French Elite Championship Top six results to launch the season

As Lacapelle Marival was cancelled two weeks ago, team Bud Racing Kawasaki was doing its first race of the season at Basly, first round of the French Elite Championship.

After weeks of training and preparation, Basly was finally the first event of the year for the team and the first race this season for Benjamin Garib and Mathis Valin. Track conditions were muddy on Sunday morning due to the rain, but Mathis had a good feeling with the track as he posted the second fastest lap of his group while Benjamin finished tenth. As the rain stopped the track conditions were better for the first moto, even if it was a muddy one; Benjamin got a top ten finish with and eighth position, while Mathis couldn’t do better than twelfth. Both rebounded in the second moto; Mathis got the holeshot and led the race during six laps to finish runner up, while Benjamin came back from seventh to third of the moto, and was classified fifth overall one position ahead of Mathis.

This weekend the team will be at Madrid for the first round of the 250 Motocross European Championship.

Mathis Valin: “Different conditions in both races, some little problems in the first one where my riding was not so good, and then in the second one I was leading several laps to finish second! Track conditions were rough, thanks to the club for what they do on the track and after this first pre season race I feel ready for the opening round of the European 250 next weekend.

Benjamin Garib: “It was ok, not my favourite conditions this morning with the mud but the track came better for the second moto. The track was a lot dryer and I felt more comfortable and got a third in the second moto. Just happy, we keep pushing and building for the next couple of races

Opening of the WSX Supercross World Championship in Birmingham UK and MX2 victory for Quentin Prugnières at the French Elite Motocross Championship

Just one week after the opening of the French SX Tour Championship, the team headed to Birmingham, England, for the first round of the WSX World Supercross Championship, but this time with 4 riders – 3 French and one American. In the 250cc class, Adrien Escoffier and Anthony Bourdon defended the Bud Racing colors, as did Justin Hill and Cédric Soubeyras in the 450cc class.

An excellent start of the evening for the American Justin Hill, winner of the Heat and Superpole. Well placed on the starting grid, Justin took the Holeshot in the first final and finished 3rd. After another excellent start in the second final, Justin finished in first place after 8 laps. With only one final remaining, Justin had all his chance to finish on the podium, given his previous results. Unfortunately, Justin fell into the whoops on the very first lap and was a bit concussed, ending this final with difficulty in 15th place. 4th overall, just one point off the podium, Justin has everything it takes to excel in future races.

A little less success for our 3 French riders, all three missed their Heat and had a bad gate pick. With starts at the back of the pack and a very short race format, all three were unable to climb back up despite encouraging speed. Cédric Soubeyras finished 18/12/12 of the three finals, and came 14th overall in the 450cc class. As for the SX2 riders, Adrien Escoffier crashed at the first start, damaging his bike. He didn’t finish this final, but came 10th and 12th in the other two, to finish 15th overall. Anthony Bourdon came 14th overall, having completed 15/12/13 in the finals.

Numerous Supercross races await our French riders this summer, who will have plenty of time to prepare before meeting again on September in Singapore for the second round of the WSX Supercross World Championship. As for Justin, he’s going back to the United States to continue his training so he can continue with his excellent speed for the rest of the season.

Back in France with Quentin Prugnières, who was competing the final round of the French Elite Motocross Championship in the MX2 class this weekend. Winner of the first race, Quentin led the entire second race before making a mistake three corners from the finish and finished second. Winner again of the MX2 event two weeks after his first MX2 victory.

Justin Hill: “It was an incredible night with a win in Heat and Superpole. I’m obviously disappointed to make that mistake in the third final which cost me the podium, but there are a lot of positives to take away. Now that I know the championship and the format, I’m ready to get back to training. I’m already looking forward to Singapore.”

Quentin Prugnières: “A good weekend overall, I had good speed all day long. It’s a shame to lose the second race because of a big mistake when I had a 10-second lead. But all in all, it was very positive with two good starts. Now I’m going to continue preparing for the next race in Europe, which takes place on August 12/13 in Sweden.”

Stéphane Dassé: “It’s great to get the WSX championship underway. Justin rode really well and we’re really happy about that. Unfortunately, the others were badly placed on the grid and the start was very important this weekend. It’s a really special format with 3 very short rounds in a row where anything can happen. Everyone knows what to improve and I’m convinced that with better starts, they’re all also capable of fighting at the front. We are also very happy about Quentin that is back in a good rythm and we can’t wait to be at the next races.”

Hossegor, July 3rd 2023

An historical double win at the French Elite!

Everyone didn’t really enjoy the wet weather this Sunday in Normandy, for the penultimate round of the French Elite, but both Quentin Prugnières and Anthony Bourdon will keep good memories as they both won their class!

June 18th will remain an historic date for Team Bud Racing Kawasaki, as their two riders won their class at Rauville la Place where once more we had some rain for this round of the Elite. That wasn’t such a problem for Quentin and Anthony, who got top three results in all their motos to win the overall.

Second of his group in the timed practice session just one tenth of a second behind the reigning champion, Quentin didn’t get a great start in the first race as he was outside the top ten after a few corners. Back in fourth position after four laps he rode carefully and avoid any mistake to finish second of this moto; his second start was much better, and once more he did a clever race to finish again in second position and win the overall.

Second of the MX1 timed practice period on a track where he got good results in the past, Anthony Bourdon got two great starts and did both races in the top four; in the first race he made a mistake and lost the second position, but he finished both races in third place to win the overall and to come back in fifth position at the championship.

Quentin Prugnières: “It was tough races on a muddy track with not so many lines, so it was difficult to pass. I fought as best as I could, I could avoid big mistakes and stay on my wheels to get a win. That’s really motivating for the rest of season.”

Anthony Bourdon: “It’s my first win on a 450, on a track that has often been succesful for me. Today it was important to avoid mistakes on this track, I like riding in the mud and I did it, I’m really happy with this win.”

Hossegor, June 19th 2023

French Elite Championship Injury for Quentin, Top 8 for Anthony!

Since a few weeks Quentin Prugnières enjoyed the podium celebrations, but this weekend at Romagne he missed the opportunity to reach another one as he broke his collarbone during the practice session. Eighth in the MX1 class, Anthony Bourdon is currently seventh in the standings.

It’s a new layout that the riders discovered this weekend, but Quentin didn’t really had time to enjoy it as he was surprised by the soft ground and crashed pretty hard during the first practice session. The first exams at the hospital revealed a broken collarbone, which will will forced him to rest during a few weeks. Anthony Bourdon was the single team representative and with a ninth gate pick he start the first race mid pack; back in eighth position on the finish line he had a similar race in the second moto, gaining one position during the last lap when he passed the reigning champion. Eighth overall he is currently seventh in the standing before the next round (Vesoul on April 23rd), and four more rounds are on the schedule.

Anthony Bourdon: “For sure if I could get better starts my races would be easier, as on this track it was not easy to pass with soft ground sections before the jumps. Apart this It was a real motocross track, with good ground and many ruts. In the first moto I lost time to pass David Herbreteau even if I was faster, for sure if you start in front you take another rhythm. I know that I also need to improve my speed to get better results, I have to work this points in the coming weeks.”

Hossegor, April 3rd 2023

Second round of the French Elite Championship Moto win and podium for Quentin!

The second round of the French Elite Championship was a good opportunity for Quentin Prugnières and his team Bud Racing Kawasaki to celebrate his first win this season, after an incredible final lap. Winner of the second moto and second of the event, Quentin is ready for the opening round of the 250 European Championship.

Difficult race conditions at Castelnau de Levis, as the track was muddy and very slippery after heavy rain in the night. The start was of course more important than ever, and in the first heat both riders got a great start as they were in the top five after a few corners. Not really used to race in these conditions, Benjamin Garib unfortunately crashed during the first lap and dislocated his shoulder while Quentin battled for a podium result during the entire race. Third on the finish line, Quentin got the holeshot in the second race and dominated his rivals until the last lap, when the series leader tries to take the win; the last meters of racing were really intense as both collided in the last straight line, but Quentin kept a little advantage and finally won it! Second of the event, he is now runner up in the standings.

In the MX1 class Anthony Bourdon posted the fastest lap time in the practice session, but his starts were not as good as his young teammates and in both races he came back in eight position. He is currently seventh in the standings before the third round scheduled in two weeks’ time at Romagne in Britany.

Quentin Prugnières: “In the second moto I had to fight until the end to get this race win, as I lost time behind lappers in the second part of the race. I fight until the very late corner and straight line to win my second moto in the French Elite. In the first race I had an early crash, but there’s a lot of positive points to remember for this weekend and now focus on Riola Sardo and the first round of the EMX250.”

Anthony Bourdon: « The timed practice session was OK with the pole position, I enjoyed the track conditions in the morning. Then the races were not that good, as I start twice mid pack but we’ll continue to work to ba able to fight for top five results in the next rounds”