French MX1 Title for David Vuillemin 2

While the GP season hasn't gone quite as planned for David Vuillemin, we were surprised to see him cruising the pits at Millville a couple weeks ago. Fortunately, things are going a little better in the French Nationals, and he scored another national title. Check below for more details from Kawasaki.

DV hanging out at Millville.

Newsflash, 30 July 2009
Ten years after his last French Motocross title, David Vuillemin claimed in Iffendic his sixth national title in the MX1 class.

French MX1 title for David Vuillemin

Unfortunately the Bud Kawasaki rider didn’t enjoyed the podium celebration, as he crashed pretty hard in the ultimate race and went to the local hospital for a checking. Despite this racing incident in the last laps of the third race of the day, David Vuillemin keeps a minor advantage of two points over Gregory Aranda to collect this title. The French veteran from Bud Racing Kawasaki got two holeshot and rode strong all day long; second and then third of the first two races, David was in second position behind Aubin when he crashed in a fast downhill with only two more laps to go. He landed heavily, and as he suffered a small concussion the doctors sent him to the hospital for more exams. Thanks to his great results during the first two races he had a strong lead of twenty points in the MX1 series before this last race, just enough to collect the title as Gregory Aranda crossed the finish line in fourth position. Third and fifth of the previous races the CLS rider did his best performance in the last heat, but he was unlucky as a lapper moved on his way when he was fighting for the win with Aubin. Greg crashed and damaged the bike, but was till second before crashing another time ten minutes from the end of the race. Finally fourth of the moto, he finishes only two points behind David in the standings.

David finally left the hospital on Sunday night without any injuries, but after his concussion the doctors asked him to stay quiet at least one week so he will miss the GP of Belgium this coming weekend and will make later some tests before making his decision for Loket one week later.

In the MX2 class, neither Gautier Paulin nor Steven Frossard was able to beat Musquin in this last round. With many long uphill’s and a soft starting area the track was much better for the 450 than the 250 bikes, and despite three strong races Gautier lost most of his chances with two average starts; coming back twice sixth overall, he did his best performance in the final heat. Fifth during most of the period, he earned two ranks in the last ten minutes and finished third behind Musquin. Steven had a tougher weekend with two start crashes; twelfth and seventh despite a painful ankle, Steven was battling with Paulin during the last heat when he was forced to retire with a technical problem. They are both on the podium of the MX2 series, with a runner-up position for Paulin and a third place for Frossard.

At the same time on the former GP track of Foxhill Gareth Swanepoel entered the sixth round of the British series, and appreciate this legendary circuit. After posting the fastest lap during the qualifying session, the factory KRT rider started inside the top five and made the passes he needed lap after lap as he raced his way to the front of the MX1 pack. Taking the lead away from Anderson on lap six, ‘Swanie’ was able to ride his own pace as he kept control of the field, crossing the line to take a well deserved win. The start of moto two was very similar with a top five position, but later Swany had to make a number of moves to avoid a collision with Andersson for the leadership. Unfortunately on lap twelve the South African slid out on a corner and dropped down to the fourth place; with only a handful of laps remaining in the Kawasaki rider was not able to regain any positions, but got an overall podium and move into the second place overall in the MX1 British Championship.

Gregory Aranda : ‘ In the last race I gave everything, I was twenty points behind David and I had to win this race to keep a chance for the title. I came back second really close to Aubin and was ready to attack him when a lapper made a bad move and pushed me. I crashed but was still second when I came back in the race, pushed again but my handle bar was bent and I made another crash. I was sixth, came back fourth but even if David didn’t finished the race I missed two points for the title.’

Gareth Swanepoel: ‘That was a good weekend racing, I felt very comfortable on the bike and my lap times reflected that. Qualifying first was a good feeling and I knew then that I had the upper hand on the field. The 2nd moto was a little frustrating, I had the ability to get to the front and win, I should have just been a little more aggressive in getting through the field.’

Gautier Paulin: ‘For sure I’m disappointed to finish second of the championship, but today Musquin was faster. My start was average in the first two races, better in the third one but that was not enough even if I finished not far from Marvin in the third moto. It was a fast track, the watering was a little bit surprising but I’m not looking for excuses, he was better than I here. I did my best, I finish runner up and I want to thanks all the team Bud who support me this season and help me to be stronger. It was a good day, except of course the final race when David crashed. Hopefully he seems safe, but his crash was impressive’

Steven Frossard: ‘It was a tough weekend for me; I crashed twice at the start, the first one in the qualifying race and the second time at the first start. I came back sixth in qualification so my position for the start was not too bad, but today I was not enough focused on the race, for personal reasons. I was stronger in the last race, I was racing with Paulin but I had a technical problem and retired. I’m not too disappointed with my third place in the series, after a big crash at the first race I missed three races and I knew that I lost my chances there’

Loic Rombaut: ‘My qualifying race was difficult with two crashes during the opening lap of the qualifying race, today was better but the start was difficult for a 250 as the starting area was soft. I didn’t found a good rhythm in the first race and finished sixteenth; I felt better for the others with an eleventh and then tenth position, for a seventh position overall in the series’

Stephane Dasse (Team manager Bud Racing): ‘We came here relax, and we’re happy to get this French title as it’s a nice reward for the hard work the team members did all season long. It was emotional for me to go on the podium and collect the champion’s trophy as David was on the way to the hospital, he proved today that he is always a fast and strong rider when he is motivated and I’m proud to have him in the team! In the MX2 class Marvin rode strong today, Gautier was strong as usual but it was not enough and we’ll continue to work hard for the rest of the season’

Jean Jacques Luisetti (Team owner CLS): ‘We could get two titles today and we don’t win any, that’s racing and we’ll try again next season! Greg finishes only two points behind Vuillemin but after David’s crash we couldn’t enjoy a title if we got it. Steven was not in a great day here, he has always troubles with his ankle and then was unlucky with two crashes and a problem with the ignition during the last race’

French series, final round in Iffendic

First heat : 1.Musquin (250 KTM) ; 2.Vuillemin (450 Kawasaki) ; 3.Aranda (450 Kawasaki) ; 4.Coulon (450 Suzuki) ; 5.Aubin (450 Yamaha) ; 6.Paulin (250 Kawasaki) ; 7.Tonus (250 KTM) ; 8.Boissière (250 KTM) ; 9.Soubeyras (259 Honda) ; 10.Beaudoin (450 Honda) ; etc…

Second heat : 1.Aubin ; 2.Musquin ; 3.Vuillemin ; 4.Boissière ; 5.Aranda ; 6.Paulin ; 7.Frossard ; 8.Léonce (450 Aprilia) ; 9.Tonus ; 10.Soubeyras ; etc….

Third heat: 1.Aubin ; 2.Musquin ; 3.Paulin ; 4.Aranda ; 5.Boissière ; 6.Soubeyras ; 7.Léonce ; 8.Tonus ; 9.Coulon ; 10.Rombaut (250 Kawasaki) ; etc….

Standings MX2 : 1.Musquin, 278 ; 2.Paulin, 271 ; 3.Frossard, 227 ; 4.Boissière, 226 ; 5.Tonus, 214 ; 6.Soubeyras, 180 ; 7.Rombaut, 162 ; 8.Charlier (Yamaha), 91 ; 9.Aubin (Yamaha), 71 ; 10.Clermont (Honda), 68 ; etc…

Standings MX1 : 1.Vuillemin, 360 ; 2.Aranda, 358 ; 3.Coulon, 206 ; 4.Aubin, 141 ; 5.Pichon (Honda), 124 ; 6.Beaudoin, 120 ; 7.Renet (Suzuki), 100 ; 8.Demartis (Honda), 84 ; 9.Léonce, 77 ; 10.Sallefranque (Honda), 77 ; etc….

British series, round sixth of eight in Foxhill

First heat: 1.Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki); 2.Anderson (GBR, Honda); 3.Dougan (GBR, CCM); 4.Nunn (GBR, Suzuki); 5.Church (GBR, CCM); etc….

Second heat: 1. Nunn; 2.Anderson; 3.Church; 4.Swanepoel; 5.Dougan; etc…

Standings MX1: 1.Anderson, 264; 2.Swanepoel, 215; 3.Nunn, 203; 4.Noble (GBR, Honda), 201; 5.Church, 160; etc….

Next round: Duns (August 22nd)