Press Release

Second MX1 Win in a Row for David Vuillemin

David Vuillemin collected another success during the second round of the French MX1
Championship. The former AMA Supercross race winner is leading the MX1 series from
brand-mate Aranda.


With three rounds of the French Elite Championship organized prior to the opening GP of the FIM World
Championship in two weeks, the French riders have had a great opportunity to prepare for the coming
season in the best way. After Sommières last week, another well-known southern track welcomed the
best national riders; Pernes les Fontaines, home of seventeen GPs and many International Motocross
meetings in the past. The competitors had to deal with a typically chalky hard surface that was pretty soft
at first due to intense watering but then became harder and harder.


Winner of the MX1 qualifying race on Saturday, Vuillemin struggled on Sunday with his starts; around
15th in the opening race he came back 2nd at mid-distance and battled for the win during the final laps
but couldn’t find a place to pass Marvin Musquin. Again reaching 2nd spot by the second half of the next
heat, he was closing the gap to Greg Aranda when he crashed and was forced to accept another 2nd
position. The last race was the hardest, due to the setting sun and some dusty sections. Running 2nd
behind Mickael Pichon in the opening laps, David was close to passing the former world champion when
he slipped off and lost six places. Recovering to finish 4th he took overall honours in the MX1 class,
beating Aranda who lost the victory after a crash in the last race. Stopped by a pile-up in the first corner,
Greg had a tough opening moto, coming back from last to 7th. Learning some lines from Mickael Pichon
early in the second heat he dominated the race, and was on his way to another win in the last moto when
he lost grip on loose stones. 3rd by the end of the day he missed the top step of the podium by 3 points
but offered to Kawasaki another strong 1-2 result.


Although he lacked two strong starts Gautier Paulin was the strongest MX2 Kawasaki rider in Pernes. The
young Frenchman came back forcibly to 6th and 7th overall before saving his best performance for the
last race of the day. Starting within the top ten Paulin rose to 4th overall, and then lost two positions in the
last laps when the racing conditions became worst with rising dust. Injured last week during the final race
in Sommières, Steven Frossard was unable to ride at his usual level and finished the opening race in 5th
before retiring in the other motos. Third rider of Team Green involved in the event, Loic Rombaut, enjoyed
his best event so far, collecting a strong 6th position in the second heat. 17th in the opening race he then
recorded 11th place in the last moto for another positive showing.


The French Elite will now move to Brittany for the third race of the season, next weekend in Romagné.
After the British series, Gareth Swanepoel was involved this week-end in the opening round of the Dutch
series, not far from the KRT workshop. For the South African rider it was a good opportunity to get more
experience of his KX 450F-SR Kawasaki, even if Gareth knew that it would be a tough weekend in the
deep sand of Gemert. Missing a good start in race one and outside the top twenty in the first corner,
Gareth was forced to battle hard against many sand specialists to come back seventh. The second start
was better, and the race easier for Swanie who crossed the line in sixth position and gave some good
information’s to the team five weeks prior the Dutch GP. Next weekend Gareth will travel to England for
the second round of the British series.


David Vuillemin: ‘It was a good event, even if I didn’t win a moto this weekend, except in qualification. I
made a wrong choice of tyre for the first heat, the track dried out faster than I expected and it was not
possible to pass Musquin for the win. 2nd was OK for me, then I made another average start and came
back to second, not too far from Greg but I lost the front wheel in a small rut and crashed during the race
to finish 2nd. The third race seemed better for me, I passed Musquin for second place but then I crashed
pretty hard and was lucky to be unhurt! I came back to 4th and proved all day long that my speed and my
physical condition are good, two weeks prior to the first GP. We did a lot of testing during the weekend;
for example I selected a different rear tyre in each race, but I have to work on my starts, which are the
main problem at the moment.’


Gregory Aranda: ‘I’m frustrated to miss the MX1 win by just a few points, especially as I lost them after my
crash during the last race. There was a pile-up at the start of the first mot; I didn’t crash but I was slowed
by the crash and lost too much time. I then came back quickly to 7th position and couldn’t improve on this
due to arm pump; it’s the first time that we have raced on such a hard layout. The second moto was
better; I followed Pichon for a few laps and looked at his lines, and then I passed him for the win. In the
third heat I was leading when I crashed in a small corner, my front wheel slid on some stones and then I
was unable to find the good rhythm.’


Gautier Paulin: ‘I’m pleased to collect my first podium of the season here, the track changed a lot on
Sunday due to the nice weather. The club did a good job with the watering in the night, and the ground
came drier in each race with some dust in the last one, which was pretty dangerous with the sun. For the
first two races I chose an inside position on the gate, but twice the 450 riders pushed me out and I had to
come back from far behind to collect a 6th and then a 7th place. I changed my place on the line for the
last moto and I had a good jump but then the powerful 450s pulled ahead. However it was a good
experience, I made fewer mistakes through the event and after three days of testing and two days of
racing I’m not tired; that proves that my winter training program was good.’


Loic Rombaut: ‘I wasn’t so happy after the first heat, as I never found a good rhythm and had trouble to
pass some rivals. Ben Contigliani, our physical trainer, asked me to do more training before the second
race and it was much better; I took better start and collected sixth position. I did a wheelie at the start of
the last moto but despite this problem I was back in the top twelve within a few laps. That’s good for the
confidence and for the team because at the first events of the season I didn’t get such great results.’


Steven Frossard: ‘It was a tough weekend for me as I had trouble with my arm after the crash sustained
last weekend in Sommières. I couldn’t train during the week and here I had difficulty to control the bike. I
was unable to hold my handlebar like normal. I could finish in the top five of the first race as the track was
quite soft, but then it became harder and worse for me. I was afraid to crash as I had no power in my right
arm, so I retired in the second moto and during the last heat a stone whacked my arm. I will have further
medical checks on Monday with professor Dufour in Aix en Provence, I want to be fit and ready in two
weeks time for the opening GP in Italy.’'


Gareth Swanepoel: “I knew before the gate dropped today that this would be a tough race. I am positive
though because I am learning loads on the 450 at the moment and I feel better and better on the bike
every weekend. I need to make sure I get better starts though, to keep fighting through the pack every
weekend is not allowing me to get the overall results I am aiming for. Next weekend I am racing round 2
of the British champs which will give me some more vital experience before Faenza GP the week after.”


French Championship results

Heat 1: 1.Musquin ; 2.Vuillemin ; 3.Pichon ; 4.Boissière ; 5.Frossard ; 6.Paulin ; 7.Aranda ; 17.Rombaut

Heat 2: 1.Aranda ; 2.Vuillemin ; 3.Musquin ; 4.Pichon ; 5.Tonus ; 6.Rombaut ; 7.Paulin

Heat 3: 1.Musquin ; 2.Pichon ; 3.Aranda ; 4.Vuillemin ; 5.Soubeyras ; 6.Paulin ; 11.Rombaut

Overall: 1.Musquin, 70 ; 2.Vuillemin, 62 ; 3.Pichon, 60 ; 4.Aranda, 59 ; 5.Paulin, 44 ; 10.Rombaut, 29 ;
17.Frossard, 16


Championship MX1: 1.Vuillemin, 130 ; 2.Aranda, 126 ; 3.Coulon, 71 ; 4.Renet, 65 ; 5.Pichon, 50

Championship MX2: 1.Musquin, 108 ; 2.Boissière, 101 ; 3.Paulin, 75 ; 4.Soubeyras, 65 ; 7.Frossard, 52 ;
9.Rombaut, 44


Dutch Championship Results

Heat 1: 1.Roos ; 2.Eggens ; 3.Nagl ; 4.Van Vijfeijken ; 5.Schroter ; 7.Swanepoel

Heat 2: 1.Nagl ; 2.Roos ; 3.Eggens ; 4.Salaets ; 5.Breugelmans ; 6.Swanepoel;

Championship MX1: 1.Roos, 47 ; 2.Nagl, 45 ; 3.Eggens, 42 ; 4.Martens, 36 ; 5.Van Vijfeijken, 32 ;
6.Salaets, 30 ; 7.Swanepoel, 29

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