9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Quentin Marc Prugnières claimed the first podium of his FIM European EMX250 Championship career with second overall in the Swedish round at Uddevalla.

The teenager already laid the base for his eventual success with an impressive ride from a ninth-placed start to second at the finish of the first twenty-five-minute-plus-two-lap race on Saturday afternoon. He had advanced into the top four within six minutes and two more stunning passes saw him take over second by half-distance. The race-long leader, unhindered by traffic, was already thirteen seconds clear at that stage but the French youngster, setting the fastest lap of the race, had reduced the gap to less than six seconds by the time they received the chequered flag. Another ninth-placed start in race two on Sunday morning was rapidly converted to fifth on the opening lap. Emerging best from wheel-to-wheel tussles with each of the championship leaders, he took a firm grip on third in the closing stages to clinch second overall over the weekend and claim his maiden EMX250 trophy. With two rounds of the championship remaining he is now seventh in the series, just two points shy of fifth.

Teammate Eddie Jay Wade had a hefty crash during practice; Eddie broke one rib and had pain in his back and wasn’t able to race.

Quentin Marc Prugnières: “Today I finally got the podium which I just missed a few times this season and I think I deserved it! In both races I was able to manage the pressure from my rivals, and didn’t make any mistakes in either moto. I am happy with this podium; I have been waiting for this feeling of being on the box! Yesterday I took my first moto-podium in EMX250 and I did it again today. My second start could have been even better; my jump at the gate was OK but then I wheelie for a few metres. For sure if I could have avoided this I could have been looking for a moto win. I was a little stressed on the last lap, looking behind me to see how far it was to Elzinga, but I managed the gap until the end. The track here was very technical and that suited me. There’s no words to describe how I feel right now, but on Monday we’ll be back working on the track to get more; we still have two rounds, including the French one, and I can’t wait to race in front of the French fans. “

Team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki’s moved from France to Germany for another round of the European Championship, and Quentin Marc Prugnières continues to impress with two consistent races while Eddie Wade got his best result of the season. Hundreds of kilometres away, Amandine Verstappen remains unbeaten in the French Women series.

Tenth behind the gate Quentin started the first moto eighth but he was already into the top-six on the second lap and kept pushing to narrowly miss the moto podium with a fourth position. On Sunday morning two incidents with other riders in the second moto cost him his realistic shot at the podium; down in eighteenth place on the opening lap he battled throughout the twenty-five-minute-plus-two-lap race to take the chequered flag eighth. This secured sixth place overall, narrowly missing the podium, and he is now eighth, just twenty-one points from third, in an even-tighter battle in the series standings.

His teammate Eddie Jay Wade held seventh for several laps in the first moto before a slip dropped him to thirteenth, the position in which he took the chequered flag. A top-ten start in race two was an excellent base to equal his best result of the season with sixth place at the finish, just seventeen seconds down on the winner. Ninth overall over the weekend the English youngster has leapt to fourteenth in the series points standings.

Once more Amandine Verstappen had no rivals in the Women French series, as she was two seconds faster than her rivals in the timed practice session and then won both races more than twenty seconds ahead of the other girls.

Quentin Marc Prugnières: “Overall it was another positive weekend, I just need to get better starts and be more aggressive during the first few laps to get a podium. In the first race I made a big mistake in a rut mid-race which cost me two positions and then the second race was more difficult as my start was not so good; I recovered some positions in the first corner but before the second turn another rider pushed me outside the track and I lost several positions! When I was coming back through the pack a rider crashed in front of me and I hit his bike; it was frustrating to again lose time. My speed was good but I can’t be happy with this race as everyone – me, the team, my family – expects more and I will now work in the sand to prepare for the next round at Lommel.”

Eddie Jay Wade: “The times were really close in Qualifying so I was happy with eighth and I was very good off the start in race one but the rider in front of me went through a puddle so I had to throw off my goggles. In the second moto I worked my way from tenth to sixth; I got a bit tight towards the end but we’re learning all the time and we’ll keep working. “

Amandine Verstappen: “I had a lot of fun riding on this fast track with many jumps, first time we visited this track at Millières. It just took me three laps in the first race to take the lead, then I won both races with a good margin over my rivals, a perfect weekend!”

Quentin Marc Prugnières narrowly missed his first podium for 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki in the FIM European EMX250 Championship, and for the second round in a row he confirms his potential with top six results in France.

Racing in front of his home crowd, Quentin surged to his best-ever result in the first moto which was run in dry conditions before the mid-afternoon storm. Already impressive during practice as he earns third-choice of start-gate, the teenager found himself closed down off the start to complete the opening lap twelfth but was soon on the move, breaking into the top ten on lap three and continuing to push for an eventual fourth place, just six seconds behind the winner. On Sunday he again made life tough for himself with a moderate start to race two which left him ninth at the completion of the opening lap. He moved relentlessly forward during the twenty-five-minute-plus-two-lap race, eventually taking over sixth two laps from the finish to claim fourth overall, just three points shy of the podium, over the weekend. However, his thirty-three points haul sees the French youngster advance to seventh in the series standings, just sixteen points from third, at the halfway stage of the championship.

The weekend was not as good for teammate Eddie Jay Wade, who qualified in the top ten with an eight position on a dry track. In race one an early fall left Eddie down in twenty-fifth but the English youngster persevered to advance to seventeenth at the close. Sunday was pretty similar for Eddie who was second at the start but then cross-rutted halfway round the opening lap to finish thirteenth.

Quentin Prugnières: “It was a pretty solid weekend and I got my best result of the season here with a fourth overall. My first moto was good; my start was not really the best but I was able to come back to fourth. My second start was similar but I was not riding quite so well as yesterday. But I feel that there is a good evolution in my riding, especially on a track like this which was so rough due to the rain. The public was incredible; they supported me all race-long and I did my best to score a podium for them and the team.”

Eddie Jay Wade: “The weekend started confidently with P8 in Timed Practice so I knew I had the speed even though the lap wasn’t the cleanest. I was in the top-ten in the first moto until I had a small crash and I rode tense after that. I came out this morning feeling, ‚new day, clear day’ and I nearly got the holeshot. I wanted to pass quickly for the lead and was too aggressive; it was a stupid mistake and I crashed down to twentieth or so but I came back to thirteenth. There were some positives to come out of this weekend; I just need to repeat the good starts and stay up there. “

Quentin Prugnières scored the best result of his young career for 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki with sixth overall from a 5-6 moto scoreline in the fourth round of the FIM European EMX250 Championship. Amandine Verstappen was unfortunate as after finishing first race moto in top 5, she collided with another rider during the second heat of the Women World Championship.

Quentin already show good speed in the previous rounds of the series, but due to mistakes and crashes he hasn’t been able to show this with his results; finally at Riola Sardo he put all the ingredients together! On Saturday he pushed forward from his best start to date in the first moto to convert eighth on the opening lap into fifth at the finish and followed this up with another impressive charge during the second moto on Sunday morning as he advanced from twelve to sixth. Sixth overall, he is now eighth in the standings.

Teammate Eddie Wade had less joy at the start of the two motos to find himself thirtieth and twenty-third on the opening laps but the English youngster pressed on throughout both motos to narrowly miss the points as twenty-first finisher on Saturday before claiming two points for nineteenth on Sunday despite a mid-race fall which cost him twenty seconds.

Amandine Verstappen started both motos in the top three, and she quickly settled into a solid fourth place in the first moto and maintained that position until a surprise attack pushed her back to fifth on the final lap. Another electric start in race two on Sunday morning opened up the possibility of a podium finish but those ambitions were nullified halfway round the opening lap as she collided with the championship leader when their lines converged on the exit from a sandy turn; the impact threw Amandine over the bars and, badly winded, she received medical assistance for several minutes before returning on foot to the paddock.

Quentin Prugnières: “I had two solid motos this weekend. The second moto was more difficult as I ran off the track and lost four positions when I was ninth, but I had a good rhythm to come back to sixth. It was a decent weekend – a step forward – but of course we expect more and we are already focused on the upcoming races.“

Eddie Wade: “Sand is not my strong point as we saw this weekend. The heat was no problem as I live in Spain – in fact my fitness is good and I was still fresh at the end of the motos as others felt the heat – but I just need to work on my sand technique and ride it a lot more. I started to feel good in the motos but I made a silly mistake as I was closing down the top ten in the second moto which cost me points. “