Sacha Coenen and Amandine Verstappen won this weekend
Lucas Coenen French Junior champion, Sacha vice champion

Another great weekend for team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki, who won two events on the French Championship. In Saint Jean d’Angely Amandine Verstappen won both races of the Women series, while in Villars sous Ecot Sacha and Lucas Coenen got another 1-2. It was the final round of the French Junior, and Lucas is the new champion while Sacha is runner up in the series.

Never in the long history of the French Motocross we saw two brothers fighting for the title, before this final round of the 2021 Junior. Coming to this round eleven points behind his brother, Sacha had to win to keep some chance of title while Lucas could secure top three results. But with the Coenen brothers there’s no strategy, it’s always wide open! And this weekend Sacha was the strongest, taking his revenge as his brother dominates the previous two rounds in Romagne and Magescq; with better starts Sacha got a double win, but in the first race he had to control Lucas while in the second he had no rivals. With two heat wins he scores 50 points, but as Lucas finish twice second it was not enough to reverse the situation; despite a bad start in race one and a very bad one in race two, Lucas came back twice second to secure his title. In the MX2 class Quentin Prugnières ends the series in fifth position, best rookie in the class.

In Saint Jean d’Angely Amandine Verstappen got another double win, and remains unbeaten in the French women series. Fastest in the practice session, winner of the qualifying race and later of both motos, Amandine is leading the series by 36 points before the next two rounds. She will be in action this weekend at Clastres, while Lucas, Sacha and Quentin have three weeks to prepare the European championship who will start again on October 3rd in Germany.

Lucas Coenen: “My start in the last race was really bad, but I stay confident as in the first moto I already did a strong come back after an average start. I couldn’t beat Sacha today, he was really fast on this track but second positions were enough to get the title.”

Sacha Coenen: “My first start was so-so, I was in the top ten and came back immediately third but struggle to pass the leaders as there was mainly one good line. I did a little mistake, then come back and finally pass both leaders to win the race. The second moto was easier as I got the holeshot and then had fun on the track, it was a good weekend”

Quentin Prugnières: “Unhappy with the first part of the races, especially the second one as some riders push me in the first corners. I could get a good rhythm after ten minutes, but then in the last minutes of the races I struggle physically. I was disappointed at the end of the second moto when another rider did a block pass, as I lost seven positions, and I know what I need to work on before coming back in the EMX250.”

Amandine Verstappen: “What can I say? Pole position in the timed practice period, then I won the qualifying race and both motos, it was another good weekend. Let’s go now to the two final rounds of the series!”

Lucas and Sacha Coenen once again hoisted the colours of the 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki team on the highest steps of the podium at the French Junior Championship in Romagne, where Lucas won ahead of Sacha. More complicated day in the sands of Lommel for Amandine, Quentin and Hakon.

Change of leader in the French Juniors, and after this fourth round of the series in Brittany it is now Lucas who hold the red plate as leader of the Championship! In Romagne the twin brothers had no real opponents, each one posting the best time in their qualifying group before fighting for victory in both races. Sacha got the holeshot in both motos and was the first leader of the races, but twice he will be trapped when he comes back on the lappers, which will allow Lucas to take the lead in each race to get a double win. Lucas (1/1) climbs on the top step of the podium ahead of Sacha (2/2) and is now five points ahead of his brother before the Magescq round on August 28 and 29.

The sands of Lommel hosted the Women’s World Championship and the European 250. Tenth in qualifying practice, Amandine Verstappen will never manage to ride as she knows how to do on this surface; for a long time sixth in the first round before losing two places by arriving on the lappers – definitely! – she will be classified ninth in the second round and is seventh in the championship, fourteen points from the podium before the next double GP which will be organised at the beginning of September in Turkey. For Hakon Fredriksen, who got a podium here last year, the 2021 vintage will not be remembered; fifth fastest time in his group, our Norwegian had a big crash soon after the start of the first race; he will courageously try to restart in the second heat, but will give up after a few laps. Despite bad starts including a crash at the second one, Quentin Prugnières will never give up to do two good races coming back from the twenty-first to eleventh in the first moto, and then from thirty-eighth to eighteenth in the second one. Thirteenth of the day, he continues to learn for his first year in the 250 class at only 16 years old, he will race again this weekend as the European Championship 250 continues in Latvia.

Lucas: “I had a bit of trouble getting into practice, but then it went well and in qualifying I had a good result with the pole of my group. In the first moto I start in second and stay there until my brother has a problem with a lapper; I passed him on the outside and I won. My second start was not great, but I was quickly second behind Sacha, whom I overtook when he again had a problem with a lapper, happy with the day. ”

Sacha: “The track was really well prepared and in the qualifying session I was able to set good times with pole position. In the first moto I grabbed the holeshot and lead the race during fifteen minutes until a lapper blocks me, Lucas overtakes me at that time and I could not catch him. Second moto and another holeshot, and once again a lapper makes me fall! Lucas wins, I finished second twice and it’s still a good weekend. ”

Amandine: “I raced almost all of the first moto in sixth position, but a couple of laps before the end the marshal didn’t put out the blue flag and I lost two positions. The second moto was more difficult as I had used a lot of energy in the first one; physically it was tough today. Now we have several weeks before the next GP in Turkey; we went there two years ago and the track suits me.”

Team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki was on different tracks this weekend, with the third round of the French Elite at Castelnau de Levis and the first round of the Women World Championship in Czech Republic. Once again our colours shine on a podium with Lucas and Sacha Coenen.

Women first, with Amandine Verstappen who already won all the rounds of the French championship this year – in fact she never lost a moto in France since 2019 – before traveling with her father to Loket. Back on this typical track she posted good laps in qualifying and improved her results in the races with a fourth and a sixth; fifth overall, only three points from the podium, she will race her home GP next week at Lommel.

At Castelnau de Levis Lucas and Sacha Coenen had good timed practice periods, with a pole for Sacha in group A and a second position for Lucas in group B. Lucas grabbed the holeshot and lead the first moto until a lapper crash in front of him! Nowhere to go, and Sacha was the new leader while his brother recovers in third position on the finish line; after the race the first three riders got penalised, and lost five positions. That didn’t affect too much our riders, who dominate the second moto; Lucas won the race seven seconds ahead of his brother, and twenty-five ahead the third rider of this moto. Classified second (Lucas) and third (Sacha) overall, they are leading the series with just one point between Sacha (he keeps the red plate) and Lucas before the next round this weekend at Romagne.

In the MX2 class it was a ‘discovery day’ for Hakon Fredriksen, who race for the first time on the hard pack of Castelnau de Levis. Eighth in his qualifying group our Norwegian had a strong opening moto as he came back from tenth to fifth, just losing a few positions during the last laps to cross the finish line in eighth. His second race will be stronger, coming back from seventeenth to sixth for sixth overall. It was a tougher day for Quentin Prugnières who hit his knee in a practice crash, in both races he was able to find his way for a top ten after the start, but after one lap he was dead last in the first race as he stalled his engine in a corner; back in thirteenth place, he retires early in race two due to technical problem.
Next weekend our 125 riders will be at Romagne for the fourth round of the French Junior, while Amandine and our 250 riders will be at the Belgium MXGP at Lommel.

Amandine Verstappen: “I couldn’t find a clear lap during Qualifying so I was only eighth behind the gate but I’m always better in a race than in a timed practice session. My first start was good and I was fighting for the third position for most of the race, but the track had changed since the practice session and at one point my feeling with the suspensions wasn’t so good. We worked on the settings for the second race but my start was not as good as the first one and for two or three laps I wasn’t riding as I usually can but I finished sixth for fifth overall. The positions are tight in the standings, and I feel that we are now six to eight girls who are capable of scoring podium results. This week I’ll go riding with the team on sandy tracks; I know Lommel and I’m confident for this round. »

Sacha Coenen: “The free practice wasn’t so good, but I did a good lap in the timed practice session. I was second at the start of the first race, but I did a few mistakes and was third after the opening lap; then I came back second, and when my brother crash I got the lead and won the race. The track was better for me in race two; I was 5th or 6th in the first corner, and came second during the first lap; I couldn’t close the gap with Lucas, but got another podium result.”

Lucas Coenen: “Practice sessions were not so good for me, but I manage to finish second in the timed practice session. I got the holeshot in the first race and was leading the moto until a lapper crashed in front of me, I crash also and finish the race third. I got another good start in the second race, was second in the first corner and came first after a few seconds; it was a good race, I didn’t do any mistake and it was good to win this race, a good weekend for me.”