One week after the victorious start to his career with the Kawasaki Racing Team in England Mathis Valin continued his winning way with another double-victory in the opening round of the French Elite MX2 Motocross Championship at Lacapelle Marival, while senior team riders Romain Febvre and Pauls Jonass both finished on the podium in MX
Taking a wild card ride, together with other prominent GP riders, as preparation for the upcoming FIM MX2 World Championship series Valin topped Qualifying by a full second and dominated both motos, sprinting clear of his rivals by nearly two seconds per lap until he held a comfortable lead each time.
Mathis Valin: « It was another good weekend with the pole position this morning and two moto wins; what can I say? Everything was different from last weekend – the track, the weather – but I had fun again as they had prepared the track really well. This weekend I had stronger opponents than last week but I got good starts and soon found a good rhythm during both races. It was nice to see so many fans around the track cheering me; nowwe have one more race next weekend to finalise the preparation for the GPs.”
Febvre had also posted the fastest time during MX1 Qualifying and he led both motos comfortably until mid-race slips – he stalled the engine in race one and fell in race two – saw him narrowly surrender victory each time in two tight finishes. Pauls Jonass had been on the same second as his teammate during Qualifying and completed the podium after two solid races which saw him hold third for the first ten minutes of race one before a couple of falls pushed him back to seventh. Rebounding in race two he gated fourth and chased down the rider in third to clinch third overall on the day.
Romain Febvre: “It was a decent day but I just made a few mistakes which cost me the win. I was leading both races and could make a gap each time but in the first moto I stalled the bike. I took back the lead on the last lap but then I over-jumped the table-top and ran off the track. I started third in race two but I could pass Maxime (Renaud) and could pull a gap; then I had a small crash in a turn when I lost the front end. I caught up again but there was too much traffic with many lapped riders to attack safely. I’m a little disappointed not to have won a moto yet, even if these races are not for the championship, but I feel I have everything to make it happen when we put it all together and next weekend we have one more race of preparation for the GPs and I want to start winning again.”
Pauls Jonass: “Today was the first time I’ve been on a track like this since joining the team but that was a good experience as we learnt what we have to adjust to suit my riding style. I know what we have to sort out – and that’s why we do these races – so we will be ready when the GPs start. I am still riding a little tight but the season is long and it will come. I had two small tip-overs today so I need to stay on two wheels but I feel positive heading to the GPs.”
The Team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki duo of Spaniard Francisco Garcia and Jake Cannon from Australia opened their outdoor season in superb style to finish fifth and sixth overall in MX2. Garcia, racing for the first time in five months after an injury ended his season early last summer, finished fifth in each moto and is the effective leader of the championship as none of the riders ahead of him will contest the entire series. Cannon was also impressive in his first race in Europe with two seventh-placed moto finishes just a couple of days after flying into Europe from the States where he had been racing supercross.
Francisco Garcia: “It was a great day for my first race with Bud Racing Kawasaki. I’m really happy with the team and with my performance today; I was the leader in both races of the riders who will contest the entire series so it was a good way for us to start the season and I hope we can continue like this. The track was really challenging – tight with lots of ruts and bumps – and I really enjoyed racing here.”
Jake Cannon: “This was my first race in Europe and the track was really gnarly and technical; it was definitely a big change coming from supercross to motocross with longer motos and a challenging track so you definitely had to be on your toes. But I felt like I made a good step today and the result was a good starting point to keep building and improving. And the atmosphere here with all of the fans was crazy; I really enjoyed it.”
