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.”

Last week at Magescq he could have an advantage as he knew pretty well the Bud Racing Training Camp, but at Hossegor it was different as he never put the wheels of his Kawasaki on the beach before this weekend. But that was not a problem, and Quentin won his second consecutive Beach Sand race.

As the Motocross championships ends a few weeks ago, Quentin and team 9MM Bud Racing Kawasaki have been involved in two rounds of the French Sand series. Racing against some rivals who are sand riders since they start riding a motorcycle, Quentin show a good potential last week at Magescq and again at Hossegor this weekend. His start was better than last week, and he didn’t wait too long to take the leadership of the one hour and a half race; riding among the lappers is always a challenge, and even if he crashes after one hour of racing Quentin won this race to remain unbeaten on the French sand.

Next Saturday Quentin will be at Paris Supercross to defend also the colors of Team 9MM Energy Drink Bud Racing Kawasaki.

Quentin: “It was a good day, everything was OK. My start was better than in Magescq, and it didn’t take too long to get the lead. I had a small crash after the first hour, but no consequences; I had to be careful with the lappers until the end, but it was OK. I’m not totally happy with my riding, but the result was good and now we start training in Supercross for next weekend!”

A few weeks after organizing ONE round of the French Elite Championship, the Bud Racing Training Camp met the third round of the French Sand series. On a familiar track for him, Quentin Prugnières placed his 250 Kawasaki Bud Racing on the first step of the podium in the Juniors class.

More than 600 riders were involved in the event, and among the sixty-three participants in the Junior class we had the three Bud Racing riders, all racing on 250 KXF. During the first laps of the 90 minutes’ race, and for his first race in this class, Sacha Coenen back racing after his wrist injury was one of the main animator as he battled with Simon Depoers for the leadership; missing experience on the 250, he damaged the clutch and was forced to retire in the seventh lap. It was then another Bud rider who fight for the win, and after a bad start Quentin Prugnières gained positions to take the lead and cross the finish line twenty-five seconds ahead of his main rival. Third Bud rider involved in this race, Lucas Coenen did a consistent race to finish his first race on a 250 in fourth position.

The season is not finished; the team will be next weekend in Hossegor for another round of the Sand series, and one week later in Paris for the main European Supercross.

Quentin Prugnières: “It’s a little strange to race during one hour and a half but it was fun, I really enjoyed. My start was not so good as I hit the wheel of another rider at the start, but I stay quiet and I could make the difference in the last part of the race, when the track was coming rougher. This year I wasn’t able to do what I was expecting for my first season on a 250, and it’s nice to win here; two more races and I will make a break and then prepare 2022.”