Paris remain the unmissable event for Supercross fans over the years, and this year’s SX, the main one in Europe, once again drew a packed house. The team was represented in all three categories: SX1, SX2, and Junior.

In the SX2 class our two Australians livened up the races, with Luke Clout taking a brilliant victory on Saturday night. After finding his rhythm in the first moto, which he finished in second place, Luke went on to win the other two races of the evening. Sunday started perfectly with another victory, but a crash at the second start cost him the lead in the category. With a fourth win in the final race of the weekend, Luke secured the silver medal.

Meanwhile, Jake Cannon improved throughout the weekend; after some excellent starts, he narrowly missed the top five following a DNF in Sunday’s second moto.

In the SX1 class Mitchell Harrison was back in the team for the weekend; in a very competitive field, he performed well, finishing seventh.

Less success for young Tim Lopes, who competed in the junior class; third fastest in qualifying, he was battling for a podium finish on Saturday before fracturing his collarbone in a crash.

This weekend the team was also on action in Vancouver (Canada) for the second round of the World Championship. In SX2 Kyle Peters and Cole Thompson finished fifth and sixth respectively, while in SX1, Justin Hill finished eleventh.

Stéphane Dasse: « It was a great weekend that started off perfectly with Friday night’s party to celebrate our 30th anniversary with lots of friends and partners. And it continued on Saturday with Luke’s SX2 victory! We’re a little disappointed because Luke missed out the Prince of Paris title due to a crash at the start of one race, but it was still a great weekend. Both Luke and Jake, who was competing in this race for the first time, gave us a great show, not to mention young Tim Lopes, who was also showing promise until his crash. We had more partners at the team than ever before, it was great to welcome all these people who support us. Meanwhile, there was another Supercross in Vancouver; in the 250 class, things went well with a fifth and a sixth place finish, results close to our goals. It was more difficult in the 450 class, with Matt Moss injured and Josh Hill not performing as expected. See you in two weeks in Australia for the third round of the World Supercross Championship.”

Results Paris:
Luke Clout : Second in SX2 (Saturday 2/1/1 and Sunday 1/13/1)
Jake Cannon : Sixth in SX2 (Saturday 7/6/4 and Sunday 5/15/5)
Mitchell Harrison : Seventh in SX1 (Saturday 6/12/5 and Sunday 7/7/7)

It was in one of the 10 most beautiful stadiums in the world that he set his wheels down last Saturday on the biggest track of the SX US calendar. The 17-year-old rider didn’t blush against the discipline’s top youngsters, placing 5th in time practice and 3rd in the second session, less than half a second from pole. He showed then that he had the speed and ambition to go for a good result in the one and only race of the evening.

And so it was on a single 8-minute final that it all came down to this evening. Unfortunately, Jake got tangled up with another rider just 10 meters from the start line and couldn’t keep his handlebars from passing into his rival’s wheel. As a result, he fell and broke his throttle, unable to fight back and show what he could do.

The experience was more than productive, and a lot of positives can be taken from it, with speed well in evidence against competitors who have been training in this discipline since they were very young.

The Team is now back in France, already focused on the Enduropale du Touquet, where Francisco Garcia, the Team’s second Spanish recruit, will compete in the Junior category, before heading off with his two riders to the opening round of the French ELITE motocross championship the following weekend. The idea of returning to the US in 2025 is still very much on our minds.

Stéphane Dassé: “Although it’s very frustrating not to have been able to fight, I’m really happy with Jake, his attitude and what he showed on Saturday. My aim is to continue to bring young people to the United States, and in particular to Supercross, to open their minds and show them what’s going on in the world alongside MXGP, and if they want to hope one day to finish in the United States, they have to do Supercross from a very young age, that’s what I’m trying to teach them.”

Jake Cannon: “What an experience it’s been for me. I arrived here on January 10, I didn’t know the Team and I immediately felt really good. I really learned and enjoyed the experience, but I’m very disappointed not to have been able to go all the way. It makes me want to come back even more, but I’m already going to concentrate fully on my European season.”

The Paris Supercross celebrated its 40th birthday this year (and 41st edition as there was two SX organised in 1984) and the success is always there, on the track as well as in the stadium which was full during both days. And the atmosphere was great, a few months after the Olympic swimming competitions organised in this Arena.

Coming straight from US where he trained alongside David Vuillemin, Anthony Bourdon was stronger race after race during the weekend to fight for podiums results in each of the six races (three per day). Saturday evening he was leading the ‘Prince of Paris’ classification as he was the most consistent rider (3/4/2) while the two favourites crashed in one race. Performing well on Sunday (3/3/3) Anthony ends the event tight in the points with Tom Vialle who won the gold medal thanks to heat wins. Anthony received the silver medal behind Tom who is a reigning US champion, and this result confirms his progression in Supercross and the competitivity of our 250 KX Kawasaki.

The French SX Tour was also invited at Paris, with one SX2 race each night before the main program. On Saturday Brice Maylin finished sixth, and improved his rhythm on Sunday to perform better with a strong second position; he consolidates his third position in the championship before the last two rounds in Lyon and Grenoble. Invited to race the International SX2 class, Brice scored top eight in each race ( (5/8/5 on Saturday and 7/6/8 on Sunday) to finish seventh overall.

The team is now moving to Australia, to race next weekend the second and third rounds of the Supercross World Championship.

Mathis had already signalled his intentions as he posted the fastest time in Free Practice and he was only narrowly piped for Pole during Qualifying Practice. Excellent reactions at the start-gate of race one saw the Bud Kawasaki sweep through the opening turn of the first points-scoring moto of the weekend to take the holeshot before he was pushed off the track in a highly aggressive move by his main championship rival at turn three. Regrouping calmly in fourth he was third by the end of the lap, second on lap three and made a smart inside-pass in a deep sandy turn to retake the lead on lap five and win pretty easily this race. The track for race two was even tougher than it had been for race one on Saturday after the track crew had only worked on the faces of the jumps overnight and left the straights and corners at their most rugged. This inevitably favoured the local sand experts but the French teenager showed his maturity as he rode his own race rather than being tempted into duels with the locals, who have ridden such tracks from a young age, to maintain fourth place throughout the moto. This earnt third overall, on the same points as second and just a single point shy of the overall winner, to ensure that he retains the thirteen-point series lead which he held at the start of the weekend.

Teammate Benjamin Garib took a tenth-placed start from gate fifteen and maintained a top-ten ranking until a small slip pushed him back to twelfth on the final lap. Fourteenth for the first twelve minutes of the Sunday moto until he was forced to retire, the Chilean’s Saturday scoreline was sufficient to see him advance to twelfth in the series standings.

Mathis Valin: “We came in Belgium two weeks ago to train and prepare for this race in Lommel, and we got the reward. On Saturday in the first moto I took my time and when I found my rhythm I passed the two guys in front of me and made a gap. On Sunday I must admit that I was disappointed with my riding; I was fighting the track and that cost me some energy. I got a good start again, but I didn’t felt comfortable with the track. But normally this should be a learning year for me and I am still learning every weekend! The most important thing is that I have kept the red plate and I only lost one point to one of my main rivals this weekend. There are still four round to go, so now we go home to work to keep the red plate until the end of the series.”

Benjamin Garib: “I got a decent start and was running around tenth all moto; on the last lap I had a small crash trying to make a pass so I had to be content with twelfth. This is my first time at Lommel and it’s a cool experience even if I was forced to retire in the second moto.”

While his team mates were racing the Belgium sand, Anthony Bourdon got his first Supercross win of the season for the SX international of Carpi in Italy. Anthony had a very good night, winning his heat race and finishing 3/1 in the main events to grab the overall win.

Back on his 450 Kawasaki after racing in Paris and Melbourne in the 250 class, Anthony quickly found his feet in the cauldron that is Lyon’s Palais des Sports. In contention for the final championship podium prior to this final, Anthony scored precious points on Friday evening when he climbed onto the second step of the podium after a fierce wheel-to-wheel battle with the new French champion. All the signs were green, until a collision at the start of Saturday’s final sent Anthony crashing to the ground! After starting last with Greg Aranda, the two crashed again in their comeback and set the stadium crazy with a superb comeback to the front, with Anthony taking third place in the final corner just 5 seconds from victory.

With 7 podium finishes in the 8 races contested in the premier class of the French supercross championship, Anthony has put in a very fine season to place his Kawasaki and all the sponsors he represents on the championship’s second final step.

Fighting spirit
Adrien Escoffier, who was also handicapped by poor grid starts, gave his all to come back in 14th, 9th and 12th place in SX2. His fighting spirit in spite of a complicated start to the heats enabled him to finish 12th overall. In the championship, he finished one place better, in 11th position, despite a “blank” round in Cardiff which prevented him from entering the top 10.

In the SX1 category, Cédric Soubeyras got off to some good starts throughout the evening, finding himself in the right spot on three occasions. He had a fine evening, finishing 6th, 7th and 9th in the races, finishing not only 7th overall but also 7th in the World Championship in the 450 class.

With his pace improving session after session, Justin Hill finished 12th, 9th and 8th in his heats to finish 10th in the event. In the championship, he finished 5th in the provisional standings after Abu Dhabi, a successful gamble for Justin, who retained this 5th position after the final round. With hard work, positivity and good humour the watchwords of this end-of-season review, the Bud team thanks its partners and congratulates all its riders.

Anthony Bourdon: “I’m ending this World Supercross Championship on a high note. It’s not quite the result I’d hoped for, but it’s not bad. The speed is there. Now I’ve got to improve my starts to get to the front. Thanks to Bud Racing for believing in me in this new category. It’s a pleasure to work with a smile on my face alongside this always cheerful team.”

Adrien Escoffier: “My poor qualifying throughout the year is a huge handicap for the evening rounds. It’s a big point to work on if we’re to hope for better results. My withdrawal from the very 1st round of the championship also prevents me from finishing in the top 8. You have to learn to take the positives out of each event, and the WSX experience remains incredible, both humanly and from a sporting point of view. I’d like to thank Bud Racing for giving me this opportunity for the 2nd year in a row. It’s a real pleasure to work with this motivated team, which instils good humour. These are unforgettable moments of sharing.”

Cédric Soubeyras: “I’m pleased with my performance in the last two rounds. I finished 7th in the championship, which isn’t too bad considering the first round I missed. I’ve had a great year with the Bud Racing team and I hope to be back for another year, because I love introducing people from all over the world to my sport“.

Justin Hill: “Keeping my 5th place overall in the championship was my goal this weekend and it’s achieved. It was my first year in the WSX championship and I really enjoyed traveling the world while doing my passion and my job. I’d like to thank the Bud Racing Kawasaki team for all their hard work this season.”

Having successfully completed the years since the first edition organized in March 1984, the Paris Supercross has behind it a long and superb history and the team has always been attached to this event. This 2023 edition did not look the best for us with the withdrawal due to injury of Matt Moss, who was ‘Prince of Paris’ last year but very quickly Anthony Bourdon bring back smiles in the team as he was one of the strongest men in this SX2 class. Feeling more and more comfortable throughout the practice sessions and races, Anthony missed the final podium of the first evening by a small point. On Sunday he finished the practice sessions just six tenths from pole position, so everyone knew that it could be a great evening for him! On the podium of the first race he never give up in the second and fight with Tom Vialle for victory, a victory he got with a strong move in the last corner of the last lap! Once again on the podium in the final race with a third place, Anthony finished this evening in second position and took third place in the ‘Prince of Paris’ rankings. A result which will give him more confidence before flying to Australia, where the final of the World Championship will be played next weekend.

Involved in the SX1 class, Josh Hill got injured and after doing his best on Saturday (9/9/13) he didn’t race on Sunday.

Anthony Bourdon: “An incredible weekend for me in Paris, in front of an enthusiast public! It was great to win this race and to battle with Tom Vialle, we race together when we were younger and it was cool to be racing with him. Very happy with my results, we did some good improvements on the bike. When Stéphane suggest me to ride a 250 I took up the challenge and that’s pretty good; I needed some time to adapt, but now I have fun on this bike and it’s great for all the team to get a good result in Paris.”

Stéphane Dasse: “Matt Moss was supposed to defend his title with us but after his injury we didn’t really know what to expect from this edition, but Anthony rose to the challenge brilliantly! We knew he was able to do good things, and we were pleased to see him fighting with the best guys to get a podium; he was consistent on Saturday, he was even better on Sunday and it was great to see him fighting up in front and get this victory. We had a lot of guests this weekend, we are on the podium, a great edition of the Paris Supercross! »

In the SX2 class, Anthony had a good start of the day with a pole position in timed qualifying. Unfortunately, a poor start in the qualifying heat was determined the rest of his day. Condemned to start on the 2nd row in each of the finals, Anthony finished 17th, 14th and then 8th, to take 14th place overall, reflecting neither his speed nor his potential.

For Adrien Escoffier, things were relatively similar. Also starting from the 2nd row, a lack of aggressiveness prevented him from achieving his objectives, respectively 12th, 13th and 12th in the three finals. In the provisional standings, Anthony is 13th, while Adrien is currently 15th. Both will have to fight hard in the final round if they want to enter the championship top 10.

In the SX1 class, Justin Hill came 4th in the provisional rankings for this Abu Dhabi event. Determined to stay at the top of the standings, our American rider suffered from a lack of rhythm. His podium ambitions gave way to a 7th position overall, and Justin dropped back to 5th in the provisional standings. In the end, the weekend’s best performance went to Cédric Soubeyras.

Positive results
Fast and solid, Cédric was in the best group of riders in each final to finish 2nd, 6th and 5th respectively. Over the three finals, he finished in 5th place, same points with 4th-placed Ken Roczen, missing out on the podium by just 2 points. His performance was more than encouraging, and the balance very positive. Whether it’s a question of staying the course for some or rolling up their sleeves for others, the goal of shining in the final in Australia is common to all. See you in Melbourne on November 24 and 25.

Cédric Soubeyras : “It was a positive weekend. In the first final, I took advantage of Friese’s disqualification to finish in 2nd place, even though I was 3rd under the chequered flag. In the end, I missed out on the podium by just 2 points. I’d like to thank the team for all their support and good humour every day”.

Anthony Bourdon : “The day started good, with me taking pole position in the overall SX2 standings. I then missed my start in the qualifying heat and found myself on the 2nd row for the finals. In these conditions, I once again missed my starts and then failed to make my mark on a track where you had to be aggressive and overtake quickly. I’m learning and I’ll come back better, that’s for sure”.

Adrien Escoffier : “My poor qualifying run conditioned the rest of my day, as I found myself starting from the 2nd row. I then lacked the aggressiveness to overtake during the heats. We look forward to Melbourne. A big thank you to the Bud Racing team and see you in Australia in 3 weeks’ time, when we’ll have to pull out all the stops”.

Justin Hill : “After a long break since the SMX in the United States, I arrived in Abu Dhabi with a lack of riding that penalized me for performing as well as I did in England. I enjoyed the event all the same, and it was nice to discover a new country and introduce supercross to new fans who were really behind us”.

Stéphane Dassé : “This second event in Abu Dhabi came as a great surprise to me, with a crowd that was new to supercross but super enthusiastic. The modern stadium reminded me of the Bercy supercross. We just regreat that we missed the 450 podium for two points with Cedric Soubeyras who rode amazingly well in Abu Dhabi. I hope to be back there next year, and in the meantime I’ll see you at the legendary Paris supercross on November 18 and 19″.

Quentin posted an impressive third place in the first moto on Saturday afternoon in Sweden as only lapped riders spoilt his challenge for victory. He was the fastest rider on track during the first fifteen minutes as he advanced from fourth to second and he continued his charge to pull back the five-second gap to the leader entering the final two laps. However lapped riders were becoming an ever-greater problem and the Kawasaki rider was hampered so badly that they cost him second during a frustrating final lap. Persistent rain showers overnight and throughout the morning made the Uddevalla track extremely slippery for the second moto on Sunday and Quentin crashed at the start; being dead last at the first corner, he was already nineteenth after one lap and he pushed all moto to eventually finish eighth. The combination of the two motos saw him classified fourth overall over the weekend, on the same scoreline as third, but he missed the podium on the second moto tie-break.

Benjamin Garib made a return to action from injury for the French team. The Chilean raced to an impressive ninth in Saturday’s first moto and was looking at a top-six finish overall as he held eighth in the muddy second moto until he was forced out in the closing stages.

On Monday evening the best French Supercross riders were at the Bud Racing Training Camp, and the fans were there for the second edition of the Air Contest at this location. Once more Cédric Soubeyras was on fire, winning the three races while teammate Anthony Bourdon finished three times on the box, in third position.

The EMX250 is back to action this weekend at Arnhem (The Netherlands)

Quentin Marc Prugnières: « My start was good on Saturday and I could make some quick passes to come second; then I reduced the gap to the leader until we caught the lappers. It was so difficult to pass them that in the end Bonacorsi caught and passed me so I finished third. Anyway it was a good moto even if it’s a little frustrating as I know that I could have been first or second. I crashed at the start of the second race this morning when two riders hit me, and then I had to come back from dead-last to eighth. It’s not the result I was expecting, but my riding was good and I’m happy with that. Now we must continue to work to secure some podiums in the next few rounds of the series; I was so close here in Sweden.”

Benjamin Garib: “My shoulder’s feeling good again and I’ve been back riding for about a month. I flew back into Europe last week and I was excited to race my first EMX. I didn’t really know what to expect but I was happy with my speed; I got ninth yesterday and was running ninth again today. The conditions were tough today but I could stay on two wheels and focus on myself. Now I’m hungry for more and I’m looking forward to Holland next week.”

An excellent start of the evening for the American Justin Hill, winner of the Heat and Superpole. Well placed on the starting grid, Justin took the Holeshot in the first final and finished 3rd. After another excellent start in the second final, Justin finished in first place after 8 laps. With only one final remaining, Justin had all his chance to finish on the podium, given his previous results. Unfortunately, Justin fell into the whoops on the very first lap and was a bit concussed, ending this final with difficulty in 15th place. 4th overall, just one point off the podium, Justin has everything it takes to excel in future races.

A little less success for our 3 French riders, all three missed their Heat and had a bad gate pick. With starts at the back of the pack and a very short race format, all three were unable to climb back up despite encouraging speed. Cédric Soubeyras finished 18/12/12 of the three finals, and came 14th overall in the 450cc class. As for the SX2 riders, Adrien Escoffier crashed at the first start, damaging his bike. He didn’t finish this final, but came 10th and 12th in the other two, to finish 15th overall. Anthony Bourdon came 14th overall, having completed 15/12/13 in the finals.

Numerous Supercross races await our French riders this summer, who will have plenty of time to prepare before meeting again on September in Singapore for the second round of the WSX Supercross World Championship. As for Justin, he’s going back to the United States to continue his training so he can continue with his excellent speed for the rest of the season.

Back in France with Quentin Prugnières, who was competing the final round of the French Elite Motocross Championship in the MX2 class this weekend. Winner of the first race, Quentin led the entire second race before making a mistake three corners from the finish and finished second. Winner again of the MX2 event two weeks after his first MX2 victory.

Justin Hill: “It was an incredible night with a win in Heat and Superpole. I’m obviously disappointed to make that mistake in the third final which cost me the podium, but there are a lot of positives to take away. Now that I know the championship and the format, I’m ready to get back to training. I’m already looking forward to Singapore.”

Quentin Prugnières: “A good weekend overall, I had good speed all day long. It’s a shame to lose the second race because of a big mistake when I had a 10-second lead. But all in all, it was very positive with two good starts. Now I’m going to continue preparing for the next race in Europe, which takes place on August 12/13 in Sweden.”

Stéphane Dassé: “It’s great to get the WSX championship underway. Justin rode really well and we’re really happy about that. Unfortunately, the others were badly placed on the grid and the start was very important this weekend. It’s a really special format with 3 very short rounds in a row where anything can happen. Everyone knows what to improve and I’m convinced that with better starts, they’re all also capable of fighting at the front. We are also very happy about Quentin that is back in a good rythm and we can’t wait to be at the next races.”

Hossegor, July 3rd 2023