In the final round of the French Elite championship organised in Pernes les Fontaines in southern France, Maxime Desprey secured the final third spot of the MX1 series on his Monster Bud Racing Kawasaki.
In the MX2 class, Tristan Charboneau and Marshal Weltin scored a top five result in this last Elite race of the season.
Muddy in the morning due to heavy rain on Saturday evening, the track came dryer on Sunday and there was even some dust in the last races of the weekend. Maxime Desprey was not at his best due to a big crash while practicing in the week. Hopefully the gate pick is not so important in Pernes, and in the first race Maxime did a great start and got the holeshot as he wasn’t involved in a collective pile up in the first corner! Riding with a painful arm Maxime did a strong race and finished fifth, five positions ahead of his last rival for the podium of the championship; after another good start in race two he secured his third position in the series and become the MX1 rookie of the 17 season.
Recovering at home from his arm injury before the next round of the European 125 series in Italy, Brian Moreau was not there; so Americans Tristan Charboneau and Marshal Weltin represented the team in the MX2 class. Seventh in the timed practice session just a second slower than the pole position, Tristan did a good start in 4th position and passed the competitors to lead the race for a few laps before crashing at mid period and making an other mistake in the last lap to finally finish ninth of this race, he had a stronger result in the second heat with a fourth position and a fourth overall. Tenth in the timed practice period Marshall had a goos start in race 1 with a 3rd position but while wanted to pass the guys in front, he crashed in the first lap to come back from 21th to 7th. He start not as well in race 2 but never give up as usual to come back from 15th to 6th; fifth overall of the day, he finished also fifth of the series.
This weekend both will be in Sochi (Russia) for the next round of the European 250 & MXGP event, and in three weeks both European 125 and 250 series will move to Italy where Brian Moreau will defend his red plate of EMX 125 leader.
Maxime Desprey: “I wasn’t sure to be able to ride when I came here, as the doctors fixed eight stiches in my arm after a big crash while practicing. The arm was painful and I had also pain in my upper body in the timed practice period, so I was ready for a tough day but thanks to the physiotherapist of the French Federation I had a good treatment before the races. After my holeshot in the first heat I was able to get a top five; I tried to avoid any mistake, stay focus on my riding and keep a good rhythm even if I was not fast enough to keep the lead. My second start was also a good one, and with another fifth position I kept my third position in the standings; I’m happy to reach my goal before this race, it’s good for everyone in the team to get a podium.”
