Dylan Ferrandis continues to impress / Livia win again

Coming back to Wallonia for the first time since a while, the Belgian Grand Prix had a different face with a rainy Saturday, and a sunny Sunday. Injury to Valentin Teillet left Dylan Ferrandis alone to represent Team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki and the French teenager again showed tremendous speed with a second position in qualification and a seventh place in the race.

In order to preserve the track for the races, the qualifying races were cancelled on Saturday and after a free practice session the riders qualified through a timed practice period. That didn’t affect Dylan’s confidence, which was fast on the wet and slippery track; posting the fastest lap time in his third lap, Dylan was leading the series for a long time but finally Van Horebeek grabbed the pole. With a good opening lap in race one Dylan came seventh behind Jordi Tixier, and the two Frenchmen passed each others a couple of time; unfortunately Dylan slides and lost a couple of seconds, and then crashed when another rider hit him. The engine stalled, and Dylan lost too much time in the incident…. His second race was similar, but this time and despite pain in his recently injured wrists he fought stoically forward to seventh place in race two to maintain his top ten world ranking. After three GP’s in a row (France, Portugal et Belgique) the world championship will make a break next weekend before the Swedish Grand Prix.

Livia Lancelot won again the french championship women with 3 moto win and will fly to America this week to race the XGames in Los Angeles end of june.

Dylan Ferrandis: “On Saturday I had a good feeling with the track, and only needed a few laps to get the second position in the timed practice session. The track was very good today, but in the first race I made a small mistake when I was seventh and another rider hit me; I stalled the engine stalled and lost too much time to restart. My second start was not so good, but I fought back to seventh; my wrist was painful again, so I will rest for a few days but we have two weeks before the next GP so I hope for a good race in Sweden.”

Jacky Vimond: “We were pleased this weekend to see Dylan so strong, and he impressed many people with his excellent result in the qualifying session. It was a great performance, and he confirmed his potential on Sunday, even if he didn’t finish the first race. He was strong in both heats, he always improves his results and is now regularly in the top seven for his first GP season; I’m sure that he will be even faster soon. Valentin has to stay at home with his broken left collarbone; we got advices from his orthopaedist, and he didn’t have any surgery. He will probably be back in Latvia.”

Two top five for Teillet and Ferrandis

Team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki came back from Portugal GP with two top five results for Valentin Teillet and Dylan Ferrandis, but unfortunately none had been able to finish both heats due to racing incidents. In France Livia Lancelot got another triple win, and had not been defeated in the women series!

Valentin Teillet had a great qualifying race on Saturday, as he holeshot the race to score a strong fifth position right behind the leaders of the series. The track was different on Sunday as it didn’t stopped raining during the night, but once more Valentin shows his ability and scored another fifth position in 1st moto. Unfortunately his unlucky season with injury continued in the first turn of the second heat; the energetic Frenchman was involved in a pile-up and suffered a broken left collarbone to end his day’s racing. Valentin will miss at least the Belgian and Swedish GP’s.

After a good qualifying session, Dylan Ferrandis was in the top ten of the first race after a few laps when he got a stone in his rear brake disk and had to retire prematurely. He grabbed the holeshot in the second GP moto, and defied the discomfort of the wrist injury he had suffered one week earlier in France to maintain fourth place to the chequered flag. Dylan equalled his best ever race result – he got a fourth during the first race in Mexico – and is currently tenth in the standings before the Belgian GP this weekend.

Valentin Teillet: “I had a good qualifying race, as I got the holeshot and finished fifth after leading during three laps. In the first race I was happy to finish fifth again, and was expecting another good result in the second race, but at the start we all crashed when Roelants pushed me wide; unfortunately I felt on my left shoulder and broke my collarbone. It’s so frustrating to have another injury, especially as the accident wasn’t my fault.”

Dylan Ferrandis: “I had a good start in the first race and was running ninth when I got a stone in the rear brake disc; the disc was damaged, and I had to retire. I grabbed the holeshot in the second race, but Herlings and Searle passed me already on the first lap; later I only lost one more place to finish fourth position. This was a good result as the wrist which I injured last week was painful during the second half of the race.”

Valentin scored his best GP result at his home Grand Prix

Team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki spent a good weekend in St Jean d’Angely, home of the French Grand Prix, despite the injury of Dylan Ferrandis who didn’t entered the sunday races. Many fans, partners and sponsors came to visit the French squad in the paddock, and with a sixth position in the MX2 class Valentin got his best result of the season in an incredible atmosphere.

On Saturday the team got his best result during the pre qualifying session, as Valentin and Dylan posted the second and third lap times behind the Championship leader! Valentin got a good start and secured a fourth place for the races, while Dylan crashed twice and ended the race with a painful wrist. Further exams revealed some damages to the cartilage, and Dylan had to watch the races.

After suffering terribly bad luck with injuries since the opening GP Valentin Teillet took his Kawasaki to sixth place overall in his home GP to augur well for the rest of the season. Supported by many fans, Valentin did a great race in the first moto; he came in third position after fifteen minutes, was passed by Searle and finally scored a fifth position after a small crash. His second heat was more difficult, as he crashed in the waves section during the opening lap; ninth of the race, he got his best result of the season.

Valentin Teillet: “After my injuries I haven’t been able to race so much and couldn’t practice correctly for several weeks, so it was physically demanding for me this weekend but I reached my goal with two correct results. It’s such a great feeling to finish two motos again, particularly in front of my home crowd; it was incredible to get so much support from the fans, I could hear them while riding my bike! Sixth place overall was a great result and it could have been better if I had not had one small crash in each race.”

Dylan Ferrandis: “I had my best pre-qualifying session of the season with the third best time, so I had a good gate for the qualifying race. My start was also good and I was in sixth place after several corners, but another rider hit me and forced me to crash. I carried on but then the front wheel slipped away in a fast corner and crashed again. I felt pain in my wrist and the team and I decided that I should not race until I have had a thorough examination on Monday.”

Stephane Dassé: “This weekend was pretty good for us, and Valentin had two strong races even if he is not fit due to his injuries. It’s a shame that Dylan got injured, he was so fast on this track; we took together the decision to skip the races, he will have more exams this week and we’ll see if he can race in Portugal. We met many people this weekend in the paddock, as always at the French Grand Prix, and it was a pleasure to see such a great atmosphere around the track.”

The French Elite MX2 title for Valentin

1st & 2nd position for Valentin and Dylan in the last race of the French elite MX2 championship.

Coming to the final round of the French Elite Championship with a wrist injury contracted at Mexican GP, Valentin Teillet was strong in Gaillac Toulza. Again winner of the MX2 class, he offers to his Rockstar energy Bud Racing Kawasaki team a second Elite title three years after David Vuillemin.

Racing conditions were perfect in Gaillac Toulza, and there was a lot of suspense before the start as Valentin was leading Maxime Desprey by a single point before this last race. Runner up in the timed practice session behind teammate Dylan Ferrandis, Valentin grabbed the holeshot of the MX2 race and led the entire period. He came to the super final with a six points lead, and got another great start among the 450; second MX2 rider behind Dylan, he kept this rank despite pain in his arm and celebrates on the finish line his first French title; a great reward for him and his team, who has always been behind him after all his injuries.

After his pole position in the morning, Dylan was unlucky in the first MX2 race as another rider put a wheel on his foot in a corner and forced him to crash. Only twenty first after the opening lap, Dylan made a strong comeback in fourth and posted the fastest lap. A better start in the super final helped him to secure a fifth position among the 450 and win the second MX2 race. Fifth of the series, he will be with Valentin at home next weekend during the French Grand Prix in St Jean d’Angely.

Valentin Teillet: « I’m of course very happy, it was not easy to hold the pressure as I came to this race with my wrist injury. I had so much pain during the first heat, more than ever in my career and the last laps were difficult. I’m happy for my team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki, they all did their best for me before this final round; I won all the MX2 races except one in Plomion, but it was not an easy championship as I missed the second round in Sommières. It’s great to celebrate another title four years after my European crown, and now the goal is to get good results in GP’s and I will prepare carefully the upcoming French Grand Prix.”

Dylan Ferrandis: “My start was not very good in the first heat, and then I had some troubles with another rider who stopped in a corner. My foot was under his wheel, so I lost too much time and was twentieth after the first lap. I came back fourth, but that was not what I could expect. I had a strong motivation before the super final, and got a good start among the 450. It’s good to finish the Elite series with a fifth position, as I entered the season not at my best due to my shoulder injury. My goal is the GP’s, and I can’t wait to race my first French GP next weekend.”

Stephane Dassé: “We’re of course very happy, as we got some podium results during the last seasons but no more Elite titles since David in 2009. We were not so confident before this weekend as Valentin had troubles with his wrist, this week while training he was not as fast as usual, and had a lot of pain. But he was strong today, and his title is a great reward for his investment and for our partners. With Livia Lancelot and David Herbreteau leading the Women and Cadet French series, this 2012 season could be excellent for us.”

Dylan Ferrandis 8th in the World MX2

Dylan Ferrandis was in Brazil the single representative of the Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki team, as Valentin Teillet suffered from a wrist injury contracted one week ago in Mexico. With two finishes in one of the most difficult race we ever saw, Dylan consolidates his eighth position in the MX2 World Championship.

What a great organization was this Brazilian GP! Unfortunately heavy rain in the night ruined the track, and the red surface was really slippery and sticky for the races!

After a difficult qualifying session on Saturday, Dylan Ferrandis had the worst position on the grid but twice he came among the top twelve in the opening lap of each race. Racing for the first time in such treacherous conditions, Dylan had moved into the top ten of the opening moto until he was struck on the eye by a stone; the resultant adverse effect on his vision caused him to crash, but the teenager rebounded to finish eleventh in race two.

Valentin Teillet tried to compete on Saturday, but found the discomfort from the wrist he injured the previous weekend in Mexico too great and withdrew from the event before racing. He will be next weekend in Gaillac Toulza for the last round of the French Elite series, to defend his leadership on the MX2 class.

In the same time, David Herbreteau and Livia Lancelot have won an other national French 85cc & Women championship race this week-end and continue to lead their own championship easily.

Dylan Ferrandis: “It was the first time that I rode on a track as muddy as this, and I had a bad position on the grid so my starts were pretty difficult. I was tenth in the first race when a stone hit me in one eye; I tried to carry on but it was irritating me and caused me to crash. The second race was a little bit better, but I can’t be happy with an eleventh position.”

Valentin Teillet: “I had several examinations after Mexico and nothing is broken in my wrist, so I wanted to try to ride here. I did several laps on Saturday, but it was too painful and as we have the final round of the French Elite next weekend we decided not to race the GP; I’m currently leading the Elite series, and we want to get the title.”