GRAND PRIX OF THE NETHERLANDS : Great opening

It’s on the sandy track of Valkenswaard, not far from Eindhoven, that the Motocross World Championship kicks off this weekend in the Netherlands. With both MX2 riders in the top ten of the series after this opening round team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki did a strong performance and was pleased to see Livia Lancelot on the podium of the Women GP.

All the team, including Dylan Ferrandis and Valentin Teillet, expected a difficult start to the championship as they recover from early season injuries and couldn’t train so much in the sand before the event. But both youngsters showed great character to secure strong results in qualification – eighth place for Valentin and fourteenth for Dylan – and later in both races. With great starts thanks to their powerful Bud Kawasaki, Valentin and Dylan scored twice top ten results. Ninth and tenth after he stalled his engine in race two, Valentin finished ninth overall right behind his teammate. Dylan rode strong in both races, and battled for a top six result against some sand specialists during half of the second race.

The Women World Championship also kicks off in Valkenswaard, on one of the most demanding track. Livia Lancelot crashed pretty hard during a practice session; riding with a broken finger and occasional spells of dizziness she dominates the qualifying race, and then scored twice a podium result. Second of the Grand Prix, she will enter next weekend the GP of France in Castelnau de Lévis.

Dylan Ferrandis: “I was expecting a tough GP, and my goal was to do a top ten there as I am still not totally recovered from my injuries. But my Kawasaki gave me two great starts and then I rode smart; for sure the next tracks will be even better for me.”

Valentin Teillet: “This was the first time I have raced here, but I know the track’s reputation and rode a little tense in the first moto. I had a great start in the second race, but then I stalled the engine in the first corner and had a tough fight back through the field. My shoulder was still painful but I now have a free weekend before the next GP and I’m confident I can do even better there.”

Livia Lancelot: “I had a big crash during the practice session yesterday and it was not certain if I could race at first as I broke a finger and was a little dizzy so this was a great result for me, particularly as my main goal this year is the X-Games in California.”

Jacky Vimond: “It’s a good result, and a strong reward for all the staff including the mechanics who worked hard to be ready for this event. We didn’t really know what to expect due to the rider’s injuries, but both reached our common goal with a top ten result. They all did clever races, and didn’t took too much risks on this track; for sure they will be stronger on hard tracks such as Bulgaria or Italy.”

Top results for Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki at French elite

Two weeks after Valence, the season really opened this weekend in Brittany for team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki, with the opening round of the French Elite Championship. Despite a lack of racing and training due to injuries and surgery, Valentin Teillet and Dylan Ferrandis dominate the event and lead the MX2 classification.

For the first time in his career Valentin Teillet is leading an International series, and for the young hopeful it has been a long week of doubts! Unable to ride and train during two weeks after his arms surgery, Valentin had some pain in his arms but enjoyed the rough and technical track of Romagné. Runner-up during most of the MX2 race, he got the leadership when his team-mate crashed and later stalled his engine! In the super final mixing the twenty fastest riders of each class, Valentin confirmed his heat win; in the top five among the 450 at the start, he came second behind Boog during most of the period to finish third overall and first MX2 rider. Second in the standings is Dylan Ferrandis; coming back after a four months break due to a shoulder injury, Dylan was leading most of the MX2 race but crashed twice in the last five minutes. That cost him a win and even a podium result, as he lost too much time to re-start his engine and finished in sixth position; in the super final Dylan was close to his team-mate at the start, but then lost a couple of positions when he crashed. Second MX2 rider of the super final, he is second in the standings.

Livia Lancelot was doing her first ever attempt to qualify in the French Elite, among almost eighty riders. The track was mainly dry for the qualifying session, and Livia posted the twentieth fastest lap to get a place behind the gate. She had a great start and was in the top twenty when some riders pushed her out of the track; with a painful knee Livia went back in the pits. On Saturday afternoon David Herbreteau, the 85cc recruit of the team, dominate a regional race and confirmed his potential.

Valentin Teillet:”I’m very happy with my results, it was unexpected as I had surgery to my lower arms just after Valence and I was not sure to ride her. I had too much problems with arm-pumped and we took the decision to skip Lacapelle international, that was finally the good decision. Twice I finished first MX2 rider here, I couldn’t expect more! I have a great team behind me and we have a really good bike, we were both in the top five at the start of the super final among the 450! I was second during most of the period; Paulin passed me only a few laps before the end, and we can be confident for the rest of the season.”

Dylan Ferrandis:  “It was my first race since four months, after my shoulder surgery, and physically this race was not easy as I just started riding one week ago. I had a great start and I was riding easily in the MX2 race, but two laps before the end of the period I made a mistake and crashed; I was still leading, but in the next lap I made another mistake and damaged my clutch level so I couldn’t use anymore the clutch. I stalled the engine and lost too much time in this incident, and finished sixth. In the super final I came second behind Boog, but I was pretty tired and during the second lap I made a small mistake and crashed; I finished eighth, that’s disappointing but I know that I’m not ready physically and the goal was to score points. The first GP is in one month, we have still four weeks to be ready.”

Livia Lancelot: “I qualified twentieth, the last qualifying position and I was happy but expected to do well during the race. I had a pretty good start in the first heat, but in the first corner some rivals were not so fair and pushed me out. I had pain in my knee so I stopped there; I’m disappointed, the track was top this morning, then with the rain it was more physical and I would have like to race on a dry track.”

Stephane Dassé: “It was a great day for us, both Valentin and Dylan rode very well and we were happy to see them so strong; as everyone know they didn’t had so much time to prepare this event, but that was not a problem. They both got a great start in the super final, they proved how competitive is our 250. Valentin and Dylan bring a new motivation in the team, that’s nice to work with young kids and it’s difficult to explain why but I’ve a great feeling for this season.”