Mixed feelings in Italy

Penultimate round of the 2012 FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Europe will not stay as one of the best memories for team Rockstar energy Bud Racing Kawasaki, even if promising Benoit Paturel scored a brilliant second position in the European MX2 class. The team members couldn’t celebrate this podium as usual, as on Saturday during the qualifying session Dylan Ferrandis broke his leg.

Dylan Ferrandis suffered a most unfortunate crash during the qualification race and will now miss the last GP of the season in two weeks. The best 2012 GP rookie broke a femur and was put in plaster at the local hospital so that he could return to Lyon hospital in France where he has been operated with success on sunday evening.

Teammate Valentin Teillet had two strong races to tenth and sixth place to finish the GP seventh overall; Valentin struggled in the first heat with the track which had been too much watered in the night, but recovered and was able to put fast laps after mid race despite the discomfort of a twisted ankle which cost him several positions. His second race was much better even if he started mid-pack, as he came back from eleventh to sixth while passing strong riders like Tonus, Nichols…

The team also played a prominent role in the final round of the European MX2 championship as satellite rider Benoit Paturel record a podium finish. Second and third of the races he finished second overall, only one point behind the new champion Mel Pocock.

Valentin Teillet: “It’s good mentally to get some good results, and I’m happy with the second moto. In the first race my start was pretty bad and later I twisted my ankle; I had quite a lot of pain but I still managed to get a tenth position. Between the two motos I worked with Jacky Vimond on the lines, and we strapped up my ankle; I was about tenth at the start, but I had a better feeling with the track and set some good lap times to move forward to sixth. Of course the thoughts of the entire team were with Dylan today, it’s always tough to have a bad injury and let’s hope that he will come back next year even stronger.”

Benoit Paturel: “My start in the first moto was not so good, but I recovered to second, very close to Lacan, and it was a great boost as I had missed several rounds of the series due to injury. The start in the second race was similar but again I came back through the field to third and that earn the second place overall. That’s a great reward for the team Bud racing who is behind me, but also for my trainer who helped me to be stronger this season; we’ve worked hard to reach another level, and now the goal is to find a team to compete again in the European series next season.”

Jacky Vimond: “It’s a difficult weekend for the team as we all saw from the pit lane the bad crash of Dylan who broke his leg. It’s a bad news for all of us and first of all for him, who will be out for few months now. Concerning the races, it was pretty good, Benoit Paturel did two very good races and confirmed that he’s now one of the strongest riders in the European MX2 series. Valentin struggled in the first race, but we worked together between the races to find some solutions and it was great to see him fighting in the second heat for a top six result.”

Team Rockstar energy Bud Racing Kawasaki entered a GP in the Netherlands for the second time this season, and it was a tough experience as Lierop is one of the most demanding venue in the calendar. Both riders scored points this weekend and consolidate their positions in the World Championship before the last two rounds in Italy and Germany.

Young Dylan Ferrandis had made a lightening start in the first moto to hold down third place for some laps fighting in front of top guys like Searle, Osborne… in the difficult conditions until he suffered a heavy crash in which the bike landed on his back. His start in race two was not quite as good but the teenage rookie held down sixth place early on and, despite pain from the first race incident, battled hard for tenth at the chequered flag to retain his eighth place in the series rankings.

Teammate Valentin Teillet rode a decisive opening moto in the deep sandy conditions, which are alien to young French riders, to fight his way forward to ninth place before surrendering two places late in the race to local experts. After a less satisfactory start in race two he found himself in sixteenth place, but never gave up battling to gain two places before the end of the moto in the difficult conditions.

The team will now travel to Faenza (Italy) for the fifteenth round of the series, scheduled next weekend.

Dylan Ferrandis: “It was my first experience here in Lierop, and it was even harder than I expected. My first start was good and I was happy to be third for the first few laps, but then I made a mistake and dropped back to sixth. I still had a good rhythm but then I had a big crash and the bike landed on my back. I lost a lot of time so there was no point to continue to the end of the race. I had pain in my back during the second race, but I managed to finish tenth which is not so bad for a first experience here.”

Valentin Teillet: “I didn’t have a good feeling with the track, and didn’t feel confident this weekend; my goal was to score top fifteen results here, and that’s what I did even if my second start was really bad. For sure I will have higher goals for the next two races, but for me it was important to finish both races here.”

Jacky Vimond: “We knew that this race would be difficult, even if we worked in Belgium to prepare this specific GP. Apart the crash of Dylan in the first heat we reached our goal, which was a top ten for Dylan and top fifteen for Valentin. Valentin was not riding as good as in training, and for sure he will be stronger in Italy next weekend; for Dylan it was a first experience here and he learned a lot, it’s important for next season.”

Livia Lancelot won the British GP, David Herbreteau vice-European Champion

It was a busy weekend for team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki, involved in four classes at Matterley Basin during the ‘MX Festival’ organised on the British track during the thirteenth round of the World Championship. And it was a successful event for the team, who celebrated another GP win with Livia Lancelot in the Women World Championship, a second position in the European 85cc Championship with David Herbreteau a top eight result for Dylan Ferrandis and Valentin Teillet in the traditional MX2 Grand Prix and a sixth position in the European MX2 with support rider Benoit Paturel.

Ten different classes, four racing days, and a huge sportive success for this event who was the biggest ever organised in Europe with the 65, 85, 125 and 250 European series alongside all the World classes, including women and veterans! Winner of the French GP three months ago, Livia Lancelot was back in the series and won her second consecutive GP with a second and a first position. In the Euro 85cc class, David Herbreteau did two strong races, bud a bad start in race one and a crash in race two when he was passing in second position put him second overall behind young Dutchman Davy Pootjes. In the European 250 Benoit Paturel was back racing after a practice injury (fingers broken at one hand); twelfth of the first race after a crash at mid race when he was eight, Benoit rode stronger in race two and scored a sixth position to finish six overall.

In the MX2 class Dylan Ferrandis nearly grabbed the holeshot in race one; fourth during most of the race he just lost three ranks in the last ten minutes when Nicholls, Van Horebeek and Tonus passed him. His second start was not as good, but Dylan rode strong to collect another seventh position; he advanced to eighth place in the series standings, just a few points from seventh position. Valentin Teillet had a bad gate on the grid, after a crash in the qualifying session, but he got twice a pretty decent start from the outside gate; in both races he chased his teammate to secure two eighth positions which put him in fourteenth place in the standings despite missing five GP’s this season. The team will now move in Belgium to prepare the European GP in Lierop, scheduled in two weeks time.

Dylan Ferrandis: “The track was very good – we never had such a nice one this season so I enjoyed racing here. My first start was great and I was fourth for most of the race, but in the last few laps I was passed by three rivals and that was a little bit disappointing. I battled with Tonus and Tixier all through the second race to score another seventh position. It’s my best GP since Sweden, and now I will go training with the team in the sand to prepare for Lierop.”

Valentin Teillet: “On Saturday I had a good feeling with the track and was always in the top five of the training sessions, but I crashed on the third lap of the qualification race so I didn’t have a good gate pick for the GP. I got a good start in the first race and finished eighth, but I got pushed out at the first corner in race two and I had to fight hard for another eighth position. I didn’t make any mistake today and that’s positive, particularly as the track was rougher than on Saturday.”

Twelfth round of the 2012 Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Czech Republic confirmed the come back of Valentin Teillet, who scored an overall sixth position for his second race since his injury, aboard his Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki. Eleventh of the GP, Dylan Ferrandis remains ninth in the standings with four more GP’s to go.

Regular venue for the series since ten years, Loket has always been a special track that riders like or hate! The grip is always strange on this slippery and narrow layout.

Valentin Teillet, who spent a couple of days practicing with the team in Belgium after Russia, showed great speed all weekend. After setting second fastest time in Pre-Qualifying the Frenchman earns fifth choice of gate in the Qualifying race and looked set to improve on this position. He was chasing fourth in race one, but had a freak incident as the gearshift was bent in a deep rut and prevented him from changing gear as he approached the next jump, the resultant crash losing him several places. In race two the dynamic rider held a strong fourth place for most of the distance, but his recent lay-off through injury told physically in the closing minutes and he was forced to surrender three places.

Teenage teammate Dylan Ferrandis continues the learning curve of a rookie season in which he is confronted by many new types of track. Even established veterans of the series admit that they find it difficult to adapt to the unusual Czech track so it was no disgrace for first-timer Dylan to find it difficult to adapt to track conditions. Despite an unfortunate incident on the opening lap of race one, when he was brought down by another rider, he never gave up all day and was rewarded with an eleventh place in the GP which consolidated his ninth place in the series.

Valentin Teillet: “I’m a bit frustrated with sixth place in this GP even though it is a mental boost after my injuries this summer. I went training with Jacky and Dylan in Belgium after we got back from Russia and came here confident about my speed. In fact I did have good speed this weekend, but no luck. I was fifth, close to fourth, halfway through the first race but then I damaged my gearshift in a deep rut and selected a neutral just before a jump. That cost me three positions. My second start was nearly perfect and I was fourth for most of the race, but I felt tired during the last ten minutes and lost several places. I feel stronger each week but I missed three GPs with my injury and am still not back to 100% fitness.”

Dylan Ferrandis: “My first start was not very good and then in a corner I crashed onto another rider’s bike; the engine stalled and the bike suffered some damage but I was able to come back to fourteenth by the finish. I was tenth after the second start, but I didn’t felt comfortable on this track and I could only manage to move forward to eighth; it’s a learning year for me, and when we race tracks which are strange to me I have concentrate on scoring as many points as possible.”