Maxime Desprey dominated the opening round of the European MX250 series for Bud Racing Kawasaki Monster Energy, leading both motos at Arco di Trento in northern Italy from start to finish.
The 22-year-old Frenchman showed confidence from the word go on the hard-pack track littered with tiny stones as he qualified comfortably with second fastest time in his group before totally dominating both points-scoring races from gate to flag – winning the opening moto by eight seconds and crossing the line in the second race five seconds ahead of his closest rival.
He will now mount the red plate of the series leader to his bike in the next round of the series at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands next Sunday.
David Herbreteau of the Monster Energy Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team twice raced into the top 10 despite incidents in each moto to be rewarded with eighth overall, while Nicolas Dercourt, the second rider at Bud Racing, ensured that three Kawasaki’s finished in the top 10 after an equally turbulent weekend.
Maxime Desprey: “It was a good weekend for me; I couldn’t expect better from this opening round of the championship. I twice took the holeshot and then I pushed to make a gap with my rivals and control the race.
“We have worked hard with the team and Jacky Vimond to prepare for this championship; now we’ll move to Belgium to prepare for the next race in Valkenswaard. We already spent a couple of weeks in the sand, so I will go there with confidence.”
David Herbreteau: “I had some bad memories from this track as I had a big crash here two years ago, but this weekend was pretty good. We worked with the team and the technicians of Bos suspensions on the settings of the bike, and I had a good feeling with the bike.
“My start was good in the first race, but my rhythm was not good enough in the first laps and I lost several positions; I was seventh but crashed and finished tenth, having suffered some arm pump during the race. The start of the second moto was not so good as another rider hit me on the starting line; I started a long way back but came through the field to tenth. Now I move to Holland, where I will train with Dylan Ferrandis to prepare for Valkenswaard.”
Nicolas Dercourt: “I struggled to make a fast lap in the timed practice period so I had got a bad gate for the race. My first start was bad but I came back to seventh, which was not too bad on this track. “The second start was even worse as a rider crashed in front of me, so I was last. I recovered many places but went out of the track when I touched with another rider and eventually finished fifteenth. I’m disappointed with the result but mainly with my starts today.”
