Team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Francisco Garcia and Jake Cannon shared the podium in the British round of the European EMX250 Motocross Championship at Matterley Basin. Francisco got a double win, while Jake enjoyed a third overall.
In the first race on Saturday Francisco, second-fastest in Timed Practice, held a tight line at turn one to emerge third and was soon on the move, cutting decisively under his rival for second in the final turn of lap two. He closed the four second gap to the leader to launch past with a massive leap over the uphill triple which saw him carry the speed around the outside of the following turn. He then put his head down to establish a solid six-second lead before rolling back the throttle slightly on the final lap to win comfortably by three seconds. Again taking a tight line through turn one on Sunday Francisco emerged fourth before quickly easing past his teammate for third and then launching into second before the completion of the opening lap. As the race approached half-distance the Spaniard upped his tempo and, with a succession of fast laps, hauled back the leader before diving inside at the end of the home straight three laps from the finish for his second win of the weekend. It was his second overall victory of the season, and his first with a perfect 1-1 scoreline; he remains third in the series points-standings but made massive gains on each rider ahead of him and is now forty-four points clear of fourth.
Francisco Garcia: “What a perfect weekend. I already felt at home with the track in practice yesterday and then a win in the first moto. The track was a little different today with more ruts but I was always in control. I rode a little too calmly at the beginning of the races but I can always push hard at the end; I did that again today to take the win. I have a really good feeling with my bike at the moment and we have such a good atmosphere in the team. It’s great to take the overall with a double win; I don’t have a realistic shot at the title after dropping some points earlier in the season, so I came here looking for race wins … and I took my first two-moto sweep in EMX this weekend.”
Jake had used his sixth choice of gate to good effect as he followed his teammate out of turn one in fourth for his best start since the opening round of the series. Settling quickly into a podium race-pace in company with the series points-leader he ran down the riders ahead to make two identical passes on consecutive laps at half-distance to establish a Bud Kawasaki 1-2. Growing in confidence by the lap he defied the red plate holder until the penultimate lap and continued to race his more experienced rival to the chequered flag for a deserved third-place finish. On Sunday he made an even better start than on Saturday to hold down third the first time past the pits; he surrendered two positions quickly as the race settled. At half distance he made a decisive pass for fourth and immediately sprinted clear on a clear track to bring home the fourth place in moto which secured him third overall over the weekend. It was the Australian teenager’s career-first EMX podium since arriving in Europe at the start of the season, and his thirty-eight point haul sees him leap to thirteenth in the series standings, just twenty-four points shy of seventh.
Jake Cannon: “I’m over the moon; finally on the podium ! I had a consistent weekend and have finally been able to show everyone what I am capable of. It started well with P4 in Free Practice, then sixth in Timed Practice to give me a good gate-pick for the races. That is what has been missing; it’s been my anchor. I got twice a good start, I had a really nice battle with Reisulis on Saturday, then on Sunday I was riding tight on the first lap and made a few small mistakes to lose a couple of positions. The track was really wet and slippery so you had you hit your marks. Now I hope I can keep it going to finish the year strong. It’s been a special moment as my family are here this weekend all the way from Australia.”
Stéphane Dassé (Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki team owner): “What a weekend for the team, with a double win for Francisco and the first podium for Jake in the European championship. They truly gave me a nice birthday present this weekend ! Francisco already had some podiums this season, and we saw that Jake’s results in the French championship were improving recently so we are happy to see him where he deserves to be. Both riders are young and we are very happy with them; they work well together, they train hard with Thierry Van Den Bosch, and they bring a great and positive atmosphere in the team so we can say that we made a good choice when we signed them.”
