Holeshot and first top five for Dylan

Team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki had a great moment last weekend in Italy, when Dylan Ferrandis got a holeshot in the MX2 Grand Prix and scored his best ever result with a fifth position in race one. Teammate Valentin Teillet was forced to renounce despite all his courage, one week after his heavy crash in Bulgaria.

Coming back to Italy straight after the Bulgarian round, Dylan and Valentin had a different training program; Dylan trained as usual between two races, while Valentin recovered from his crash. Both riders came to Fermo for the third round of the series, and Valentin Teillet bravely tried to race but the pain proved too great and he had to withdraw from racing in Italy after the warm-up on Sunday morning.

Ninth in the qualifying race, Dylan took his first GP holeshot in the opening race and the teenage rookie battled with the other leader board men for 40 minutes to secure fifth place at the finish, his best ever GP result to date. Later in the day he showed character to fight his way through the pack to finish 12th after being involved in a big crash at the first corner. Seventh of the GP, he is currently seventh in the standings before the South American trip in Mexico and Brazil, and will be next weekend in Plomion for the penultimate round of the French Elite series.

Dylan Ferrandis: “I was so pumped to get the holeshot in the first race ! This weekend I had a good feeling with both the bike and the track, and I pushed really hard to stay with the top riders; I was so happy to finish fifth. I’m not quite sure what happened at the start of the second race, but there was a big crash with several other riders. I didn’t lose too much time and fought back to twelfth, so it was a good weekend for me. Now I can’t wait to travel to Mexico and Brazil, we all go together with the team and it will be for me one of my first trip outside Europe.”

Valentin Teillet: “After my big crash in Bulgaria I worked with Jacky Vimond at a swimming pool all week to recover, and my condition improved enough that we took the decision to come here to Italy. I tried to race but it was too much painful; I still have a hematoma in my back and some pain on my lung. But it was important for me to try, so I have no regrets. We’ll continue to work this week, I’m sure I will be able to ride next week end the French series and for sure I will be ready for the next two GPs in South America.”

First top 7 result for Dylan Ferrandis

Team Rockstar Energy Bud Racing Kawasaki had an emotional weekend in Bulgaria, with a strong performance from Valentin Teillet in the qualifying race on Saturday and later a terrible crash during the first heat. Luckily the young hopeful recovers, and the team was able to enjoy the strong seventh position of Dylan Ferrandis.

Sevlievo is a nice and fast track, who can be dangerous for the riders especially when the weather is not stable. With sun, clouds and showers on Saturday the traction was very special, but that was not a problem for the Bud riders. Valentin got the holeshot in the qualifying race, led half of the period and then follows the rhythm of Tommy Searle to finish in second position. Qualified in tenth, Dylan Ferrandis had also a good gate for the races.

Valentin Teillet only did two laps in the opening race, as he was unfortunate enough to crash heavily when holding sixth place. He was in great pain after sustaining a hematoma in his back and suffering shock, and was of course unable to contest race two. Even before this accident his teammate was not feeling comfortable on this track, and Dylan did two consistent and safe races to score strong points in the series; eighth and tenth, he is currently eighth in the standings less than ten points from the fifth position. He is the best ‘rookie’ of the MX2 World Championship, and can expect even better as he’s regularly improving his physical condition.

Dylan Ferrandis: “I didn’t felt so comfortable on this track, and I didn’t want to take too many risked. The ground was so hard so it was a demanding weekend for me physically as I’m still not back to 100% after my injury during the winter. We’ve worked hard in Italy last week and the program will be similar this week, to prepare the next rounds of the series. I got my second top ten result in two GPs, and I’m sure I can progress even further during the summer.”

Stéphane Dassé: “It was a tough weekend for us, with this heavy crash of Valentin in the first heat. Finally it’s not as worse as we could imagine, and even if Valentin was not in great shape on Sunday evening we know that he will be soon back on his bike. He has nothing broken but a big hemathoma at the bottom of the back. We don’t know yet of he will race in Italy this week-end but for sure he will bring strong results to the team very soon as we could see on saturday. Dylan continues to improve his results, and we are very happy for him; he has not yet recovers completely from his long winter break, but he proves each weekend how strong and clever he is.”

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.”