Yamaha MX2 GP: Larrieu in Fantastic Debut Podium in France

The eighth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP World Championship saw Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross team's Loic Larrieu surprisingly take the first podium result of his career with third position at the Grand Prix of France at a windy, busy and loud Ernee circuit. 38,000 spectators crowded the steep hillside and braved some chilly winds and frequent showers to witness the latest action fare in this competitive series.

Larrieu, in his first world championship campaign, benefitted from two good starts to capture 4th and 5th positions and become the first rookie in 2009 to scale the podium. An all-French top three drove the home crowd wild and Larrieu was at the centre of the celebrations. The teenager gave the YZ250FM its first trophy since Nico Aubin collected the first silverware for the Italian team at the GP of Benelux last month.

Aubin, who entered the meeting with a sore shoulder as a consequence of his fall in the second moto last week at the British GP, was slightly disappointed to finish with 9th overall. The Frenchman did not collect the best of positions out of the gate and the first moto in particular was tricky, being run in a heavy shower that created very muddy conditions and a single racing line. He was 9th and 8th for his ranking.

Three places in front of Aubin was Davide Guarneri with 6th overall. The Italian had his worst race finish of the season in Moto1 with 14th after a bad start and needing to pit for more goggles. A better getaway in Moto2 saw the consistent championship runner a safe 3rd in another race that did not see much action in the way of overtaking.

Guarneri is still 3rd in the standings and 29 points from Marvin Musquin at the peak of the table. Aubin is 7th and Larrieu has moved up to 11th. Italian Champion Manuel Monni is 8th and collected a decent second moto finish of 6th at Ernee.

Round nine will take place at the fast and natural layout of Talkessel, Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany in two weeks time where Utag Yamaha.com Zach Osborne, winner of the Turkish round hopes to be circulating with his YZ250FM once more.

Loic Larrieu, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 3rd:

"This is a great result for me and an important point in my season. The starts were really important for me today and I think the second moto was tougher than the first one. I learned a valuable lesson today and that is how important it is to start with the leaders in order to find a good rhythm quickly. I could make some good laps and felt a bit tired because of the conditions but otherwise it was a memorable day. To do this in front of my home crowd is fantastic and a podium is a surprise for me; certainly at this round!"

Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 6th:

"The first moto was difficult because it started to rain heavily just before. I made a bad start and tried to pass some riders but had to take off the goggles and then stopped in the pits for more. I came back to twelfth but slipped off again two laps from the end. The track was really strange; only one line and away from that it was almost impossible to pass. I went to the outside of the gate and got a much better start in the second moto. I was third and felt a bit stiff on the first three laps but could then push to catch Roczen. I made three mistakes that almost caused me to crash and chose to finish the moto in the top three and not take more risks."

Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 9th:

"It was another difficult week. With some bad starts I could make 9th and 8th, and I don't really have that much to say. The speed was pretty good but the results not so much. My shoulder did not bother me too much; I just had to ride with some pain. There was only one good line for each corner so if you didn't get the holeshot it was very hard to win or make the podium."

Crowd: 38,000

Weather: Changeable