down to fifteen.The 14 years old French kid will got his revenge on Sunday with a fifth position, his best result so far which gave him a ninth overall. Kim never got any good start and fight in the pack during both races; thirteenth in race one, he felt better on Sunday and came back from twenty one to twelfth, despite a crash at mid race.

No race for the team next weekend, everyone will be busy to prepare the next rounds of the series with four European rounds (Spain, France, UK and Italy) within the next four weeks, and a French Elite between France and UK!

Darian Sanayei: “Another podium! That’s good and I hope we can keep building and go one step up; I want to win! This weekend was pretty good, I got some valuable points for the championship and I’m now third in the series. In the training session it was pretty muddy. It had rained a lot and I didn’t get a very good lap; I even got stuck in the mud one time and was only twelfth in the timed practice period of my group, which gave me a twenty third gate, pick. Fortunately on this track you can get a good start from nearly everywhere at the gate and that’s exactly what I did with a third position in the first race. We changed the engine between the warm up and the second race, so a big thanks to my mechanic as he didn’t had so much time to do that! I was second at the start and took the lead after a few corners to stay in front for about ten minutes before Olsen passed me. It’s my best result of the year so far; it will be good to have one weekend off to come back even stronger in Spain.”

Nicolas Dercourt: “The track was mainly one line on Saturday with the mud, and I qualified in tenth as it was not really easy to have one clear lap. In the first race I came back from thirteenth to fourth, but in the last few laps another rider hit me and I crashed; I got my bike on my leg and it was painful, but I could finish thirteenth. On Sunday I got another decent start in the top ten, but in the third corner another rider crashed and I was stuck with him. I restarted nearly last and came back to twelfth; the track was better to ride but my leg was still painful so I did my best.”

Brian Moreau: “It was a pretty good weekend for me, I posted the second fastest lap time in my group and a podium result was possible if I didn’t made a mistake during the first race. I got good starts in both races, but during the first one on Saturday I crashed with two laps to go and lost my fifth place to finish fifteenth. Sunday was better, I was fifth at the start of the second race; I lost some places in a uphill but came back fifth, now the goal is to do two good races in a row.”

Kim Savaste: “I never felt confident this weekend, even is usually I like this track. My qualification was Ok with a fifth position in my group, but I never took any good start and then couldn’t come back as I would like. I just found my rhythm during the second heat, but it was too late even if my lap times were really good. Now I’m focus on Spain and France, it will be good to stay and work with the team between these two races as the goal is to reach soon a podium result.”

Another podium in Germany for Darian Sanayei

American Darian Sanayei claimed his second consecutive podium in the third round of the FIM European EMX250 Motocross Championship at Teutschenthal. The Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki rider got a third overall in Germany with a sixth and a second position, while Nicolas Dercourt got a top ten result.

Darian Sanayei discovered a new track in Germany, and had to learn it quickly to get this third overall and his second consecutive podium. The young American had finished second in his qualifying group, ahead of the series leader, despite suffering with a headache but a poor start in the first moto forced him to charge through the pack for an eventual sixth placed finish. With their practice session early in the morning and the first heat late in the evening, the European riders discovered a new track when they came behind the gate! The track was well renovated during the night, and on Sunday morning he led the second moto for six laps before surrendering the lead to Hunter Lawrence; Darian kept all other challengers at bay. The 6-2 moto results earnt Darian third overall for the weekend and he is now fourth in the championship standings.

Teammate Nicolas Dercourt got a ninth overall; he qualified with a fourth position in his group, and finished fifteenth of the first heat with some vision troubles as he got dust in his goggles. On Sunday he had a better feeling with the track and scored a seventh position, which gave him a ninth overall; he is now tenth in the standings with seven more races at the calendar.

Cédric Soubeyras entered his last Supercross event in Las Vegas, home of the final round of the series. Eight in the practice session, the Bud supported rider had then to qualify for the main event mixing both East and West Coast riders; ninth, he got a eighteenth position on the gate and came back fourteenth at the chequered flag. With three top ten results during the campaign, he finished the series in twelfth position.

Darian Sanayei: “Coming here I didn’t feel so good; I had a headache and I was not sure I would have enough energy. In the first moto I was pretty far back at the first corner and I wasn’t riding really good but I got a sixth place finish. I knew that today would be better; I got a holeshot, which was good, and I pushed during the first part of the moto; I was leading for six laps and then Hunter passed me but with a sixth and a second place I got another podium result. It’s great to get two podiums in a row; again I scored a sixth position in the first race so now I need to improve my first motos to achieve a better position on the podium.”

Nicolas Dercourt: “Not exactly what I was expecting, but the results are better than in Latvia. I qualified in fourth in my group, and was confident; at the start of the first race I was twelfth, but another rider sent a stone in my goggles and I had vision troubles, with mud and dust in the goggles, I finished fifteenth. The second start was similar, during the first laps I lost some positions but then passed enough riders to score a seventh position. There’s still some points I need to improve, but it’s coming better.”