Mixed feelings in Italy
Penultimate round of the 2012 FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Europe will not stay as one of the best memories for team Rockstar energy Bud Racing Kawasaki, even if promising Benoit Paturel scored a brilliant second position in the European MX2 class. The team members couldn’t celebrate this podium as usual, as on Saturday during the qualifying session Dylan Ferrandis broke his leg.
Dylan Ferrandis suffered a most unfortunate crash during the qualification race and will now miss the last GP of the season in two weeks. The best 2012 GP rookie broke a femur and was put in plaster at the local hospital so that he could return to Lyon hospital in France where he has been operated with success on sunday evening.
Teammate Valentin Teillet had two strong races to tenth and sixth place to finish the GP seventh overall; Valentin struggled in the first heat with the track which had been too much watered in the night, but recovered and was able to put fast laps after mid race despite the discomfort of a twisted ankle which cost him several positions. His second race was much better even if he started mid-pack, as he came back from eleventh to sixth while passing strong riders like Tonus, Nichols…
The team also played a prominent role in the final round of the European MX2 championship as satellite rider Benoit Paturel record a podium finish. Second and third of the races he finished second overall, only one point behind the new champion Mel Pocock.
Valentin Teillet: “It’s good mentally to get some good results, and I’m happy with the second moto. In the first race my start was pretty bad and later I twisted my ankle; I had quite a lot of pain but I still managed to get a tenth position. Between the two motos I worked with Jacky Vimond on the lines, and we strapped up my ankle; I was about tenth at the start, but I had a better feeling with the track and set some good lap times to move forward to sixth. Of course the thoughts of the entire team were with Dylan today, it’s always tough to have a bad injury and let’s hope that he will come back next year even stronger.”
Benoit Paturel: “My start in the first moto was not so good, but I recovered to second, very close to Lacan, and it was a great boost as I had missed several rounds of the series due to injury. The start in the second race was similar but again I came back through the field to third and that earn the second place overall. That’s a great reward for the team Bud racing who is behind me, but also for my trainer who helped me to be stronger this season; we’ve worked hard to reach another level, and now the goal is to find a team to compete again in the European series next season.”
Jacky Vimond: “It’s a difficult weekend for the team as we all saw from the pit lane the bad crash of Dylan who broke his leg. It’s a bad news for all of us and first of all for him, who will be out for few months now. Concerning the races, it was pretty good, Benoit Paturel did two very good races and confirmed that he’s now one of the strongest riders in the European MX2 series. Valentin struggled in the first race, but we worked together between the races to find some solutions and it was great to see him fighting in the second heat for a top six result.”
