Chisholm so close to Bercy title

Kyle Chisholm claimed his third consecutive top three finish on Sunday
evening – the final night of the fantastic Supercross Paris Bercy – and
just missed out on the ‘King of Bercy’ crown by one point to Justin
Barcia. The American drew his YZ450F up to within two seconds of his
countryman in the last Main Event of the weekend but was finally unable
to clinch his first chequered flag after scoring two third positions in
front of a sell-out capacity on Friday and Saturday.

The narrow and tricky track inside the
stadium was becoming worn and slippery by the final night of racing but
Motoconcepts rider Chisholm, on his first visit to Bercy, made his
speed and condition count at the crucial moment. He was the only rider
among an impressive entry list to have reached the podium on all three
occasions.

“It’s my first time here and I’ve had a
lot of fun,” he said. “The fans are awesome and they definitely get
into it. I couldn’t catch Justin at the end; each night I was gaining
time and positions all the way through the Mains. I’m happy to have
taken a result like this and to have come to Paris.”

Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s
Gautier Paulin was seventh in the final classification after scoring
4th and 7th with the YZ450FM on Saturday and Sunday. The Frenchman’s
battles with Barcia provided some of the action highlights of the
meeting. Paulin suffered a freak crash on Friday which caused a DNF and
sadly ruled him out of contention for the top step of the podium.
Otherwise the 20 year old Frenchman was among the fastest riders and
not only took Superpole on Friday but also won the ‘L’Americaine’
elimination heat.

“This is my third time at Bercy but the
first with the Yamaha Monster Energy team and it is special to race
here,” said Paulin, who was second the previous week at the SX in Genoa
in Italy. “It was easy to see and hear how much the fans appreciate the
riders, right from the moment the introduction film begins and then we
roll onto the stadium floor. To have your home public behind you like
that is something you can’t really explain. It is difficult to
understand, you just feel it in your heart,” added the MX2-GP factory
rider who will now enjoy a ten day holiday in the Dominican Republic.

Former AMA MX Champion Grant Langston
left Paris with a sore pelvis after briefly dislocating his hip through
an accident caused by another rider on Friday. The South African
announced that his career as a professional is now over and he hopes to
stay in the industry and impart the knowledge that helped obtain titles
on both sides of the Atlantic to younger riders.


Final Supercross Paris Bercy ranking



1) Justin Barcia, Honda


2) Kyle Chisholm, Yamaha


3) Cedric Soubeyras, KTM


4) Greg Aranda, Kawasaki


5) Antonio Cairoli, KTM


6) Arnaud Tonus, Suzuki


7) Gautier Paulin, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team


8) Cyrille Coulon, Suzuki


9) Fabien Izoird, Suzuki


10) Ryan Morais, Suzuki