The Coenen brothers dominate the French Junior at Elite championship

The French Elite Championship was back in action this weekend at Rauville la Place, where Sacha and Lucas Coenen were racing the 125cc junior class, once more the fastest riders as they finish first and second for team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki.

Coming to Normandy leading the series after their performance at Ernée, Lucas and Sacha Coenen dominate once more their rivals; they won all the motos so far, and share the wins again!
Fastest rider in his qualifying group, Sacha didn’t got the holeshot in the first moto but after a few corners he was leading and no one was able to put some pressure on him. He was the fastest on track and won the race twenty-two seconds ahead of his closest rival! Again leader of the second moto, Sacha made a mistake just before a jump and offers the leadership to Lucas, who had a tough opening moto as he had to come back from a bad start in third position. With this second win this season Lucas finish second overall, losing the red plate for two points; Sacha will have the red plate next weekend at Castelnau de Levis for round #3 of the series.

Haakon Fredriksen and Quentin Prugnières didn’t had such a good weekend as their young teammates, in the Dutch sands at Oss for the second round of the EMX250 championship. Qualified in third (Haakon) and seventh (Quentin) position of their group, both riders were unfortunate at the start of the first race as they were involved in a collective crash. Losing so much time to restart they came back twelfth (Haakon) and twenty-one (Quentin), expecting a better result in race two. It was a short one for Quentin who was forced to retire after one lap; outside the top ten at the start Haakon came back strongly in fith position and was chasing some rivals when he crashed pretty hard in the waves section. No injury, but enough pain to retire as the bike hit him on the ground.

Sacha: “I had a good weekend in Rauville, since the first practice session I had a good feeling with the bike and the track, which was well prepared. I was the fastest rider in my qualifying group, then at the first start I wheelie and was only third in the first corner, but then took the lead in the third one. I had fun during the entire race, with a good rhythm. In the second heat I had a better start in second position, came first in the second corner and made a little gap with my brother; then I did a few mistakes and crashed, and managed to do my best among the lappers. One win and one second position, it was a good weekend.”

Lucas: “As I couldn’t train as usual due to my wrist injury contracted in UK, I rode tight in the practice sessions and couldn’t find a clear lap to do better than fifth of my group in the timed practice period. My first start was average, mid pack, and I struggle with pain in my arms so I could come back only third behind Cazal. My second start was much better as I was second after a few corners; I had a good feeling, stay a few seconds behind Sacha, and when he crashes I got the lead and won the race. It was a good day for us and for the team.”

OPENING ROUNDS OF THE FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIPS DOUBLE SUCCES FOR THE BUD RIDERS

After many weeks of training and a couple of races in Spain earlier this year, the MX season finally start for team 9MM Energy Drink Bud Racing Kawasaki who won two rounds of the French Championship, in Ernée (Juniors class) and Plomion (Women series).

More than 300 riders were in Ernée for the first round of the French Elite, and the sun was there so racing conditions were perfect on such a nice track. The team was involved in the Junior and MX2 classes, and it’s in the Junior class that they celebrate wins as the Coenen brothers dominate both races. Winning both one race and scoring a second position in the other one, Sacha and Lucas were tight in the points but as he won the second moto it’s Lucas who got the red plate as leader of the series. Lucas had a tough opening moto, coming back from sixteenth to second but crossing the finish line more than 40 seconds behind Sacha who dominates the race. In the second heat Lucas had a great start and won ahead of Sacha, with the third rider forty seconds behind the winner

For Quentin Prugnières this race was the first one in the MX2 class against many GP riders, who come there to prepare the Russian GP. Eighth in his qualifying group, Quentin confirmed his ability on the 250 during the first race, with a eighth position. The second moto was different as he hit another rider who crashed in front of him; nearly last when he was back in the race, Quentin came back seventeenth. If we consider only the riders who do the French series, he ends his first Elite race fourth overall.
Quentin, Lucas et Sacha will be on June 26th in Great Britain for the opening round of the European Championships.

Amandine Verstappen was not in Ernée, but she was in Plomion for the first race of the Women championship. It was a perfect day for her, as she was the fastest in the timed practice period, got both holeshot and won both races! The holeshot was important to avoid stones, and with this double win Amandine will be the woman to beat once again next weekend in Huismes for the second round of the series.

BUD Racing Kawasaki is very proud to announce his 2021 race Team ! 4 titles 2020 champions in the Team !

Young but very strong riders with multi 2020 champions to join Team BUD Racing Kawasaki for 2021 International & French championships !

The riders age will be very young for the 2021 race team but all are very strong and with high goals for the future. All the riders have signed multi year agreement with the Team to prepare the future for Kawasaki.

Norwegian sensation Haakon FREDRIKSEN who just turned 18 last week, 2020 Norwegian champion and 3rd at European EMX250 championship is confirmed to be the Team leader to contest the EMX250 class aboard the all New very performant KX 250 2021.

French 2020 Junior 125 champion & 2019 French 85cc champion Quentin PRUGNIERES (15 years old) will continue with the Team but will step to the 250 class to compete the European EMX250 championship and learn for his 1st year in this very competitive class.

Amandine VERSTAPPEN French 2020 Women champion will also continue with the Team in 2021 to keep his title but also to race the entire World women WMX championship with goal to reach the podium.

In 2021, Team BUD Racing Kawasaki will increase his line up by creating a supported “BUD Racing Junior Team” and the very talented twins coming from Belgium Sacha & Lucas COENEN (not yet 14 years old !) will join the team for a multi years agreement, they will compete the 2021 European EMX125 championship… Sacha literally dominated the French 85cc championship in 2020 and clinched the title showing amazing speed !

The TEAM will not only race the EMX championships but the riders will also compete French Motocross/supercross championships in their respective class as well as the Beach Races / Sand championship when the championship will finally start this winter. To finish, the Team also plan to travel to USA and join BUD Racing USA workshop / structure to compete some of the American Supercross & Motocross highest level races with the kids.

The Team will continue with Thierry Van Den Bosch to be the Team’s coach and to take care of the whole rider’s training and program. Thierry is multi time Supermoto champion and very experienced multi winner coach at MXDN with French team the last few years. Riders & coach will spend lot of time at the sandy “BUD racing Training camp” to prepare the season but will also travel to USA & Spain to complete the preparation.

Amandine Verstappen French champion, Lorenzo Locurcio moto runner-up in Spain

And one more! This weekend Amandine Verstappen offers another French title to team BUD Racing Kawasaki, while Lorenzo Locurcio got a second-placed moto finish in the eighth round of the FIM European EMX250 Motocross Championship, where he scores more points than ever this season. In the 125 class Quentin Prugnières also claimed at the intu-Xanadu entertainment complex near Madrid his best result of the season with a fifth position overall.

After a double win in Fublaines a few weeks ago, Amandine was again dominant in Ecublé as she won both motos to stay undefeated this year. For sure it was a short championship with only two rounds, but Amandine won all the motos to get her second consecutive title.

In Spain, fifteenth out of turn one in the first moto Lorenzo was already through to eighth by lap two and, posting lap times in the same window as the leaders, took over sixth place four laps from the end but he had no opportunity to advance further as the riders ahead of him had escaped early in the moto.. Advancing rapidly from a better start in race two he had stormed to third place within two laps; the race-long leaders had already sprinted ten seconds clear but the ebullient Venezuelan once again maintained his momentum, taking over second place with a thrilling pass three laps from the end to get his best season result with a second place in moto 2 ! he misses the overall podium by just a single point. He has consolidated his seventh place in the championship standings prior to the two final rounds next week in Belgium.

Pierre Goupillon run top six for most of the 1st race but made a mistake and crashed at the end of the race; his bike was damaged in the impact and forced him to continue at a significantly reduced pace simply to finish the race and collect a single championship point. Once more gating inside the top five in race two his luck ran out already on the opening lap when he was involved in a further collision and was last when he rejoined the race; at the finish he had charged through the pack to eleventh place.

In the 125 class Quentin Prugnières did his best performance of the season, thanks to better starts than usual. Tenth after the opening lap in the first moto, Quentin did a strong race to come back sixth; with a better start in moto two, as he was seventh in the opening lap, Quentin had a great rhythm in this moto and scores a fourth position, only five seconds behind the race winner! Fifth overall, our 15 years rider is now ninth in the standings during his first season in the 125 class.

Lorenzo Locurcio: “My start was not the greatest in the first moto but I came back to sixth. In the second moto I got a better start around tenth position and came through to second after a big charge and a lot of passes. It was a good weekend; I’m happy to get my best moto result of the season with a second place but I’m a little bit disappointed to miss the podium by just one point!”

Pierre Goupillon: “The timed practice session was OK with the eighth position and in the first race I was sixth for most of the race but with two laps to go I crashed together with another rider. Unfortunately my front wheel was damaged; I tried to fix it again but I had to slow down to finish the race. Second moto I was third from the start but in the fourth corner I collided with another rider again. I was last to restart and came back to eleventh; it was not really what I was expecting today.”

Quentin Prugnières: “It was a pretty good day for me, and it could have been better with better starts. We’re working on starts, today I was more consistent than in the previous races and got my best result of the season. Now the goal is to do even better in Lommel for the last two rounds of the series.”

Another title for Quentin Prugnières and Bud Racing!

During his first season in the 125 class Quentin Prugnières confirmed his potential, as he claimed the 125 French title at only 15 years old and confirmed the expectations of Stephane Dassé and the Bud Racing Kawasaki team.

Not so many riders claimed the 85 title and just one year later the 125 one, but this weekend Quentin entered in the history of French motocross! Leading the series coming to Rauville la Place, Quentin did a strong opening race as he increases his leadership with a second position ahead of his last rival for the title. His second moto was even better, as despite a bad start he won the race to clinch the title with panache.

The final round of the French MX2 was also at the program; posting the fastest lap time and taking the Holeshot, Pierre Goupillon was the boss in the first race during most of the period, but a crash with two laps to go relegates him in fourth place. More focus in the second race he missed a good start but came back second to secure the fourth position of the day and, more important, the third position in the championship despite missing round #2 due to injury. It was a tougher day for Lorenzo Locurcio, who was hit by other riders during the first lap of each moto; Lorenzo never gave up, coming back from 31st to 11th in race one, and from 40th to 8th in race two. What a strong ride from him!
This week the Bud Racing Kawasaki Team will move to Mantova (Italy) for another triple GP within one week; three rounds of the European 250, and also one round of the European 125 will be at the program.

Quentin Prugnières: “Happy to get the title, just a shame that I missed both starts this weekend! I was able to come back twice in the pack; I’m now use to this 125 class, today I had a lot of fun riding the 125 and the results were good. We’ll continue to work, to get some great results in the European championship.”

Pierre Goupillon: “I missed the heat win in moto 1 when I did a mistake with two laps to go, always frustrating to lose a race due to a stupid crash in a corner. Between both motos we worked mentally with Thierry to prepare the second race, but I missed a good start as I did a wheelie; I was eighth and came back second, and then joined the leader. Happy with this second moto as I didn’t do any mistake and posted the fastest lap, I will go to Italy confident.”

Lorenzo Locurcio: “A tough day for sure, things were out of control as in the first moto some guy cut the track and hit me, I went down. I run out of tear off in the second lap, came back eleventh with the fastest time in this moto. Second moto some guy came from the inside and hit me, we went down and I came back from last to eighth. Speed was good this weekend, just unlucky and now I’m very excited to be in Mantova.”