Encouraging GP Start of the Season for Kawasaki MX1 Riders

The Kawasaki Racing Team had three riders in the top eleven at the opening round of the FIM
World MX1 Championship, to confirm that they will be a leading force in the series this year.

Jonathan Barragan ended the day 7th overall after showing impressive speed in the later stages of both
motos, but, coming to the GP after a string of successes in his national championship, the Spaniard had a
difficult time during Saturday’s qualifying race which resulted in him starting the points-sorting races from
a disadvantageous gate pick. In the closing stages of the first race Jonathan was setting lap times two
seconds faster than the leaders, but had surrendered too much time in the early laps through errors and
had to be content with 6th place at the finish. In race two it was a similar story, but he again forced his
way through to 6th place on the very last lap as he pulled back no less than three seconds on 2008
champion David Philippaerts. Sebastien Pourcel had seemed assured of a top placing overall and joined
a four rider breakaway at the front in the early stages of race one. A momentary slip on lap four need not
have proved so costly, but unfortunately another rider landed on his bike and damaged the pipe and side
panel, forcing the Frenchman to withdraw from the race. Bouncing back in race two Sebastien took a fine
fourth place to confirm the anticipated promise. Xavier Boog, a newcomer to MX1 GP racing, repeated the
composure which he has shown in the recent rounds of the French championship to twice finish amongst
the top ten with 8th and 9th placed finishes.

Coming into the race Gregory Aranda had not been able to train for two weeks due to injury and illness
and the Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki rider’s luck did not improve in Bulgaria. In the first race he was
unable to avoid another rider who fell in his path, crashing alone later in the race as he strived to recover
lost ground. A collision at the start of race two cost him the chance of the holeshot, and the after-effects of
his recent illness took its toll as the race wore on to restrict the 20 year old to a mere five points from the
weekend, a great disappointment after his stunning early season form.

Jonathan Barragan: ‘I crashed in the qualifying race so I only had the fifteenth gate for Sunday. That
inevitably meant that I had two bad starts, and then I made many more mistakes, crashing twice in each
race. It is unfortunate that I was not able to battle at the front, but I had good speed and came back to
sixth in each race. You can’t compare the tracks in Spain with this one, but my feeling with the bike is
getting better with each race so I’m already focused for Mantova next weekend.’

Xavier Boog: ‘I felt more and more comfortable as the weekend progressed. On Saturday evening I had
not been so happy with my twelfth position in the qualifying race, but I got two good results on Sunday. I
had a good start in the first race and then battled with established MX1 riders such as Ramon and
Coppins. I lost two positions when De Dycker and Cairoli passed me, but they were both charging hard
and I was happy with my eighth place. My start in the second race was similar to the first but I made some
mistakes on the opening lap and several riders passed me. That made the race more difficult for me and
a few laps later I had a small crash, but I was able to fight my way back to ninth place at the finish. It was
a tough day, but my goal in my first MX1 GP was to be in the top ten and I did just that in both motos.’

Sébastien Pourcel: ‘The weekend started well when I took second place in the qualifying race on
Saturday, but today I had a few problems. I had a good start in the first race and I had found a good
rhythm until I hit a neutral in the waves section. I crashed, and unfortunately Cairoli jumped on my bike
and damaged the pipe and the side panel. The second race was better, but still not what I was expecting
as I made a couple of small mistakes and even had a small crash when I was third. I worked all winter but
this was my first GP race for almost a year and I know that I have to continue to work; I think I will be back
at my best level in another four to six weeks.’

Gregory Aranda: ‘I haven’t been able to practice for two weeks due to headaches after my crash in
Pernes; the doctors told me to stay quiet in order to help my recovery. Then I caught bronchitis this week
so I knew that this GP would be difficult, and even in the timed practice sessions the results were not so
good. In the first race I crashed when Boissière fell in front of me, then I crashed again and damaged my
bike after nearly coming back into the points from last place. I almost got the holeshot in the second race
but another rider pushed me out, and then after a few laps I didn’t felt so well after my recent illness. It’s
frustrating because the beginning of season went so well. At least I have no more pain in my ankle now,
and, as I had no more headaches this weekend, I will start training hard this week to prepare for the next
GP at Mantova.’