The sandy track of Valkenswaard met this weekend the opening round of the European Championships during the European Grand Prix, and team Monster Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki got his first podium in the European 125 class with the second position of Brian Moreau.
Racing the Elite championship on his 125 two stroke at only 15 years old against the 250 four stroke, Brian Moreau didn’t get great results so far and came to this first round of the Euro 125 under pressure! He started his weekend with the pole position in his qualifying group, and he had two great starts; fourth at the beginning of the first race he moved to second, but in the last part of the race Swedish Edberg passed him and Brian secured a third position. He grabbed the holeshot in the second heat and got a strong second position, to finish second of the event!
Once again Marshal Weltin, Tristan Charboneau and Kim Savaste struggled in the short lap times qualifying sessions, and all had to go to the last chance session to get a chance to qualify in the 250 class. Both Americans qualified in second and third positions, while Kim didn’t enter the top four of the last chance race. Despite a very bad position behind the grid our Americans did their best during the races; Marshal came back from 35th to 13th on Saturday and from 33rd to 8th on Sunday showing a good speed and fighting spirit that we love at Bud racing, while Tristan moved from 29th to 17th on Sunday after a difficult race on Saturday (19th). Marshal got his first top ten overall with a ninth position, while Tristan finished 21th; they are currently 11th and 17th in the standings but we they are able to show much more soon.
On the 1st of May the team will be in Gaillac for the French Elite championship, and from there they will move to Kegums (Latvia) for the next round of the MXGP and European championships.
Brian Moreau: “I’m very happy with my weekend, I didn’t crash or didn’t do big mistakes and that’s cool to start the series with a podium. The track was rough for the 125 riders, I got two good starts; in the first race I lost one position in the last part of the race but in the second one I kept my second position until the end of the period. It’s great to get such results as in the French Elite it’s not easy to ride with a 125 against the 250. I had some pressure coming here as I didn’t really know where I could be; I saw that I have the speed to race for podiums, but I will not panic and continue to work hard.”
Thierry Van den Bosch: “I really appreciate Brian’s races, he stays on his wheels even if he put some pressure on his shoulders and had some serious rivals against him. He had many questions in mind before this race, he really wants to do well and work hard to achieve good results. He rode tense in the first heat but was more relax in the second one, and finally he got a great podium. Now he needs to be consistent! Concerning the 250 class our Americans are still in a learning period as they arrived in Europe end of March, they have many things to discover including new tracks every weekend; the qualifying session is always tough for them, as it was last year with Darian (Sanayei), but when they are behind the gate they are always real fighters. With a last chance qualification Marshal and Tristan had bad gate pick, but they both recover. Marshal put two strong rides, had some very good lap times and as he is strong physically he came back in the top ten, a great result considering his starting gate. It was more difficult for Tristan who has more talent, but is not yet at his best physical shape. Kim missed his qualification but he’s just back after six months off due to his back injury; he needs to be more relax at the races, and to ride as he does in training. I hope that Latvia will be better for him as he’s a hard worker, but this weekend he has also to prepare some school exams.”
