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. “

The Women World Championship and the European 250 were this weekend at the racing program of team 9MM Energy Drink Bud Racing Kawasaki, who was back to Agueda in Portugal. Despite a big crash during a practice session, Amandine Verstappen brings back home the best result for the team with a top five position.

The red sand of this nice track doesn’t really offers to the team the results they could expect, four weeks after the opening round of both series. As the last GP organised on this track was in 2019, neither Quentin Prugnières or Eddie Wade knew this location and they both improve their results in each session to get the sixth (Eddie) and eleventh (Quentin) gate pick for the races. Back racing a few weeks after being injured at Mantova, Eddie got a great start in the first race and was third during the opening lap but couldn’t keep the rhythm and cross the finish line in sixteenth; on Sunday he had a better rhythm but an early crash relegates him in thirty seventh position, and he came back twentieth. Quentin had also a good start in the first race, but he crashed during the first lap; back from thirty sixth to twenty fourth after four laps he had another crash and finish twentieth. Sunday was a better day for him, as he got an eighth position.

After a huge crash on a triple jump during a practice session, Amandine Verstappen never give up and even if her body was sore she wanted to enter both races. Twice she got a start in the top twenty, to score a seventh and a sixth position; fifth of the overall, she remains in contention for the final podium as she is only five points from the third position.
No race for the team next week; the next races ill be the French Elite for the boys in two weeks’ time at Castelnau, while Amandine will enter the French women series on May 8th at St Eloi.

Just one week after winning Le Touquet with Quentin Prugnières, team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki was in Italy for the opening round of the Motocross season. Mantova met the first round of the Women World Championship and the European 250 Championship, two categories where our riders did pretty well.

Ladies first, with the strong racing weekend of Amandine Verstappen who finish so close to the podium at this first GP! Seventh behind the gate our multiple French champion had a good start in the first race, and did all the race in fourth position. Her second moto was more difficult as she collided with another girl; eleventh after this incident Amandine will come back fifth, missing the overall podium by two points.

Third of his group in the free and timed practice sessions, Quentin Prugnières shows a good speed and had a good position on the gate. His first start wasn’t really good, and he had to push hard to come back from nineteenth to eighth in this moto. On Sunday he will take a better start, and was fighting for the fourth position when he did a mistake on this rough track; another race start for him as he was twenty-one, but once more his speed was good enough to cross the finish line eleventh.

First race of the season and of course first one with team 9MM Bud Racing Kawasaki for Eddie Wade, fifteenth in his qualifying group. He was on the outside of the starting line, but got a good start in the top fifteen of race one; twelfth of his moto il was unfortunately involved in a crash at the start of the second race and was forced to retire later due to a painful leg.

Next weekend team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki will be in Gueugnon for the second round of the French Elite championship.

Amandine Verstappen: “It was a good weekend. I had a good feeling already during the free practice session but was more stressed in the timed practice period. In the first race I had a good start in third but during the first lap van de Ven went straight and I had to brake so I lost two positions. I was pleased with my speed as I came back to fourth. My second start wasn’t so bad but in the second straight line another girl hit me and again I had to brake; I was tenth or eleventh and came back fifth. I’m disappointed to miss the podium by just two points after two strong races. I feel much stronger physically as I have worked hard with my trainer all winter; he knows me really well and it was great to be back working with him.”

BS Battery will be the new official battery supplier and official sponsor of MX French Team in 2022. Initially known for its excellent expertise as off-road motorcycle suspension specialist, Bud Racing is also importer & distributor of off-road motorcycle parts and accessories. Since 2007, Kawasaki Bud Racing Team has been competed in several world class motocross competitions.

Benjamin Sebban – General Manager of BS Battery:
“We are extremely happy to become Kawasaki Bud Racing Team’s partner whom we stand together with common values. We are very pleased to stand behind another French team that always communicate great values and support young riders. With this new collaboration, BS Battery now covers most of the motorcycle disciplines – road race, enduro & cross.”

Stéphane Dasse – Team manager KAWASAKI BUD RACING:
“It has been a long time that we knew BS Battery brand. Today, BS Battery is became powerful actor in the powersport battery industry. We’re also very sensitive that BS Battery invest and support the French motorbike sport in main disciplines. We also would like to point BS Battery immediately believed in the relevance of this tripartite collaboration including marketing, sport and sales. After testing all BS products on our race bikes, BS Battery perfectly matched our expectations. We will thus entrust our technicians and mechanics with the best in terms of batteries, chargers and boosters.”