Just a few weeks after their domination on the French Junior Championship, Lucas and Sacha Coenen got great results in Germany where the European Championship was back in action. Lucas claimed for the first time on a European podium, while Sacha won his first European moto in this class. Not such a good weekend in the European 250, where Quentin Prugnières scores a fourteenth position.
After a very long break as the last round of the EMX125 was three months ago in Maggiora, the series start again this weekend in Germany where team 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki line up his full Euro squad as the EMX250 was also part of the event. Both championships will now continue on a high rhythm, with six rounds within five weeks with the next one in Lacapelle Marival (France) this weekend.
Qualified third in his group Sacha got a good gate pick and nearly holeshot the first moto; he missed it but after two corners he was leading the race, posting the fastest lap time in the third circulation. One lap later he was on the ground after a mistake, and he regained the race seventeenth to finish the moto in fifteenth position. No more mistake and a perfect race for him in the next moto: holeshot, best lap and a win, the first one for him at this level and a fourth overall. This weekend the podium was for Lucas, who got a third overall after two strong races; only qualified in twentieth position, it was impossible for him to get great starts as the inside positions at the gate are so important at Teutschenthal. His starts were mid pack, but in each motos Lucas made many passes during the races to come back four and third, enough to secure a nice podium result.
It was a tougher day in the 250 class for our ‘rookie’ Quentin Prugnières, who qualified only twenty fourth! Outside the top twenty at each start, Quentin missed a good start in the first moto and collided with another rider in the next one; he never gives up to come back twice in fourteenth position, with some more experience for the future.
Lucas Coenen: “Difficult to get a good start from the twentieth gate, not the first time that I struggle to do a fast lap in the timed practice session. I came back fourth and third in the motos, I try to make more passes in the last laps but that was not easy as there were many deep ruts on the track. Very happy with my first European podium!”
Sacha Coenen: “I had a good feeling with the track, but during my fastest lap in the timed practice session I crashed and finish third. I got a great start in race one and took the lead after two corners, but then I crashed after a few laps; I was shocked, made some other mistakes, it was not a good moto. I had a lot of fun in the second one, I enjoy the track, just a shame the first moto.”
Quentin Prugnières: “Two bad starts today, always my fault. I did two strong races coming back twice fourteenth, just a shame that I missed a corner and lost some positions just four laps before the end in race one. At the second start we tangle with another rider…. The team work a lot to improve the bike for the starts, I need to work to improve my technique to get better results. Next week we race at home; I will give all!”
