Strong GP debut for Darian Sanayei, Another SX win for Xavier Boog

Darian Sanayei entered the MX2 World Championship for the first time last weekend at Charlotte (North Carolina) and get his first top seven result on his Monster Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki. In France Xavier Boog won another Supercross race and will be racing the final round of the Pro Supercross this weekend.

The Motocross World Championship moved for the last two rounds of the series in the United States of America, and Darian couldn’t miss these races after finishing runner-up in the FIM European EMX250 Championship this summer. His lack of experience of the series format didn’t helped him, especially as the program was concentrate on one day due to hurricane Hermine. With only one free and one timed practice period the US teenager only got the eighteenth gate, but he immediately raced into the top ten during the first moto and advanced as high as sixth place before surrendering a place to a more experienced rival in the closing laps. He did an amazing start in race two and got the holeshot but lost a few positions early in the race to hold the sixth place; but the pace and extra track time took its toll in the end and Darian had to relax his pace in the closing laps to finish a safe thirteenth.

Eleventh of the GP, he will for sure look for a better result next weekend in Glen Helen, a track that he already knows.

In France Xavier Boog continues to achieve great performances in Supercross; a few days after being crowned French SX Tour champion, Xavier lines up in Chaumont for the second round of another series, the Pro Supercross Cup. It was another perfect event for Xavier who won got three holeshot, won the two qualifying races and dominates the main event! He is currently runner up in this series, only two points behind the leader before the final round this weekend à Briis sous Forges. Teammate Maxime Desprey enjoyed in another event, at Brienon its first top five result in Supercross since his injury, with a strong fourth position in the main event.

Darian Sanayei: “I like the track here for my first GP. They postponed Friday and we had to ride more than normal on Saturday with the practice sessions and both races; that was a lot more than I was used to this season in the European series. The qualifying session was not perfect, but I learnt the track and knew that I could get a good result with a good start; in the first moto I was eight or ninth in the first corner and came back to sixth until two laps to go when Anstie passed me. Seventh was a pretty good result for my first ever MX2 GP moto, but after this race and riding so much I was already feeling some pain in my back. I get a nice holeshot in the second moto, which was good and from there I just tried to survive; I didn’t feel so good and I got a thirteenth so overall it was not so bad for my first GP.”

Xavier Boog French Supercross Champion

Coming to the final round of the SX Tour French championship as an outsider, as he was second in the standings, Xavier Boog did a great performance as he won this last round to clinch the ‘Outdoor’ SX title.
Winner in Estillac and Saint Thibery, on the podium in La Bosse de Bretagne, Xavier got his third win of the season in La Tremblade, one of the most popular Supercross in France. On the podium of his qualifying heat, Xavier got a great start in the main event as he got the holeshot; then after a few laps Thomas Ramette, his last rival for the title came and fight with Xavier for the win. When Thomas did a mistake and crashed, Xavier had the title under his belt and secured another French title; tight in the standings with Ramette, Xavier got the title with three wins when his rival had only one. This ‘outdoor’ series is now over, and Xavier will race a couple of summer Supercross before entering the ‘indoor’ series with the first round scheduled end of October in Metz Amneville.

Also involved in this SX race, Maxime Desprey is still recovering and getting confidence at each race; twelfth of the main event, he still miss some riding to be able to use all the power of the 450.

Involved in the 125 class, Brian Moreau did again a strong performance as he posted the fastest lap time in the practice session and then dominates the first race; unfortunately, he got an arm injury at the beginning of the second race, without crashing.

Xavier Boog: “I had a good feeling during the practice sessions, and finished second in the timed practice period. In the heat race I had a good start, but the track had changed since the practice sessions and as I kept the same lines I finished only third. The main event was better, I got the holeshot and then we had a nice battle with Thomas (Ramette) my rival for the title; when he crashed I just had to keep the pace, as I had a goo gap with him in third position! It’s great for the team to win this SX title; I finished already runner up in the Elite MX and wanted so much this SX title.”

Maxime Desprey: “Before this event I spent the week at the team workshop with Xavier, and we made some good improvements on the settings so I was more confident in the whoops section. In my heat race another rider crashed in front of me, but I was able to come back six and qualified for the main event. The first part of the main was OK, but then as I don’t ride relax at the moment I got tired and lost some positions. But the feeling is better at each race, and I stay confident for the rest of the season.”

Double win for Darian Sanayei in Switzerland, SX Win for Xavier Boog in French Supercross SX Tour

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.”

First European podium for Kim Savaste in sandy Belgium

Team Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki enjoyed good results in the penultimate round of the FIM European Motocross Championships, with a solid podium for Savaste and a fourth and a fifth place for Sanayei and Moreau in difficult conditions at Lommel in Belgium.

The sandy circuit has long been a rigorous test for young Darian as he never encounter such conditions in his homeland, but the teenager showed great spirit to achieve a commendable result in the circumstances. He already showed his determination to qualify second from his group and the resultant choice of gate enabled him to holeshot the first moto and lead for a couple of laps before the sand experts pushed him back to fourth; he showed great spirit to recover third place again before the finish. Race two saw Darian miss the overall podium on the points tie after crossing the line fourth, just over a second from third. He retains second in the series standings and has a comfortable thirty-seven point advantage over third as they go to the final round in Switzerland next weekend.

Kim Savaste has more experience of sandy tracks and the young Finn show great form with a second position in his qualifying group. His start was not the best one in the first heat, but Kim came back from a top fifteen to the fourth position, just a second behind the third rider! His second race was even more exciting, as he came back from last after a crash at the start to the second place! With these two great results Kim got his first podium of the season with a second overall with a 4/2 motos finish and is now eighth in the standings.

Not as used as his teammate to sand tracks, Brian Moreau increased his performances during the weekend; ninth in his qualifying session, Brian got a good start in the first race to finish sixth, and did even better in the second one as he came back from ninth to third! Fifth overall with a 6/3, Brian got his best result of the season and is now ninth in the standings, tight with Kim before the final round of the series this weekend in Switzerland.

Darian Sanayei: “This weekend was a bit tougher for me; we don’t have any track like this one in the USA ! I was second in my qualifying group; that was my first goal to get a good gate pick for the races. In the first race I got the holeshot, and finished the two races in third and fourth position. I’m not happy with the results but it’s not too bad for my first time in Lommel; I salvaged some good points before the final round next weekend, and I want to thanks the whole team and our sponsors for their support.”

Kim Savaste: “It was a very good weekend, even if on Saturday I was not so happy with my riding. For the race we made some changes on the suspensions and it was working a lot better; my start in the second heat was not very good, then I crashed in the second corner and was nearly last but I wanted this podium and I charged my way and made many passes to come back 2nd !. I’m of course very happy with the result, thanks to team Bud for their great support.”

Brian Moreau: “I struggled on Saturday for the qualifying, but the feeling was better and better for the races. We worked a lot on sand riding with the team trainer Thierry Van Den Bosch during the weekend and French Federation trainer Pascal Finot during the week, it helped me to get these good results. I finished the last four races in the top six, and will go confident to the final round in Switzerland.”

Podium and Win in SX pour Boog and Moreau

The French SX Tour was back to action this weekend in Brittany, and it was a good opportunity for the Monster Bud Racing Kawasaki riders to get some more trophies with a win & a podium results. In the SX1 class Xavier Boog got a third overall, while Brian Moreau Strubhart did an amazing performance as he won the Junior class in what was his first official Supercross.

Third round of the summer tour after Estillac and Chateauneuf, La Bosse de Bretagne opened a new chapter in the season as there are no more French Motocross now after the final round of the French Elite one week ago. Unable to train during the week after his injury in Chateauneuf (broken rib), Xavier Boog did a strong performance; third in the practice session and second in his heat race, Xavier got a third position in the main event and remains a title contender as he is ten points behind series leader with two more races to go. Still recovering as he start practicing only one month ago, Maxime Desprey just lost a top ten result at the end of the main, after a fifth in his heat race. This event was the first official Supercross for Brian Moreau, the youngest riders involved in the Junior class; third of the first race, Brian was even stronger in the second one and beats all his rivals to get the overall win.

Next weekend the 125 and 250 European championships are back in action, with the last two rounds in Lommel (Belgium) and Frauenfeld (Switzerland) for Brian Moreau, Kim Savaste and Darian Sanayei.

Brian Moreau :” It’s super cool to be back on the first step of the podium for my first official Supercross race. I really enjoy riding SX and had only some training at the Team’s track during the week but i immediately felt good on the bike. I was not so fast in the whoops at the beginning but i improved at each session, so it was good, to finally win the overall. The bike was good also, it was really fun to race.”

Xavier Boog: “Due to my broken rib in Chateauneuf I can’t train as I would like between the races, but luckily when I’m on the bike it’s not too painful. I had a good practice session and qualified in second in my heat race; in the main I had a good start in the top five, but when I was in third I never found the opportunity to pass anyone. I’m a little bit disappointed, but I think that soon I will be able to practice normally.”

Maxime Desprey: “Each weekend I have a better feeling, even if I would like to be already at 100%! I’m not totally confident in some sections, like the whoops, but I was back on a bike just a few weeks ago so I need to practice and to race to be back at the top. Every week I saw the improvements, and I know what I have to do in the next days; in the main I was tenth, and tried to move to ninth but finally lost one position! Now we have two weeks to prepare the next round in St Thibery, and two weeks to work.”