Team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki claimed another final podium in the French MX2 Elite Championship as Francisco Garcia finished runner-up in the highly-competitive French series, while Jake Cannon scored a top five result.

The sixth and final round of the French Elite took place at Rauville la Place in Normandy; in the MX2 class the situation was extremely close as Francisco was second in the standings, only fifteen points behind series leader Mathys Boisramé.

After posting fourth-fastest time in the Timed Practice Francisco did a decent start and as usual he was quickly in action and had advanced to third at the completion of the opening lap in the first moto. By mid-race he was second behind Janis Reisulis – riding as a ‘wildcard’ at this race – and crossed the finishing line less than two seconds behind the race winner and one position ahead of Boisramé. The gap between them was now only eleven points before the deciding moto of the series and neither title candidate made a good start; Francisco was eighth after one lap and gained three positions during the next few laps but, with his rival just behind him all race, there was no reversal of the situation in the battle for the title. Anyway Francisco can be proud of this silver medal, as he took five consecutive podiums on tracks which he had never raced before.

After taking his first podium in the series at the penultimate round, Jake Cannon confirmed his progress even though he didn’t felt so confident as usual on this track. Seventh in the Timed Practice session, sixth and seventh of the races, he ends the series fifth in the standings only two points from the fourth position. For him also it was a new experience which will help him for the rest of the season.

Stephane Dasse: “The French championships have always been important since we launched the team in 2007, and we enjoyed some success with sixteen gold, four silver and six bronze medals! We have many national partners and we are a French team so the French championships are a great opportunity to invite them and to thank them for their loyalty. This year the level of the MX2 class was very high with close racing; we have great championships and it is a good school for our riders. Francisco battled until the end for the title and Jake finished just two points from fourth place; this championship allows our riders to progress, as Marvin Musquin, Dylan Ferrandis, Maxime Desprey, Xavier Boog or Mathis Valin have each done before them with Bud Kawasaki, and we will continue to contest the French championships as long as we can!”

For the first time this season, our riders of team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki were together on the podium of the French Elite Championship. It was the fourth podium in a row for Francisco, but a first one for Jake who never enjoyed this moment so far !

Plomion was a new venue for the French Elite and all riders discovered this track on Sunday morning; it was the best timed practice session of the season for the team as Francisco was second and Jake third.

At the start of the first moto Jake was in good position in third, but Francisco was dead last after a crash at the start! Jake had a good rhythm to clinch a great third position at the finish flag, while Francisco came back in the top ten to finally score an eighth position.

In the second moto it was another story: Francisco was in third, while Jake was last after some troubles with his gate! Moving to second after a few laps Francisco was ‘on fire’ and despite a little crash in a rut he passed the leader with two laps to go to win his second race this season. Once more Jake confirmed his great feeling with this track, coming back to third of the heat and third overall behind Francisco.

Before the last round of the series in two weeks’ time, Francisco is second in the standings while Jake earned two positions; he is now fifth.

Francisco Garcia : Second overall (8/1) and second of the championship
Jake Cannon : Third overall (3/3) and fifth of the championship

Francisco Garcia has definitely acquired a taste for podium finishes since joining team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki, in the French and in the European championships. This weekend at Gaillac Toulza he secured his sixth podium of the season, finishing third, just ahead of teammate Jake Cannon in fourth.

Newcomers to the French Elite Championship tracks this year, both Francisco and Jake have quickly made their mark, becoming two of the key players in the MX2 class. And while Jake hasn’t yet tasted the podium, finishing fourth in the last two races, Francisco has already secured podiums at three of the four events of the series.

Fifth fastest in the timed practice period at Gaillac Toulza, Francisco started the first moto in sixth before doing some passes to gain a few places and to finish the race in fourth position, one place ahead of Jake who made an excellent start – second for a few laps – before losing time in a crash. Both did better in the second moto, with Francisco quickly moving into second place while Jake took the third place with two laps to go.

Francisco, third in the race, is now second place in the championship (4 points behind the leader), while by finishing fourth, Jake gained two places and is now seventh. There are two more races in the French Elite, one at Plomion in Picardy on June 15th and the final one at Rauville-la-Place in Normandy on June 29th.

Now it’s time to be back to the European Championship, with the MXGP of France this weekend.

Francisco Garcia: Third of the event (4/2) and second in the championship
Jake Cannon : Fourth of the event (5/3) and seventh in the championship

Once again Francisco Garcia climbed on the podium in Castelnau de Lévis, and claimed the French MX2 Championship leader’s plate. The Spaniard placed his #29 Kawasaki from the Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki team on the third step of the podium, and it was a good day for the team as Jake Cannon finished fourth !
Our Youtube video of the race day : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn8mQq95A2k

Castelnau de Lévis is a regular venue for the Elite Championship, and presented a new look this year, with a partially reworked track. Racing conditions evolved throughout the day, which began in the mud after overnight rain and came drier as the sun finally shines!

We can say that Francisco earned that red plate by himself! After an excellent start in the first heat he suffered a crash on the first lap, and was almost last after three turns! Already eighteenth after one lap, he made his way up, coming into the top ten four laps later and pushing until the end to cross the checkered flag in fourth position. Eleventh at the start of the second heat, he came back to fifth with three laps to go, and made two more passes in the final two laps to snatch the third place of the moto and the event.

Lacking success in recent weeks, Jake Cannon delivered his best performance to date in the Tarn, finishing 4th of the event. Starting in the top fifteen each time, Jake quickly found his lines on a track where the ruts deepened throughout the day, finishing sixth in the first race and foutth in the second. These results put him in fourth place on the day and he has now moved into 9th position of the championship.

Now it’s time for the European Championship, with two consecutive races in Portugal and Spain.

Francisco Garcia : Third of the event (4/3) and leader of the championship
Jake Cannon : Fourth of the event (6/4) and ninth in the championship

Francisco : “Difficult track here, with deep ruts different than what we have in the European championship. I have a good feeling since Switzerland and that’s important, and today I felt strong and was able to push during both motos in the last ten minutes. I was really happy with my start in the first race – the second one was not so good – but I crashed on a big jump and came back from last to fourth. Not so bad, I’m happy with the results today.”

Jake : “This weekend was a lot better than the previous ones, I rode more like myself to score a 6/4 with a small crash in the first race. I know that I have to work on my opening laps so we’ll keep working and for sure the results will come. I enjoyed the track, it was tight but just a French track and I’m getting used to it! Now I’ve got some more confidence moving to Portugal where I hope to have two solid motos.”

There was some sun but also some wind at Pernes les Fontaine, for the second round of the French Elite Championship. On a typical track from South East of France, Francisco Garcia overcame the obstacles to offer a first podium this season to team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki.

Back in the calendar of the Elite Championship five years after the last edition, Pernes les Fontaine returned to high level races and the public was there to enjoy some nice racing and also some suspense in the MX2 class.

So Francisco Garcia finally enjoyed the podium ceremony, but it was not really an easy day for him! Qualified third in his group, he was disqualified by the jury for something that was not his responsibility and had no other choice than to qualify through the last chance race (that he won easily) and to have the thirty seventh gate pick. Impossible to get a decent start from this gate, but our Spaniard never give up to come back from seventeenth to sixth in the first moto, and from thirteenth to third in the second one. Third, that was his position when he entered the last lap, but the two leaders offered him the win as they collided just before the finish line! Second overall, Francisco is currently second in the standings.

It was not such a good day for Jake Cannon, who discovered how specific are the tracks in Provence with some hard pack sections but also some soft sections. Fifth in his qualifying group he score a ninth position in the first moto but was forced to retire in the second one after a race incident with another rider.

Next weekend riders and staff will be able to rest and recover, and then they will have two European rounds in a row at Arco Di Trento (Italy) and Frauenfeld (Switzerland), before the third round of the French Elite at Castelnau de Levis (Tarn).

Francisco Garcia : Second of the event (6/1) and second of the championship
Jake Cannon : Twenty eighth of the event (9/DNF) and eleventh of the championship