Gautier Paulin Maintains His World Championship Lead

After his sensational MX2 victory in Italy last weekend, Gautier Paulin has posted two consistent second place finishes in Sevlievo, Bulgaria to maintain his MX2 World Championship lead.  The steep hills and large jumps were an instant hit with the flying Frenchman as he rocketed his Bud Racing Kawasaki to a second consecutive podium in front of an enthusiastic partisan crowd.

In Saturday’s qualifying race Paulin had an average start exiting the first corner in 15th position amongst an extremely close group of top MX2 riders. With only 20 minutes and 2 laps to get the job done the Bud Racing Kawasaki rider wasted no time in getting the hammer down as he seared his way through the pack, dispensing of the competition lap after lap. By the end of the short qualifier, Paulin had pulled his way through to 6th position giving him a good gate pick for the 2 main races on Sunday.

Sunday dawned with more sunshine, much to the delight of the fans that lined the hills surrounding the circuit. In heat 1, Paulin blasted his Kawasaki out the gate to an awesome hole-shot. The race was on as the leading pack charged their way around the circuit jockeying for positions. Paulin managed to hold off the charging riders behind for a number of laps before losing a few positions in the mid section of the race.  As the race went on he found a good rhythm and started to edge his way forward again, getting back up to second position. At the end of an exciting race Paulin crossed the line in second position, racking up more points for his title hunt.

Heat 2 was yet another great start for the nineteen-year-old, as he railed through the first turn in the top bunch. Once again with an extreme pace, Paulin quickly made his passes on the competition getting himself into 2nd behind fellow countryman, Steven Frossard. The leading two riders rode an awesome race, lap after lap, keeping the pace high whilst maintaining a super smooth style. At the end of the long race a very happy Gautier Paulin crossed the line in 2nd position, maintaining his red plate.

“Many people thought I had the red plate only because the conditions were so bad in Italy and that I was lucky to win there. I really needed to prove to them that I can maintain this lead in ‘normal’ conditions, and I did that today. We are making further improvements on the bike all the time, so I am hoping my speed will increase further throughout the year.” smiled the delighted Frenchman.

With little time to rest Paulin will head to Turkey next weekend for round 3 of the 15 round series.

Image: CDS

Heat 1 Results

 

1        Musquin, Marvin        FRA

2          Paulin, Gautier          FRA

3        Aubin, Nicolas          FRA

4        Boog, Xavier            FRA

5        Guarneri, Davide       ITA

6        Osborne, Zach         USA

7        Tonus, Arnaud          SUI

8        Simpson, Shaun        GBR

9        Roelants, Joel           BEL

10      Vongsana, Khounsith FRA

 

Heat 2 Results

 

1        Frossard, Steven      FRA

2          Paulin, Gautier          FRA

3        Musquin, Marvin        FRA

4        Boog, Xavier            FRA

5        Guarneri, Davide       ITA

6        Goncalves, Rui          POR

7        Simpson, Shaun        GBR

8        Aubin, Nicolas          FRA

9        Schiffer, Marcus       GER

10      Tonus, Arnaud          SUI

 

Overall Results – Bulgaria GP

 

1        Musquin, Marvin        FRA

2          Paulin, Gautier          FRA

3        Boog, Xavier            FRA

4        Aubin, Nicolas          FRA

5        Guarneri, Davide       ITA

6        Simpson, Shaun        GBR

7        Frossard, Steven      FRA

8        Tonus, Arnaud          SUI

9        Goncalves, Rui          POR

10      Osborne, Zach         USA

 

MX2 World Championship standings after Rd2

 

1          Paulin, G.                   FRA     69

2        Musquin, M.             FRA     65

3        Guarneri, D.             ITA     50

4        Aubin, Nicolas          FRA     47

5        Boog, Xavier            FRA     45

6        Simpson, Shaun        GBR     37

7        Frossard, S.             FRA     33

8        Roelants, Joel           BEL     30

9        Lupino, A.                ITA     28

10      Tonus, Arnaud          SUI     25

11      Goncalves, Rui          POR    24

12      Schiffer, M.             GER     24

13      Osborne, Zach         USA    23

14      Teillet, V.                FRA     23

15      van Horebeek, J.       BEL     22