After some tough races for him, Pierre Goupillon was back on the podium this weekend during the fourth round of the French Elite Championship in Pernes les Fontaine. It was a good weekend for team Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki, as Brian Moreau ended this round in fifth position to take the third position in the series.

After two difficult European rounds, Pierre Goupillon was back in the Elite championship after missing the previous round due to his knee injury. It was a strong comeback for Pierre who finished second overall, tight in the points with the race winner. Fourth in the timed practice period 1.4 second behind his team mate who was the fastest rider, Pierre got two good starts and did two strong races; he took his time to overtake rivals, didn’t do any mistake on a slippery track and came back second and third of the races to score his best performance of the season in the series! A great comeback for him! Fastest rider in the practice session, Brian Moreau had a very bad start in the first heat; only thirty at the beginning of the race, he came back sixth and did better in the second heat with a fourth position. He is now third in the standings at mid season – there is three more races to come – while Pierre is now back in the top ten.

Pierre Goupillon: “I’m very pleased with my weekend, as I did two strong races; twice I was in the top five at the start, then I keep a good rhythm and didn’t do any mistake while some rivals crashed. It’s great to finally be back at my best level, as I was earlier this season; once more hard work always pays, and I hope to be as successful in the European championship in UK next weekend.”

Brian Moreau: “Overall it was a good weekend, with a pole position to start this round. It rained before our race so the starting line was wet, and I slide when the gate drop to come only thirtieth in the first corners; I was pushing to come back and had a small crash, but scored a sixth position. I was in the top ten at the start of the second race, had a good feeling with the track and came back fourth.”

The second round of the French Elite championship took place this weekend in Romagne, and for this traditional round of the series in Brittany the weather was pretty unusual with high temperatures.

Both second of their group in the timed practice sessions, Pierre Goupillon and Brian Moreau had a good speed and on his home soil Pierre got a great start in the first race as he came second after a few laps. He lost one position to Rubini, but later passed Vialle to finish second of this race. For Brian Moreau this race was more difficult, as he crashed four times and finally retire! His second heat was much better as he got a great start, and took the lead during the second lap; he will lead the pack during ten laps, but finally Rubini won the race ahead of Brian. For Pierre it was a very short race as another rider lost control of his bike after the start and hit him; five riders were on the ground, and with a damaged bike Pierre couldn’t finish this race.

Team Monster Bud Kawasaki will now move to Russia, for the second round of the EMX250 organised on May 1st.

Brian Moreau: “The weekend was pretty good, with a good feeling during the practice session where I posted the second fastest lap time. In the first heat I had a good start in the top five, but some other riders passed me and I was so tense that I crashed four times during the race. I never rode so bad! Hopefully the second race was much better, I was fourth at the start and passed third, second and then first. I made a small gap and stay ten laps in first position, but Rubini passed me and I finished second, happy to react like that between the races.”

Pierre Goupillon: “Overall it was a good weekend, just a shame that at the second start another rider hit me and put five or six riders on the ground. I had to retire as the bike was damaged, hopefully I was not injured. I had a good speed all weekend long, and I’m happy with my riding in the first moto.”

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.”