Quentin Prugnières fifth in Portugal

Quentin Prugnières claimed fifth overall in the third round of the FIM European EMX250 Championship, at Agueda in Portugal.

Just four weeks after breaking a collarbone, Quentin charged hard in both motos to move up the leaderboard each time missing the overall podium by just three points. After advancing from tenth to fourth in the first moto on Saturday he moved quickly to fifth already on the opening lap of race two with a series of exhilarating passes but then found himself in the role of lonely chaser for the remainder of the race. After losing ground at the last round as a result of a collarbone injury he is now back to seventh in the series points standings and is poised to make further gains next weekend in Spain.

Liam Owens, a fifteen-year-old from Australia, joined the team for the Iberian rounds of the series as the bike of injured Benjamin Garib was available. Liam was making his debut for the us this weekend, showed great spirit against older more-experienced opposition to narrowly miss the points, finishing twenty-third in each moto.

Quentin Marc Prugnières: “It was a tough weekend; I couldn’t ride as I want but it’s like that. Four weeks ago I broke my collarbone and now I’m missing time on the bike as I could only train two times since Arco, so to get two top-five results is not that bad. I did my best in both motos and we’ll continue to train hard to reach our goals. Today was physically demanding as it was really hot; I stayed on two wheels this weekend but that’s not enough for me.”

Liam Owens: “I’m very grateful to Kawasaki Bud Racing for giving me this opportunity; it’s a great experience. I only flew into Europe this week so I’ve not had much time to practice but I’m learning more-and-more every time I go out onto the track. I’m happy with my progress and we can work more on set-up before heading to Spain; I’m aiming to score points next weekend.”

Hossegor, May 1st

Some important points in Italy for Quentin

Injured two weeks ago during the last round of the French Championship, Quentin Prugnières bravely attempt to salvage points at the second round of the European Championship in Italy this weekend.

Team Bud Racing Kawasaki and Quentin Prugnières took together the decision to travel in Italy, less than two weeks after surgery to his broken collarbone. Testing his KX 250 on Tuesday in Southern France Quentin had no pain, so the team travelled to Arco di Trento with the aim to defend his second place in the series standings and score as many points as possible.
Unfortunately a fall in traffic at turn two of the opening moto on Saturday left him with a mountain to climb but he gritted his teeth to scythe through the pack to nineteenth by the end of the half-hour race. His second race on Sunday was pretty similar, spoilt by a first-lap incident which left the French youngster at the end of the field after a mid-pack start. Posting solid lap-times despite the physical discomfort he salvaged three points for eighteenth at the finish to retain a top-ten series ranking, just twenty-one points shy of third in the points chase with nine rounds remaining. Quentin will skip the next round of the French Championship this weekend at Vesoul, to recover and prepare the Portuguese round of the European series.

Quentin Marc Prugnières: “I did what I could but it was not easy after crashes with other riders soon after the start in each moto. It’s a shame as my rhythm and my physical condition were good; I didn’t have too much pain to my collarbone and I know that the next round will be better so I stay motivated.”

Justin HILL with Bud Racing for the WSX World Supercross Championship 2023

After a successful year in supercross in 2022, the Bud Racing Kawasaki Team is back for another year in the WSX World Supercross Championship, which begins July 1st in Birmingham.

With two Frenchmen, an American and an Australian, the team finished third in the 250cc championship and scored top five finishes in the 450cc class, so you can imagine that the team is determined to do at least as well in 2023. The championship will feature no less than 6 events around the world (Birmingham UK, Lyon FR, Asia, Dusseldorf DE, Vancouver CA, Melbourne AU).

For this the Bud Racing Kawasaki team announced a few weeks ago the renewal of the contract of the six-time French supercross champion, Cedric Soubeyras. Runner-up to Marvin Musquin at the 2021 Paris Supercross, Cedric is eager to compete again with the rest of the world’s riders and show what he can do.

His team-mate in the 450cc class will be the American Justin Hill, former 250 AMA supercross champion. He’s eager to get back on the Kawasaki that had previously worked so well for him, as he won 8 AMA Supercross races on this bike and was the last Kawasaki rider to win an AMA 250 Supercross championship. This will be a first one for the American in the WSX World Championship who is currently in the top 10 of the premier class in the American championship and who continues to improve with each race (7th in Detroit).

Stay tuned for the names of the riders who will represent us in 250, they should be revealed very soon.

Hossegor, April 6th 2023

French Elite Championship Injury for Quentin, Top 8 for Anthony!

Since a few weeks Quentin Prugnières enjoyed the podium celebrations, but this weekend at Romagne he missed the opportunity to reach another one as he broke his collarbone during the practice session. Eighth in the MX1 class, Anthony Bourdon is currently seventh in the standings.

It’s a new layout that the riders discovered this weekend, but Quentin didn’t really had time to enjoy it as he was surprised by the soft ground and crashed pretty hard during the first practice session. The first exams at the hospital revealed a broken collarbone, which will will forced him to rest during a few weeks. Anthony Bourdon was the single team representative and with a ninth gate pick he start the first race mid pack; back in eighth position on the finish line he had a similar race in the second moto, gaining one position during the last lap when he passed the reigning champion. Eighth overall he is currently seventh in the standing before the next round (Vesoul on April 23rd), and four more rounds are on the schedule.

Anthony Bourdon: “For sure if I could get better starts my races would be easier, as on this track it was not easy to pass with soft ground sections before the jumps. Apart this It was a real motocross track, with good ground and many ruts. In the first moto I lost time to pass David Herbreteau even if I was faster, for sure if you start in front you take another rhythm. I know that I also need to improve my speed to get better results, I have to work this points in the coming weeks.”

Hossegor, April 3rd 2023

Opening round of the European 250 A second place on the podium for Quentin Prugnières

Just one week after his strong performance in France, Quentin Prugnières had another great weekend in Sardinia as he brings his Bud Racing Kawasaki on the second step of the podium during the opening round of the European Championship.

Riola Sardo in Sardinia is with Lommel (Belgium) the toughest track that the 250 European Championship will visit this season, due to its sandy soil. During the timed practice session Quentin confirmed his ability in the sand with the fifth fastest lap, but that doesn’t help him in the first moto as he was only eighteenth after two corners! Back in the top ten after one lap he was able to come back third at mid race and cross the finish line at this position. On Sunday morning his start was way better as he got the holeshot, and then battled with Italian Bonacorsi for the lead; unfortunately he suffers a small crash in a fast turn, lost a few positions but never give up to come back third with four laps to go. Second overall, he equalled his result of last year in Sweden.

Next week he will be with Anthony Bourdon at the third round of the French Elite, in Britany. Injured last week at Castelnau de Levis, Benjamin Garib will have a shoulder surgery and will miss some races.

Quentin Marc Prugnières: “I was outside the top-fifteen at the start yesterday but I could find some spots where I was able to make passes. The track was pretty physical with a lot of deep holes so I was happy to come back to third; I wasn’t that far from Valk in the last few minutes but I made a mistake and lost a couple of seconds again. But a third in the first race was a good basis for the season. I was really focused at the start of race two today; I was so motivated to get this holeshot. Then we had some nice battles for the lead but I made one single mistake and crashed, but I never give up until the end and was rewarded with a pass near the end. I’m really happy with this podium; it was a tough race but we have worked hard this winter with the team and with Thierry (Van den Bosch) so it’s great to get the reward with this podium.”