Team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki was in Normandy this weekend, for the final round of the French Elite Championship. No goals in this championship this season for the team as four rounds were organised the same day as a European Championship, but another good opportunity for our riders to perform, with a second position for Quentin and a fifth for Eddie.

After some showers in the morning the track at Basly was in perfect conditions for the races, and many spectators came to watch this final round. Fastest rider in the timed practice period Quentin Prugnières was twice in contention for the win, as he got two good starts and battle with GP riders to score in both races a second position. Third of the event, he confirms his progress since a few races and so did also Eddie Wade. Fourth of this qualifying group, Eddie did both motos in the top five, just losing time in the first race with a crash; fifth in both motos and fifth overall, he will now make a little break as the next European round is scheduled on July 23-24 at Lommel.

Quentin Marc Prugnières: “Another positive weekend, and it was a good training for the European championship as in both races there was a good pace with the other riders fighting for the podium. I had a good start in the second moto, it was a good day and now I’m focus on the sand to prepare the next round of the European championship in Lommel.”

Eddie Jay Wade: “It took me some time to get going in qualifying and then some traffic at the end of the session but I was happy to finish fourth. First moto I came third very quick after an average start, then had a small crash but took some time to get going and then came back to fifth very happy with my riding. Second moto a very good start in second but at the start of the race I was tense and some guys passed me but then at the end I was back in fifth. Now I need to get the first part of the moto together and then the podium is there.”

After the muddy round at Gueugnon, team 9MM Energy Drink Bud Racing Kawasaki was happy to find good weather at Castelnau de Levis in Southern France. It was a good round for our riders who perform well; Quentin end the day tight in the points for a podium spot, while Eddie did his best race since he joins the team.

Castelnau de Levis is a real Southern French track, and if it was not a novelty for Quentin it was another story for Eddie who discovered this typical layout. Third rider in the timed practice period, Quentin got twice a good start and nearly missed the holeshot in the second moto; with two good starts he battles twice for podium results. He got it in the first race with a third, and finishes fourth in the second one to end the event tight in the points for the third position overall; he was classified fourth, as his rival had a better result in race two (3/4 for Quentin and 4/3 for Teillet). Tenth in the practice session, Eddie had a poor start in the first moto but did a good race to come back tenth; in the top eight at the second start he did another strong race on this hard ground to finish sixth, his best result so far this season.

Next race for the team is the European Championship at Maggiora (Italy) in two weeks’ time.

Quentin Prugnières: “Of course disappointed to end so close to the podium. Among the positive points I nearly got the holeshot in the second moto, but we must continue to work as my riding could have been better after this great start.”

Eddie Wade: “A good day! First race I didn’t get a good start, rode very well to come back tenth. Second race a very good start behind my team mate, I just lost two positions but there’s a lot of positive to take from this weekend. This morning it was hard to get used to this track, as the grip was different from one section to another.”

Between two rounds of the 250 European Championship, Team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki moves to Gueugnon to enter the second round of the French Elite championship. On the virtual podium of the MX2 class, Quentin Prugnières was penalized after a moto and finish at the bottom of this podium.

Gueugnon 2022 will remain in many memories for several reasons. The first one is of course linked to the weather, as incessant rain on Sunday afternoon destroyed the track and forced the riders to race in tough conditions. Recovering perfectly from thirteenth to fourth in the opening race, and then doing another strong come back from eighth to fourth, Quentin was the third man on track behind two GP riders, Tom Vialle and Stephen Rubini. This was on the track, but out of the track Quentin was penalised as his bike was over the noise limit after the race; despite the fact that it was raining – and everyone knows that rain affect the level of the sound – the technical staff gave him a penalty of five positions. Stephane Dasse’s arguments will be rejected by the jury, without even discussing about the process and the methods used to perform these measurements.

Still recovering from his injury due to the crash at the second start at Mantova one week ago, Eddie Wade was not in Gueugnon as the main goal is to see him fit at the next round of the European Championship in Portugal on April 2-3.

Quentin Prugnières: “Some positive points this weekend, but we also see some points that I will have to improve! In both races I did a strong comeback, even if at the start of the second race we touched each others with Tom Vialle. I made some good moves, then it took me some time to find my rhythm but I came back third which is positive. We will work on my start, to do even better in the next races.”