Mathis Valin was in sovereign form as he clinched the French MX2 motocross title this weekend; the teenager had a perfect day in the final round of the series at the iconic Ernée track in the Loire region with pole position in the timed practice period and two moto wins. His victory is the fifteenth French title for Bud Racing Kawasaki, the fourth in the MX2 class after Valentin Teillet, Dylan Ferrandis and Maxime Desprey.

Headed to the final round as the virtual leader of the series courtesy of the points compensation with which he was credited as round four of the series had been on the same day as he was representing France at the European Championship in Portugal, Mathis didn’t need to win on the day at Ernée to clinch the title. But those who know Mathis were well aware that it was not his intention to simply secure sufficient points; he wanted to clinch the title with elan! Fastest in timed practice, he grabbed the holeshot and dominated the first race from start-to-finish; in the second moto he quickly passed Calvin Fonvieille to lead the remainder of the race to the chequered flag. With his second double-win of the series – after Romagne – and victory in six of the ten motos, Mathis is a true champion and can now focus on the second part of the European EMX250 Championship with the next round scheduled at the end of July in Lommel (Belgium).

After a seventh position in the timed practice period on his first visit to the track Bud Kawasaki teammate Benjamin Garib progressed throughout the weekend with seventh- and fourth-placed finishes in the two races. Fifth overall on the day, he also ended the season fifth in the series standings.

Mathis Valin: “It was a perfect day with the pole position and two moto wins; I had such a great feeling. I grabbed the holeshot in the first moto and, as my main rival Mathys (Boisrame) crashed, I could concentrate on managing the gap; then in the second race I took the lead during the first lap to win quite easily. It was a great weekend – French champion during my first season on a 250 – and now we must continue to work for the second part of the European Championship. But today I showed once again that I have good speed.”

Benjamin Garib: “Last round in Ernée this weekend, enjoying the track a lot! First moto had a good start but wasn’t riding so comfortable with the bike and track, we made some changes for the second moto which was better and started to feel more like myself. I had a good start again and finished 4th. Now back to supercross for Agen this weekend.”

Stéphane Dassé: « This weekend Mathis rode perfectly. He really dominated the weekend with the pole and then two moto wins; quite comfortably I would say. In the first race he took the holeshot and was two seconds a lap faster than Boisrame and nearly three faster than Guyon. It was a perfect day. I have rarely seen him riding with such confidence; it’s encouraging for the second part of the European championship. Benjamin also had a decent weekend; his first moto was a little difficult but he was much better in the second and overall we are happy how this weekend went for the entire team.”

Back at the French Elite Championship for the penultimate round of the season at Villars sous Ecot, Mathis Valin clinched another podium, his sixth one this year.

Home of the 2023 French MXGP Villars sous Ecot met the fifth of the six rounds of the series, and team Bud Racing Kawasaki was back racing after missing the previous round (Bitche) organized the same day as a the European Championship in Portugal.

Fastest rider in the timed practice period, Mathis got a great start in the first moto to take the lead during the opening lap, but he had during most of the race to deal with Mathys Boisrame who put pressure on him. It was a nice battle, but finally Mathis made a gap to win the race 20 seconds ahead of Mathys. The second race was even more intense as Mathis and Mathys changed their position to lead alternatively the race, and crossed the finish line with only four tenth of a seconds between them! Second of this race, tied in the points, Mathis was classified second overall to consolidate his position in the standings before the final race at Ernée. He will miss this race organized the same day as the EMX250 at Maggiora, but for Ernée and Bitche he will have points compensation.

Third of his group in the timed practice session, Benjamin Garib was in the top four during the first laps of race one, and finished sixth; his second start was not that good, but he score a seventh position and he is now fifth in the standings.

Points compensation: missing a round at Bitche and another at Ernée in three weeks, organised the same day as a EMX250, Mathis and Benjamin will got points compensation at the end of the series. For those two races, they will get for each race a credit of points which is the average number of points that they scored in the four rounds they attended (42 for Mathis and 35 for Benjamin)

Mathis Valin : “The day started really well with a very good lap time and a good speed. Then in the afternoon two very intensive races; in the first moto I start in the top three, I managed to overtake everyone and then during ten minutes we had a big fight with Mathys Boisrame and I won. Second moto I got the holeshot, then Boisrame passed me and we fight the whole moto ! I manage to pass him but unfortunately he overtakes me; I didn’t give up and I finished four tenths of a second behind him so rather happy and satisfied with the weekend!”

Benjamin Garib : “ A 6-7 this weekend, the track was good, many ruts and jumps! Weren’t the results I wanted but I’ll keep working and building for more! I want to thank my team for everything. »

Team Bud Racing Kawasaki enjoyed another great weekend in the French championship, with a double win for Mathis Valentin and a solid race for Benjamin Garib. The series is at mid-way and Valentin is the new leader while Benjamin consolidates his third position in the standings.

New track and new conditions for our riders! Mathis raced at Romagne in the past, but Benjamin discovered the sunny but cold layout due to heavy wind. During the timed practice sessions Mathis posted the fastest lap in the first group, while Benjamin just lost the pole of the other group in the last minute; however with a second position he did his best qualification so far.
Starting the first race in second position, Mathis only needed three laps to take the lead and go to another moto win while Benjamin came back from sixth to third. The second moto was similar for Mathis who took the lead after two laps, to get another moto win and of course the overall! Benjamin didn’t start so well this moto but came back to fifth, too far to expect a better result as the top four had made a break.

Thanks to this double win Mathis is the new leader of the MX2 Elite, while Benjamin is in third position. There is three more races at the calendar, but our riders will be able to do only one (Villars sous Ecot) as the two others (Bitche and Ernée) are scheduled the same day as a European round. But both riders keep all their chances, as they will get points credit (average points of all the races the attend) for those two rounds.

No race next weekend, we’ll be back on track on May 4/5 in Portugal for the third round of the 250 European Championship.

Mathis Valin: “Everything went well this weekend, I won both motos and got the red plate, a perfect weekend we’ll say! Romagne has always succeeded for me since I was a kid, last year I also got a double win. I feel comfortable in all conditions and on all types of terrain, we try to show that we are there everywhere like this weekend against good riders. The club worked hard, it’s a shame they redid everything before the rounds but we still had some big holes and some good ruts so it was good preparation for the rest of the season.”

Benjamin Garib: “The weekend was not what I wanted, but was not so bad. In the first moto I got a third position which was good, so close to second! In the second moto I didn’t get the best start and it was hard as I was alone during all the moto, the guys in front were ten seconds ahead. It was a boring moto, I need to get better at the start and we’ll continue to work before Portugal.”

It’s not so often that you can score a double podium and a win in a race, and this weekend team Bud Racing Kawasaki did it at Castelnau de Lévis during the second round of the French Elite Championship. With an overall win for Mathis Valin and a second position for Benjamin Garib, everyone was smiling on Sunday evening!

Since three weeks now the team enters a race every weekend, and after an Elite round in Normandy and the first European race in Spain it’s near Albi that our new structure was for the second round of the French Elite. Castelnau de Lévis is an atypic track, offering both “concrete” and “plasticine” sections where both riders felt comfortable in the practice session with a third position for Mathis and a fifth for Benjamin.
In the first moto Mathis grabbed the holeshot, and did the entire period in the lead to win seven seconds ahead of Benjamin who did a great comeback from seventh to second, posting the fastest lap time! The second moto was another good one for both Benjamin who finished third and Mathis who got a fourth and secure the overall win ahead of his team mate! Those performances are a great reward for Mathis who got again top results in his fourth race on a 250, and for Benjamin who got his first ever podium since he joined us in Europe after a tough Spanish weekend.

Next weekend no race at our program, and then the team will move to Italy for the second round of the European Championship on April 13-14.

Mathis Valin: « Another great day even it was pretty tough for me as this kind of track is not my favorite, but I won the first moto and the overall so what could be better? Good results keep coming, we worked hard with the team and I’m happy to offer them this win. We’ll continue to work as it would be great to continue this momentum.”

Benjamin Garib: “Happy with this podium, last weekend in Spain was not so good for me so to come back strongly on a podium is great and we’ll keep working. This weekend was very fun, I want to thanks my team Bud Racing, my family and my mechanics. This track was similar to some tracks in Chili, and I felt pretty comfortable all day long.”

As Lacapelle Marival was cancelled two weeks ago, team Bud Racing Kawasaki was doing its first race of the season at Basly, first round of the French Elite Championship.

After weeks of training and preparation, Basly was finally the first event of the year for the team and the first race this season for Benjamin Garib and Mathis Valin. Track conditions were muddy on Sunday morning due to the rain, but Mathis had a good feeling with the track as he posted the second fastest lap of his group while Benjamin finished tenth. As the rain stopped the track conditions were better for the first moto, even if it was a muddy one; Benjamin got a top ten finish with and eighth position, while Mathis couldn’t do better than twelfth. Both rebounded in the second moto; Mathis got the holeshot and led the race during six laps to finish runner up, while Benjamin came back from seventh to third of the moto, and was classified fifth overall one position ahead of Mathis.

This weekend the team will be at Madrid for the first round of the 250 Motocross European Championship.

Mathis Valin: “Different conditions in both races, some little problems in the first one where my riding was not so good, and then in the second one I was leading several laps to finish second! Track conditions were rough, thanks to the club for what they do on the track and after this first pre season race I feel ready for the opening round of the European 250 next weekend.”

Benjamin Garib: “It was ok, not my favourite conditions this morning with the mud but the track came better for the second moto. The track was a lot dryer and I felt more comfortable and got a third in the second moto. Just happy, we keep pushing and building for the next couple of races”