Paulin and Vuillemin Are Leading the French Series

Paulin gained points over Musquin last weekend. In the MX1 class the ‘09 title will be again ‘green’ but the destination of the crown will be decided at the last round in Iffendic on July 26th.

Just one week after losing the red plate attached to the leader of the MX2 World Championship in Spain, Gautier Paulin moved from second to first place in the French Elite series by winning the MX2 class at Brou for round five of six.

A former GP venue, Brou held the fifth round of the French national series for the first time in several years and the French Elite riders - most of whom never raced on this natural layout located not far from Chartres - and two local MX1 ‘wild cards’ dominated the overall classification.

Once more the main interest came from the MX2 riders, as Marvin Musquin, Steven Frossard and Gautier Paulin battled throughout the three races for the lead in this class. Steven was the strongest MX2 rider in the opening race; the CLS rider posted the second fastest lap-time behind Nico Aubin and his 450, and scored a fourth place ten seconds ahead of Paulin while Musquin retired after a crash. The Kawasaki riders exchanged positions during the second heat, with Gautier scoring the best MX2 result with a fifth position followed by Steven and Musquin. Both Gautier and Steven were involved in a massive crash at the start of the last outing, but Gautier was able to restart quickly and came back to fourth behind Musquin. Among the last riders to enter the race after the start incident, Steven flew back to tenth; he is now third in the standings, five points behind Musquin and seventeen from new leader Gautier Paulin. Starting all three races in the second half of the pack, Loic Rombaut wasn’t able to repeat his promising results of round four; coming back three times in the top fifteen Loic confirmed his good rhythm and shape, but missed top ten classifications.

Winner of the four previous MX1 events and leader of the series, David Vuillemin had at Brou his worst day so far, a track where he had enjoyed some good results more than a decade ago. Despite better starts than usual, the Bud Kawasaki rider never felt confident on the layout and decided to score as many points as possible without taking any risks. Fifth, fourth and sixth, David finished fifth overall, two places behind Gregory Aranda. Aboard his CLS Kawasaki Greg was the main protagonist through the weekend for race winners Aubin and Pichon; third and then second in the first motos Greg found enough energy to secure a fifth position during the last heat despite suffering numerous cramps. He is now fourteen points behind David, and both will ride for the title in nine weeks time during the final round of the series scheduled in Iffendic.

David Vuillemin (Bud Racing - MX1): ‘It was a difficult weekend for me, I didn’t feel confident and was not fast enough even if things did get better race after race. I haven’t raced on this track for more than ten years but that’s not an excuse; it’s just me not being at my best. To be positive I will say that I had great starts this weekend, unfortunately I was not as strong as in Bellpuig where I was able to push without any problem. Now I will try to recover next weekend in Mallory Park, I’m still leading the French series but Greg is closer and we’ll have to wait until the next and last race in Iffendic to know who will be the French champion.’

Gregory Aranda (Team CLS - MX1): ‘It’s the first time in my career that I have suffered from so many cramps; between the second and third race I was unable to sit down, and just after I finished the second race I drank three litres of water. I was tired when I went to the third and last heat, but I gave everything to stay in front of David and score more points than him. I managed twelve points more and now the gap is reduced to fourteen before the final round so everything is possible.’

Gautier Paulin (Bud Racing - MX2): ‘I had a great day in Brou, with three good starts and winning the qualifying race on Saturday. In the first race I got a stone in my front brake disc and I crashed, but then I was able to come back to fifth behind Steven. The second heat was better as I passed Marvin and Steven to finish as the first MX2 rider, and then at the last start I was involved in a crash and the handlebars hit me in my ribs. I came back once more to finish fourth. It was hot but I felt good on the bike, I’ve worked really hard after Spain as I want to take back the red plate as soon as possible in the world championship. To lose the red plate has given me an extra motivation; I will work hard again this week as I go in England to get it back on my Bud Kawasaki.’

Steven Frossard (Team CLS - MX2): ‘I had a good qualifying race; I finished second behind Paulin but never tried to pass him as I had a decent position in the gate for the races. I started the opening moto in seventh, and then came back to fourth. The second heat was similar, Paulin was a little faster and he passed me after ten minutes; I had bad lines and looked for others but I lost the front wheel and had a small crash. I was involved in a fall at the last start, I came back tenth and was right behind Tonus before the final laps when I made a mistake and smacked my head on the bars. I could still secure tenth position.’

Loic Rombaut (Team CLS - MX2): ‘I got a good start in qualifying, but I lost the front wheel in a corner and crashed; then I recovered to eighth. In the first two heats I had a good jump off the line, but I made a mistake when I changed to second gear and all the pack passed me. I finished thirteenth and fourteenth, then I had a perfect start in the last one but there was a big crash in the first corner and I was part of it! I came back from last to fifteenth, the results are not so good but I feel happy with my riding and my physical shape, it was really hot in Brou but I never felt tired.’

French championship – round 5 – heat 1:

1.Aubin

2.Pichon

3.Aranda - Kawasaki Team CLS

4.Frossard - Kawasaki Team CLS

5.Paulin - Kawasaki Bud Racing

8.Vuillemin - Kawasaki Bud Racing

13.Rombaut - Kawasaki Team CLS

French championship – round 5 – heat 2:

1.Aubin

2.Aranda - Kawasaki Team CLS

3.Pichon

4.Vuillemin - Kawasaki Bud Racing

5.Paulin - Kawasaki Bud Racing

6.Frossard - Kawasaki Team CLS

14.Rombaut - Kawasaki Team CLS

French championship – round 5 – heat 3:

1.Aubin

2.Pichon

3.Musquin

4.Paulin - Kawasaki Bud Racing

5.Aranda - Kawasaki Team CLS

6.Vuillemin - Kawasaki Bud Racing

10.Frossard - Kawasaki Team CLS

15.Rombaut - Kawasaki Team CLS

French championship – round 5 – Overall:

1.Aubin, 75

2.Pichon, 64

3.Aranda, 58 - Kawasaki Team CLS

4.Paulin, 50 - Kawasaki Bud Racing

5.Vuillemin, 46 - Kawasaki Bud Racing

6.Frossard, 44 - Kawasaki Team CLS

14.Rombaut, 39 - Kawasaki Team CLS

French championship – round 5 – Championship standings MX1:

1.Vuillemin, 318 - Kawasaki Bud Racing

2.Aranda, 304 - Kawasaki Team CLS

3.Coulon, 176

4.Pichon, 60

5.Renet, 100

French championship – round 5 – Championship standings MX2:

1.Paulin, 221 - Kawasaki Bud Racing

2.Musquin, 208

3.Frossard, 204 - Kawasaki Team CLS

4.Boissière, 179

5.Tonus, 175

7.Rombaut, 136 - Kawasaki Team CLS