Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Mathis Valin shrugged off sickness to cement his FIM European EMX250 Championship title success with his third two-moto victory of the season at Cozar in central Spain and his win also ensured the Manufacturers’ title for Kawasaki.
The French teenager had already clinched the title on Saturday but the ambitious eighteen-year old was not content to rest on his laurels and was determined to end the campaign with his fourth overall victory. He again swept into turn one in front from mid-gate but drifted slightly wide in the rapid sweeping turn to emerge second. This would already ensure the overall victory but the stylish youngster confidently swept inside for the lead at the start of lap five and, soaking up pressure admirably despite sickness, kept his main rival of the campaign off his rear wheel to the chequered flag for his tenth moto victory, fourth overall (three of them with a maximum score) and ninth podium in the eleven-round series and a decisive thirty-four point title victory. Such was the pace of the two leaders that they finished the moto no less than forty-three seconds ahead of third. The result was also important in the stakes for the FIM Manufacturers’ Championship; with an eight-point advantage at the start of the day Valin’s victory ensured that Kawasaki deservedly take the title by eleven points.
Mathis Valin: “I came here determined not only to win the title but also to take the victory in this final round. And we did it! Yesterday I was OK but today was much more difficult as I was sick all night and had stomach troubles; it was really hard to beat Lata but I did it and so we won both races. Lata was pushing hard in the second race; the last few laps were really tough as I had a lot of pain in my stomach. It was a great and incredible season; my aim at the start of the year was to be around the top-five but in fact I won nearly half of the races to take the title. Now I will take a little break and then we’ll go for the winter training and another step in my career with a new bike, a new team and a new life as I will be based at Lommel. “
Benjamin Garib came desperately close to joining his Bud teammate on the podium at this, the final round of the series. The Chilean was closed down entering turn one to emerge sixteenth but he dug deep to claw back one position after another until he was ninth on lap ten of fourteen. He continued to push to narrow the gap to the riders ahead but just ran out of time to make the further pass which would have secured him his first career podium. Fourth overall, edged out of the podium by a single point, his efforts did however confirm seventh in the final series standings.
Benjamin Garib: “I had a really bad start today but I came through from the back even though it is really hard to pass here. I had the speed but I got stuck behind some guys for a long time and by the time I got to ninth the gap was too far to eighth to make the final pass I needed for the podium. But I’ll take the positives from yesterday; that was a good note to end the season. My thanks to everyone in the Bud Kawasaki team for the last two years; we were always improving and had a lot of fun together.”
Stephane Dasse (Bud Kawasaki team owner): “We are super happy. For us it was a perfect season as we won the French Elite and the European Championship! There was a great atmosphere with both riders in the team, our bikes were competitive, and Mathis surprised us! When we signed him for two years we were not expecting such good results already this year but he is really strong mentally; we saw him progressing all year long and since mid-season he made another step. Now he is ready to move to MX2 and we want all the best for him in the factory team. We will continue to invest in young riders for the European Championship; that’s what we enjoy and with this championship, the French Elite, Paris Supercross and the World SX we have a strong and busy programme.”
Photocredits Full Spectrum Media
