European Moto win for Darian Sanayei in Italy, SX Tour win for Xavier Boog in France

It was another busy weekend for team Monster Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki, involved in Italy with the European series and in France with the opening round of the SX Tour. On both side of the Alps, the Bud riders offered some wins to the team.

Since the French round of the EMX250 championship Darian Sanayei is stronger and stronger, and once more in Mantova he got a good second position in the qualifying session and later dominates the first race. The American teenager enjoyed a terrific duel with his series rival before eventually coming out on top in Saturday evening’s opening moto, and he appeared to be headed for a double victory until he had an engine problem and crashed at the end of the second moto on Sunday morning, which was a devastating end to what should have been an awesome week-end. He remains a clear second in the series standings with two rounds still to race.

In the Euro 125 the team got his best result of the season with both riders in the top five of the event! Leader of the first race during most of the period on Saturday, Kim Savaste finally got his best ever result in the class with a second position. On Sunday he didn’t rode so relax, and crashed several times; eleventh of the race, he finished fifth of the event tight in the points with team mate Brian Moreau. On the rough track and under very hot temperatures (over 30°C all weekend long) Brian scored his best performance of the season with two consistent races; even if he is the youngest rider in the series, Brian didn’t do any mistakes to collect two fifth positions and a fourth overall. He is now ninth in the standings, followed by Kim.

The youngest team representatives were in Italy, and their experimented teammates were in South west of France for the opening round of the famous SX Tour championship. After a test during the week, Maxime Desprey was coming back racing alongside Xavier Boog. The Alsacian was the fastest riders in Estillac, and dominates the event; second in the timed practice session, Xavier won his heat race and the main event! Maxime didn’t got similar results as it was his first race since four months, but he got a good fifth in his heat race and a thirteenth position in the main event. The SX riders will be this weekend in Maricourt for a new SX series, while Brian will start training SX at Team private track during the EMX series break.

Darian Sanayei: “I did pretty well in practice, even if we didn’t made the best decision concerning the tyre choice but my speed was good and I got a second position. In the first moto I took the holeshot; I was riding good but I made some mistakes and Olsen just get around me about ten minutes in. I followed him, saw his lines, knew the track better and made a pass on him after twenty minutes to win the race, which was pretty cool. In the second race I got another holeshot and was riding good again; Vaessen was second, Olsen was pretty far back and I was getting better and better but unfortunately I had some troubles with the bike, fell and had to retire.”

Brian Moreau: “ It was great weekend for me, especially on a sandy track who is not my best usually! I got good starts and rode carefully in both races, as I never got two good results at a race this season. It’s a great feeling to be twice in the top five, I still need to work physically to be able to race for a podium result and that’s what we are doing with the team.”

Kim Savaste: “It was a good weekend for me as I got my first second place during the first race; I was leading until 3 laps to go but the weather was very hot and I felt tired during the last laps, but I was happy with my riding. Second race I think I had some little pressure for the podium, I got another good start but felt twice during the race when I try to make some passes. This weekend I was happy with my riding, for sure I’m Finn so when it’s sandy it’s easier for me.”

Xavier Boog: “Practice was good as I got the second position but very close from the poleman, with a couple of fast laps. I won pretty easily my heat race and again in the main event I started in third; in the second lap I took the lead and posted a couple of fast laps to make a gap, and then to control my rivals until the finish line.”

Maxime Desprey: “I was back on a bike end of May on Motocross tracks, and last week I just try to ride on the team’s Supercross track and finally decided to race in Estillac. I had a good feeling on the bike but knew that I will not have the rhythm during fifteen laps, and still struggle in the whoops missing some confidence. I got a fifth in the semi final but then I got a bad start in the main, crashed and had some troubles to keep the rhythm and finally had some arm pumped. I finished thirteenth, happy to be back racing, and I know that I still need to train and ride to be strong physically.”

Darian Sanayei consolidates second in England

Darian Sanayei consolidated second place in the FIM European EMX250 Motocross Championship for Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki after finishing joint top points scorer at Matterley Basin in England.

The American teenager twice outpaced the series leader as he swept to a five second victory in the opening moto before finishing a close second to a local wild card rider in race two; their duel had taken them nearly half a minute clear of the remaining riders in the race. Having contested the British round of the series last year Darian already knew the track and finished top of his qualification group before two close battles with the English wild card rider, a former champion; they finished the weekend tight on points. With three rounds remaining Darian remains 56 points behind the series leader, but he has increased his advantage over the third-placed rider to 69 points.

The European 125 was also at the program of the British GP, and in the timed practice session Brian Moreau shows again his potential at 14 years old when he posted the fastest lap time of his group. On Saturday afternoon Brian got a good start in the first race, coming fourth but he lost time in a crash; ninth after three laps, he came back sixth. The second race on Sunday was not a good one for him, as he didn’t score any point after an early crash in the 1st lap. He remains tenth in the standings, before the GP of Lombardy this weekend. Teammate Kim Savaste had a consistent weekend, scoring points in both races for the first time since Arco; the young Finish rider scored a Seventh of the GP, he is now eleventh of the series, just a few points behind Brian.

Our 85KX rider Thibault Benistant was in Portugal, and entered the last qualifying race of the 85 European series. It was his third appearance since his elbow injury begin of march, and Thibault had a very good weekend with two podium results and a strong second overall at Fernao Joanes.

The EMX250 and Euro125 series will continue next week in Mantova (Italy), while Xavier Boog will enter the French SX Tour with the first round of the series in Estillac.

Darian Sanayei: “In the first moto I had a pretty good start and passed Clarke and then Prado to get the lead. I made a small gap and won this race; it was cool to win again. Then in the second moto I got a good jump of the gate but started wheeling; Prado was at my inside and I just came wide open in the first corners to get the lead again. That was pretty cool and my speed was good but Clarke, who was just doing this race, hit me a couple of times. We had a really nice battle for a couple of laps and I just missed out on this win, but I won the qualifying and the first moto. Second overall is not so bad for the championship. The track was awesome; I enjoyed it last year and again this time.”

Another win for Xavier Boog in Ernee

Xavier Boog enjoyed his third win of the season during the penultimate round of the French Elite Championship, and remains a contender for the MX1 title before the final round of the series scheduled on July 17th in Iffendic. In the MX2, Junior and Hopefull classes, the Bud riders all collected a race podiums or win.

It was busy program this weekend in Ernée, home last year of the Motocross of Nations. The four French classes 85cc, Junior 125, Elite MX2 & MX1 were involved in this meeting, and the club did a great job to prepare the track; the weather was not really good this weekend, but the organisers did a fantastic job to offer the best racing conditions to the riders between the showers.

Fastest in his qualifying group Xavier got a good start in the first race, but except during the first few laps he wasn’t able to follow the rhythm of Valentin Teillet who was very fast this weekend; Xavier was close from him during a few laps, but then Teillet made the gap and Xavier secured his second position. Xavier got a better start in the second race and passed Aubin for the lead during the opening lap; he pushed hard during a few laps and then just secured his win. Overall winner for the third time this season, Xavier is always seven points behind Teillet in the standings, but is now only fifteen points behind the leader Gregory Aranda before the final round.

The slippery conditions were perfect for Nicolas Dercourt, who was the fastest MX2 rider during the practice sessions. His first start was in the top 5, but Nico was impressive during the first lap and came second behind Florent Richier; he passed him straight away and made a good gap, but in the last lap a technical issue stopped him! Disappointed, Nico rebounded in the next race, winning it forty seconds ahead of his rivals and keeping some chances for the title, as he is now tight in the standings with Richier, behind Boisrame.

With their entire program the same day, including practice session, qualifying race and two heats, the Junior 125 riders (and also the hopeful) had a very long day! Fastest in his group Brian Moreau grabbed the holeshot in the first race but crashed one time while he was leading the race, and then a second one! Sixth at mid race he came back third, and later got another holeshot in race two; he lost some positions after a crash, but came back fourth to end this event tight in third position, his best result this season for the youngest rider of the pack.
Back racing after an injury end of May in Slovenia, Thibault Benistant entered in Ernée his second race of the season. Second of his qualifying race behind the leader of the 85 hopeful series, Thibault was impressive during the first race as he came back from ninth to third; unfortunately he crashed and was twelfth, but again came back strongly in seventh. He confirmed his good speed in the second race, coming back from eighth to third and just missing the final step of the podium.

Xavier Boog:” It’s cool to win my third race this season, unfortunately I got a second and a first position and just score the same number of points as Teillet. But at least I don’t lose any points compared to my rivals, so it’s positive. In the first race Valentin was very strong; I didn’t rode so well, and wanted some revenge in the second one. I had a good start and passed Aubin during the first lap, and then I pushed to make a gap and win this race. The club did a very good job, they prepared the track as it was for the Motocross of Nations and that’s just a shame that the weather was not better.”

Nicolas Dercourt: “The conditions were not easy in Ernée this weekend, but I’m very happy with my riding. I got two good starts; in the first race I passed Richier and was leading easily but in the last lap the bike stopped and I was so disappointed. I got the holeshot in the second race, had again a very good rhythm and won the race with the fastest lap time and forty seconds ahead of my rivals. That’s good for the next races.”

Brian Moreau: “The track was really difficult to ride with the rain, and I did too many mistakes; in both races I got the holeshot, but I was pushing too much on a slippery and rough track so I crashed several times. Even if I got my best overall result in the French series I’m frustrated, as I missed a podium result. The positive point is that I had a good speed, Rubini and Goupillon are strong and helped us to be faster; it will help us for the next European rounds.”

Thibault Benistant: “After my elbow injury three months ago I was back racing earlier than expected; Ernée was my second race, two weeks after a round of the European Championship in Slovenia, where I got a fifth and an eleventh position. Ernée was not so bad for me; in the first race I chose the outside gate, as I did in the qualifying race but that was not a good choice. I got a bad start and came back seventh, then in the second race I had an average start and finished third. I’m pretty happy with my riding in this race, now I will go to Portugal for the last qualifying race of the European series; the goal is to qualify for the final round in Loket.”

Darian Sanayei double winner in France

Darian Sanayei scored an emphatic double victory for Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki in the French round of the FIM European MX250 Motocross Championship at St Jean D’Angely. For the team who lined up five riders, it was also a great opportunity to welcome partners and fans.

The young American, faced with the need to learn a new circuit at every round, qualified eighth and made a solid start to the opening moto in third position before quickly taking the lead on lap three and moving relentlessly away from his chasers for a nine second victory. Another good start in race two saw him initially second before taking the lead already on the opening lap for another convincing win, again nine seconds clear of his closest rival. The fifty point maximum score for his first ever series victory has seen Darian advance to second in the series standings.

Teammate Nicolas Dercourt also made his best result of the series so far when he took fourth overall from 4-6 moto finishes, missing the podium by just one point. The French youngster twice had to charge up the leaderboard from moderate starts; in the first moto he advanced from eighth to fourth and in the second race he converted an initial eighth into sixth place. Nicolas is now eighth in the series standings.

In the European 125 class Brian Moreau qualified with the second fastest lap of his group, while Kim Savaste had to go through the last chance race to qualify. Brian missed his start in the first heat and fight hard to pass many riders to finally get a seventh position, but he crashed at the start of the second race and had to come back from far last to fifteenth; tenth overall, he’s also tenth in the series. From the outside gate Kim had more troubles at the start, and had twice to come back from very far; he retired with a technical issue in the first race but then came back eighth in the second heat.

Sixteen and fourteen of the practice session, Xavier Boog rode the MXGP class and had to come back from eighteenth to fifteenth in the first race, he didn’t had time to improve his result in the second heat as he damaged one radiator in a crash with another rider after three laps.

Even if the World and European Championships have a break next weekend, the team will be in Ernée for the penultimate round of the French Series.

Darian Sanayei: “It was good. The track was really nice, just some stones, so my goal was to take some good starts so I wouldn’t get too much stones in my face. I was third at the start of the first race and I had some difficulties with my hand guard touching the clutch but with the track conditions that wasn’t such a problem; it just made me ride smoother. I nearly got the holeshot in the second moto. I was second and took the lead at the second or third corner; after that I just tried to ride my own race, to stay strong and make a gap to my rivals. I rode this track a few weeks ago and, even if the conditions were totally different, I think that helped me to get a good qualifying result. I’m used to discovering new tracks, but at least I knew the track layout here, and it will be similar in the UK as I raced there last year. It was awesome to hear the national anthem; it was my goal to win some races here in Europe this season.”

Nicolas Dercourt: “ It was a good weekend for me, as I got my best overall result of the year with a fourth position overall. I had the eleventh gate pick but missed a good start in the first race; I rode a good opening lap to move to eighth, and then found a good rhythm to advance to fourth at the finish. My second moto was pretty similar, as I moved forward from eighth to sixth and just missed the podium by one point.”

Brian Moreau: “I was expecting a lot from this GP, trained hard so of course I’m disappointed with the results. In the first heat I was around twentieth at the start and came back seventh, the track was really rough and slippery; then in the second heat Geerts took my front wheel on the starting line and I crashed. I was last and came back fifteenth, it’s a learning year for me!”

Kim Savaste: “On Saturday I can’t explain why I didn’t qualified in the series, and I was upset to go to the last chance race to qualify. I won it and get used to the track; in the first race my start from the outside was not so good but I came back from twenty first to eleventh when i bent my chain guide in a rut and my chain came off with four laps to go. Then in the second race I didn’t got a good start but my riding was better and I came back eighth.”

Xavier Boog: “I’m happy to finish this French GP on my foot, as I got injured in the last two editions and that was somewhere in my mind! I was expecting better results, but without a good start now it’s nearly impossible to enter the top twelve. In the second race I had a good rhythm but I crashed with another rider and damaged the bike, my race was finished. It was a good practice before the Elite round in Ernée, we are not used now to have a full weekend of racing as the French Motocross and Supercross races are a one day event.”

Top ten for Moreau, Dercourt et Sanayei in Spain

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