Honda off to flying start at the Motocross of Nations
Home hero Gautier Paulin got off to a sterling start today in France, in front of a packed crowd, with a runaway win in the MXGP qualifying race on the CRF450RW. Adding to his dominance, last year’s MXoN winner and holder of the no.1 plate also set the fastest lap of the race to put Team France on top.
Teammate Evgeny Bobryshev also had a great race and was in line to be fighting for the top four until he ran slightly off-track and caught his finger between the bars and a marker post, injuring it. Fighting through to continue, Bobby finished a creditable sixth to put Team Russia 17th on the gate tomorrow.
The first of tomorrow’s three Motocross of Nations races starts at 1300hrs local time, and mixes the MXGP class with MX2. After the three results from today’s qualifying races, each national team drops its lowest position and the sum of the other two results gives them a score to determine their race start position.
Adding to Honda’s strong showing today, Filip Bengtsson took the MXGP holeshot on his CRF450R and Jorge Zaragoza finished sixth in MX2.
Roger Harvey
“That was a great ride from Gautier – he was riding probably as well as we’ve seen him ride all year; just relaxed and going with the flow. It’s good to see him out there and fighting for it. He puts his country right up there, and with the result of his teammates too, it puts them right in contention to defend their title. Bobby sliced his finger in the race, but was riding quite tight in practice first thing – not his usual flowing self, but being Bobby he’ll come back tomorrow and be ok again.”
Gautier Paulin 21
“The track is really nice and well prepared. The first two laps weren’t too bad after a good start, but I struggled to make some passes – once you’re in a rut they’re so long that it’s easy to lose time behind someone. So I went easy and took my time. The fans here are awesome – it’s just crazy. You can feel it in your body – it’s a great energy and just a great feeling to ride here today, especially seeing my teammates doing a perfect job too. It’s only Saturday, but it’s a great motivation and we’re in a good direction.”
Evgeny Bobryshev 777
“The race was quite ok and I was running around fifth, but then I ran off track a bit and cut my finger on a marker post. I was a little bit tight but we qualified so now we focus on tomorrow and riding more smooth and flowing around this track.”
Location Information
Ernée, France - View in Google Maps
