Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei finished runner-up in the European EMX250 Motocross Championship after a double victory in the final round at Frauenfeld in Switzerland, while Kim Savaste jumped to sixth in the series with a second overall in this last round of the 125 European Championship. At the same time in France Xavier Boog won the SX at St Thibery, penultimate round of the French SX outdoor series.
The American rider showed an immediate liking for the new track on the outskirts of the town in northern Switzerland as he posted fastest time in qualification and he confirmed this form on both races, leading the first moto from start to finish to win by twenty three seconds and taking the lead on lap two of the second race to again win by more than twenty seconds. It was a fitting farewell to Darian’s career in the European Championship; he will now contest the final two MX2 GPs of the season in the USA in September and become a full-time MX2 GP rider in 2017.
The last round of the 125 European Championship was also a good one for Kim Savaste who qualified in fourteenth place on a muddy track on Saturday morning. The track conditions were much better later, but Kim didn’t got a good start in the first heat; ninth after the opening lap, he didn’t do any mistake to get a strong fourth position. He did even better on Sunday, scoring a second place behind the 2016 champ. Second overall, he shows how fast he is also on hard tracks and will now move on the 250 Kawasaki to prepare next season.
Teammate Brian Moreau was fast on this track, and posted the fourth fastest time in the qualifying period; his first start was not the best but he came back from twelve to seven in two laps during the first heat. He was pushing really hard, maybe be too much and he crashed in the third and fourth laps to finish outside the top twenty. Despite another early crash in the second heat, he scored a tenth position and finished ninth in the series.
The penultimate round of the French SX Tour, in St Thibery, was a good one for Xavier Boog who got his second win in the series after Estillac. Winner of his heat race Xavier got the lead in the main event during the first lap and pulled away, to get a strong win. He is now second in the standings before the last Outdoor race this weekend in La Tremblade, only five points behind series leader.
Darian Sanayei: “It was a pretty good weekend for me, even I was afraid to have a muddy race when it rained on Thursday and Friday night. The track was really muddy for the qualifying practice early on Saturday, but I was able to post the fastest lap time. I got the holeshot in the first moto and won the race by twenty three seconds; in the second one I missed the holeshot but moved to second straight away and then took the lead after two laps to gain another moto win. It’s a good way to end the season; my goal this season was to get a top three and I finished the series in second position. Now I will go back to America, and will prepare for the two US GP where I will race for Monster Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki.”
Xavier Boog: “It’s so good to win again! I was only third in the timed practice session, but as I never did a perfect lap I was confident, as I knew I could do better. I got the holeshot in my heat race and I made a gap, but Soubeyras was coming back strongly; I won the heat, but just a few meters ahead of him. Then in the main event my start was not so good, I was four or five in the first corner but I was ‘on fire’ and before the end of the first lap I took the lead and pushed to make a gap; then I controlled the race, nobody really bother me and it was a great feeling to win.”
Kim Savaste: “In the first race my start was not so good, I had a good jump of the gate but then I couldn’t’ shift for third of four. I had some good lines on the track and made a couple of passes to come back four. On Sunday my start was much better, and it’s good to end the season with another podium. Everyone knows that I’m used to race on sand tracks, this weekend I prove that I can ride good also on hard pack. I got some more confidence, my riding is much better; with the 125 here it was really difficult with deep ruts, now it’s time to move to the 250.”
