Team Bud Racing Kawasaki was in Mantova this weekend, involved in the final round of the” Internazionali d’Italia”. This first race of the season was a good one for Brian Moreau who scores a second place in the MX2 class, while Brian Hsu was back racing after a very long break.
After a long and busy winter for the mechanics and the riders who prepare the comeback of the team in the World Championship, this first race was a good opportunity for everyone to race against some of their future rivals before the GP of Argentina.
One race per class (MX1 and MX2) and a Super Final was the program of the day, and only forty of the 80 riders involved in the MX2 class qualified for the race; both Brian Moreau and Brian Hsu qualified easily in their group with a fourth position for BM225 and a ninth one for BH81. Brian Moreau got an impressive holeshot in the MX2 race, and led the pack during seven laps; only one guy passed him during the race, the reigning MX2 World Champion. Second of this race Brian had a good gate pick for the super final, but he was involved in a huge pile up after the start and was forced to retire with a damaged bike.
The race was tougher for Brian Hsu who was back racing after one year off; Brian posted a decent lap time in the practice session but missed a good start and never had a good feeling with the track.
Brian Moreau: “I’m pretty happy with this first race of the season, even if I did too many mistakes in the timed practice period to get a better result. After my holeshot in the MX2 race I was able to led the race during 12 minutes, and then keep a good rhythm to finish second behind Prado. In the crash at the start of the Super Final I lost one grip on my handle bar and it was nearly impossible to ride like that so I retired. But it was a positive weekend, and we’ll continue to work hard.”
Brian Hsu: “I nearly didn’t race last year, and my goal at this event was to be back behind the gate and try to find a good feeling among my rivals. It was tough to get a good feeling with the track, and after a bad start I struggled and rode stiff but we’ll continue to work and get experience during the next races to get the best results I can during the season.”
