The penultimate round of the French Elite Motocross championship was a great one for team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki, who dominates both classes. Winner of the MX2 classification Dylan Ferrandis is strongly leading the ‘Internationaux de France’ while Greg Aranda claimed his first double win this season in the MX1 class.

Nobody was able to ride with the Bud riders this weekend, as Dylan and Greg didn’t let anything to their rivals. Best lap time during the practice session, holeshot and all the heat wins were for Greg and Dylan in Saint Jean d’Angely!

Fastest rider in the timed practice period, Dylan Ferrandis had a quiet MX2 race. He grabbed the holeshot and then controls Benoit Paturel, taking even more advantage when they joined the lapped riders to win the heat twenty seconds ahead his rival. Very confident before the super final he had some strong moves after the start to come in fourth place; he passed Paturel for third, and then reduced the gap with Fabien Izoird on a 450. He passed him after mid race to finish runner up behind Aranda and best MX2 rider.

Back to his best form and pole position in the MX1 class, Gregory Aranda had dreaming starts in both races, MX1 heat and super final. Leading the race in the first corner Greg posted some fast laps to secure his leadership; in the MX1 race Soubeyras who was second crashed, so Greg could save some energy for the super final; once more leader in the first corner he had no opposition in this race and scored his first double win this season. A great reward after his injuries earlier this season, and an encouraging performance for the coming Euro Supercross season.

Dylan Ferrandis: “My goal this weekend was to get a top 3 and score as many points as possible and after my MX2 win I had a great super final. I was next to Aranda on the grid and I came fourth in the first corner, but there was some confusion in the first uphill and I lost some positions. I came back second behind Greg, that’s a great result on the track against the 450. I keep the red plate and now the goal is to have it after the last round in three weeks, in Gaillac. It’s great for the mental to score such good results after my disappointment in second moto in Portugal, it’s a boost for the World Championship and I hope that we’ll have good racing conditions in Brazil next week-end.”

Gregory Aranda: “ It’s a perfect day for me with the pole position, two holeshot and two heat wins. I think that I’m back to the level I had last year, and I will continue to train and work to get even more. I didn’t took any risks today, for sure when you get two holeshot it’s easier; in the first race I had some arms pumped, and in the second one I didn’t want to crash as I wanted to win both heats. It’s great to win after such a difficult period; I didn’t know what to expect after the last injury, and I had to work hard to be back; two weeks after my injury I had only one goal, to be back on my bike and I want to thanks team Rockstar Bud Kawasaki and my mechanic for their support.”

Coming back racing only two weeks after his big crash in Romagné, Valentin Teillet had a successful day in Lacapelle Marival as he won the MX2 heat of the third round of the French Elite championship. It was a good day for team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki, as Valentin finished second of the event classification, behind his teammate Dylan Ferrandis who won the MX2 classification after the super final, and is the new leader of the series.

On a sunny and natural track that the riders always appreciate, the team placed finally it’s two riders on the highest positions of the MX2 podium with a strong result. Coming back after a two weeks break, Valentin Teillet proved in the timed practice period that he didn’t lost his speed as he got the second position behind Dylan. Fourth at the start of the MX2 heat, he came back second and then joined the leader, passing him on the tenth lap; he then pulled away to secure a fifteen seconds lead, and despite some pain in his left shoulder he won the race with Dylan in second position. Dylan was second at the start behind Paturel, but then he did a big mistake and lost a couple of seconds; third at this moment, he will be back in second to offer a strong 1 and 2 positions to the team. Best MX2 rider at the start of the super finale mixing MX2 and MX1 riders, Dylan did a strong race against the 450 to lead the MX2 riders with a good fifth position overall. Fourteenth at the start, Valentin kept strong and came back in tenth position to finish second MX2 rider in this race and second overall today. He is still in fourth position in the standings but came back closer to the podium and is now 18 points behind Dylan. The team will now move to Italy and Bulgaria for the next two rounds of the GP series, and will be back at the French Elite in Villars sous Ecot on April 28^th.

Dylan Ferrandis: “It’s great to be back on the winning step of the rostrum, and more important to race without pain in my broken finger; I have less pain and can focus on my riding now. I was with the leader of the MX2 race when I did a mistake and went back to third position, but finally I scored a strong second position. We had a nice track this weekend, with not so many fast sections so the 250 were more competitive against the 450 in the super final. I had a good start, fighting with Clement Desalle until the first corner, and I was seventh in the second turn. I came back fifth, after a nice fight with Gregory Aranda who was back racing; it was cool and then good to get the red plate as new leader of the series. “

Valentin Teillet: “Of course I was pleased to win the MX2 race, as on Monday after Romagné I didn’t know when I would be back and what I could expect. To be there in Lacapelle was already a reward for me, and I had a great feeling when I won the heat, even if my shoulder was painful; I had a fifteen seconds lead on the finish line, that was perfect! In the Super final I had to be strong to come back in tenth position but this French Elite series is important for me and for the team; it was necessary to score many points. I would like to give some details about my crash in Romagné, as some people say that I was over my limits. That’s false; it was late, the light was not so good and I just didn’t saw a big stone on the track before this big jump. I was lucky not to be seriously injured, we all know when we go behind the starting gate that there are some risks in this sport.”

Team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki was on two French tracks this weekend, in Brittany with Valentin Teillet and Dylan Ferrandis for the opening round of the French Elite MX series with a big crowd but also in south of France with Livia Lancelot for the Women series. Livia and Valentin both got heat wins, while Dylan secures a podium result.

Race day was nearly perfect for the team in Romagné, and with five minutes to go in the Super Final the overall result was great with both riders in first and third positions in the series. After his pole position in the timed practice period – two seconds faster than his closest rival – and a strong win in the MX2 race, Valentin Teillet was fighting for a podium result in this combined MX1-MX2 race. Third overall since mid-race, he was fighting for second with Sébastien Pourcel and the local crowd was cheering his hero, running from one track fence to another one! But everyone came silent when Valentin crashed hard on a jump….. During too long minutes no informations came from the Red Cross, but finally we got reassuring news from Valentin who has no fractures and could defend his fourth place in the series in two weeks time at Lacapelle Marival.

Hopefully for Dylan Ferrandis the end of his weekend was much better than the beginning, as he quits Brittany second in the standings just one point behind the leader. Not sure that Dylan was expecting such result after his big crash in the first practice session! With an injured auricular Dylan wasn’t able to hold normally his handle bar, and had pain when he started the timed practice period; just able to do one fast lap, he posted the best time of his group! He nearly grabbed the holeshot in the MX2 race, and scored a fourth position; he had another good start in the super final and finished seventh overall, winning his class after the crash of his teammate.

Missing two weeks ago the opening round of the French Women series, as she was racing the MX2 Grand Prix of Thailand, Livia Lancelot was back in ‘her garden’ for the second round of the national series. And she was back to usual on the muddy track of Salindres, as she posted the fastest lap time in the practice session, grabbed three holeshot and then won the three heats. She is back in sixth in the series, and will continue the series next weekend in Quinsaines, forced to miss the GP of the Netherlands.

Dylan Ferrandis: We did some testing sessions with the team before this race and it was successful, we made some improvement with the suspensions and here I had a very good feeling with my bike. I had a big crash in the first practice session, and damaged the auricular of my left hand, which was painful. I was just able to do one fast lap in qualifications, and I posted the fastest lap of my group. I had a great start in the MX2 race, and I was fighting for the podium when I got a stone in the holeshot kit of my front fork; I had to stop and remove the stone, and I finished fourth. My start in the super final was again good, but racing against the 450 is very tough; I passed Richier in the last laps to finish seventh after the crash of my teammate, and I won the MX2 class. I wish a good recovery to Valentin!”

Livia Lancelot: “The conditions were apocalyptic in Salindres, and when the rain stopped at midday it was even worst for us as the mud was sticky. Due to the French regulation I entered last on the track for the timed practice session as I missed the first race, but I was able to post the fastest lap six seconds ahead of my rivals. Then it’s pretty easy to say, I grabbed three holeshot and got three wins despite a Small crash in race one. I start to regain positions in the series, I’m now in sixth position before the next race, this weekend in Quinsaines (north of France) »