Second win in a row for Quentin Prugnières in the sand!

Last week at Magescq he could have an advantage as he knew pretty well the Bud Racing Training Camp, but at Hossegor it was different as he never put the wheels of his Kawasaki on the beach before this weekend. But that was not a problem, and Quentin won his second consecutive Beach Sand race.

As the Motocross championships ends a few weeks ago, Quentin and team 9MM Bud Racing Kawasaki have been involved in two rounds of the French Sand series. Racing against some rivals who are sand riders since they start riding a motorcycle, Quentin show a good potential last week at Magescq and again at Hossegor this weekend. His start was better than last week, and he didn’t wait too long to take the leadership of the one hour and a half race; riding among the lappers is always a challenge, and even if he crashes after one hour of racing Quentin won this race to remain unbeaten on the French sand.

Next Saturday Quentin will be at Paris Supercross to defend also the colors of Team 9MM Energy Drink Bud Racing Kawasaki.

Quentin: “It was a good day, everything was OK. My start was better than in Magescq, and it didn’t take too long to get the lead. I had a small crash after the first hour, but no consequences; I had to be careful with the lappers until the end, but it was OK. I’m not totally happy with my riding, but the result was good and now we start training in Supercross for next weekend!”

Quentin Prugnières wins at Magescq

A few weeks after organizing ONE round of the French Elite Championship, the Bud Racing Training Camp met the third round of the French Sand series. On a familiar track for him, Quentin Prugnières placed his 250 Kawasaki Bud Racing on the first step of the podium in the Juniors class.

More than 600 riders were involved in the event, and among the sixty-three participants in the Junior class we had the three Bud Racing riders, all racing on 250 KXF. During the first laps of the 90 minutes’ race, and for his first race in this class, Sacha Coenen back racing after his wrist injury was one of the main animator as he battled with Simon Depoers for the leadership; missing experience on the 250, he damaged the clutch and was forced to retire in the seventh lap. It was then another Bud rider who fight for the win, and after a bad start Quentin Prugnières gained positions to take the lead and cross the finish line twenty-five seconds ahead of his main rival. Third Bud rider involved in this race, Lucas Coenen did a consistent race to finish his first race on a 250 in fourth position.

The season is not finished; the team will be next weekend in Hossegor for another round of the Sand series, and one week later in Paris for the main European Supercross.

Quentin Prugnières: “It’s a little strange to race during one hour and a half but it was fun, I really enjoyed. My start was not so good as I hit the wheel of another rider at the start, but I stay quiet and I could make the difference in the last part of the race, when the track was coming rougher. This year I wasn’t able to do what I was expecting for my first season on a 250, and it’s nice to win here; two more races and I will make a break and then prepare 2022.”

Another double victory for 9MM BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Lucas Coenen

9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing’s Lucas Coenen celebrated his fifteenth birthday in style with his second consecutive double-win in the FIM European EMX Championship at the final round in Mantova.

After qualifying a close second he swept majestically through the first turn in moto one to lead already by more than three seconds at the end of the opening lap and, his KX handling superbly around the rugged track, he moved relentlessly clear of his chasers with a succession of fastest laps. By half-distance he was fifteen seconds clear and could cruise to victory for his fourth win in the last five motos. The twenty-five point maximum also saw him advance to third in the point standings. An immaculate start-finish repeat performance in race two saw the teenager complete his second consecutive maximum day to end the championship just ten points shy of the series silver medal after a difficult start to the season.

It was not such a great day for Quentin Prugnières who qualified in seventeenth, he had good start in moto 1 but didn’t score any point in the races due to two crashes in race one where he retires. His second moto start in twelfth until dropping to last after the bike stalled in the second lap; he came back twenty fourth.

Both riders will race next weekend the French Beach Series at their home training location, the Bud Racing Training Camp.

Lucas Coenen: “Today was another really good day for me, taking the holeshot and leading all the way both motos, same like last week in Arco. I had to push hard in the second moto because the guys behind me were riding hard too but we took that one also in the end; the track was slippery and bumpy but my BUD bike handled it perfectly. I just missed second in the championship by a few points; it’s a pity about my DNFs at the first two rounds but everything has been perfect since then. “

Quentin Prugnières: “Not the way I wanted to end the championship, I did some positive things but also did some mistakes as this crash in race one where I wanted to make quick passes. My rookie season in the class was a learning one, and I will work hard this winter to get better results.”

Perfect day for Bud Racing’s Lucas Coenen

9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing junior Lucas Coenen followed up his midweek career-first FIM European Championship moto win with a perfect double-victory in today’s third race in a week at Pietramurata.

The fourteen-year old Belgian rookie, facing competition up to three years older, made the perfect start as he holeshot the first moto after qualifying fourth on the same second as pole at the glorious track in the shadows of the Italian Dolomites; he immediately raced clear of the series points leader to already hold a comfortable six-second lead after ten minutes and eventually take victory, together with the fastest lap, by sixteen seconds. Once more hooking up perfectly out of the gate in race two the teenager immediately raced clear; leading by two seconds already at the end of the first lap he was content to control that slender advantage through the slippery opening minutes before racing ever further clear during the second half to complete his perfect day with moto victory by seventeen seconds and again the fastest lap of the race. After a difficult start to the series in the summer the youngster has now closed to within four points of third in the championship and will be chasing not only more race victories but also an FIM medal in the series final at Mantova ten days from now.

In the EMX250 Quentin Prugnières wasn’t too lucky and just came back home with a few points. In the first moto he starts mid pack and was back in twelfth position when he had a crash and finish seventeenth; overtaking is so difficult on this track that you have to take some risks to pass. His second start was much better, but he was involved in a pile up in the first corner; back from last to twentieth, he was not really rewarded for his efforts.

Two more rounds for the EMX250 next Saturday and Tuesday at Mantova (Italy) where the EMX125 will also be part of the program on Tuesday.

Lucas Coenen: “It was a great first race, taking my first holeshot and leading all the way. The track was really difficult today with the bumps, tricky on some sections and it was not easy with the lapped riders but my bike handled it perfectly. It feels so good to go 1-1 to stand on the top step of the podium today; that’s what I wanted after I made a couple of mistakes in the second race on Tuesday. Now I’m looking forward to the final round at Mantova next week where I will try to get similar results. “

Stéphane Dasse: “We are super happy of course, a long time since the team won his last European Championship round! Lucas was strong today with two holeshot and two wins, the perfect weekend! For Quentin his results didn’t reflect his riding, just a shame that in the second moto he was involved in the pile up as he finally had a great start. We keep confident and positive; we hope to end the season at Mantova with great results to prepare 2022 in the best conditions.”

First EMX career win for Lucas Coenen in Italy

9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Lucas Coenen claimed an overwhelming career-first FIM European Championship moto win at Pietramurata in the Trentino region of northern Italy today, to finish runner up of the event.

Fastest rider in his qualifying group Lucas moved quickly from a third-placed start in race one to take the lead quickly and sprinted clear at more than two seconds each lap before easing back through the final laps for a still-comfortable fourteen-second victory. A double-win looked on the cards as he sliced his way to the front already on the opening lap of race two, but two slips cast him back to fifteenth before a remarkable recovery as he consistently lapped faster than the eventual winner to end the day second on the podium. His brother Sacha wasn’t racing today as his wrist is still painful.

In the EMX250 Quentin Prugnières also show terrific pace in the shadow of the Dolomites as he pushed his KX250 from twenty-seventh to thirteenth after spinning at the gate in the first EMX250 moto. The second one wasn’t better; after a start in the pack Quentin never found a good rhythm and cross the finish line in seventeenth position.

Lucas Coenen: “It feels good to be be back winning again but of course I’m disappointed not to take the overall too even though I am still on the podium. I managed to pass quickly from third for the lead and made a big gap in the first race and I could soon take the lead in the second moto two, but then I fell two times. “

Quentin Prugnières: “At the first start I slides on the metal plate and then I was able to come back thirteenth which was not so bad. Second moto was different, the start wasn’t so good and then I never found a good rhythm and struggle to make more passes. Disappointed with this moto, and already focus on the next one.