Coming back from Thailand straight after the second round of the World Motocross Championship, Gautier Paulin entered the 2014 Italian Starcross, in Mantova. It was worth the trip for the Frenchman – winning the 31st edition of this prestigious International mx race.

Just a week after his disappointing Thai GP, Gautier was back winning again, adding a third success to his 2014 scoreboard after Montevarchi – Internationaux of Italy – and the GP of Qatar.

Paulin was the fastest rider on Saturday with the best lap time and later a first win in the qualifying race – Gautier entered on Sunday the three heats program with 20 minutes plus two laps each, in confident mood.

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Runner-up during the Superpole session behind Clement Desalle, the Monster Kawasaki Racing Team leader just missed the win in the first heat by less than two seconds. Again runner up during the opening laps of the second heat, Gautier passed Desalle for the lead at mid-race and pulled away, crossing the finish line 12-seconds ahead of the MX1 vice World champion.

The third and last heat was even better for the Frenchman who led the entire race, posting the fastest lap time to beat Desalle by 26-seconds. After this third win, Gautier will now continue to train in order to prepare the third round of the MXGP World Championship, scheduled in two weeks time in Beto Carrero, Brazil. Gautier Paulin said: “The track was really nice to ride, they did a good job to prepare it and I had fun this weekend, it was perfect conditions to race and test some settings.

“I had great starts in all the races, but didn’t want to take any risks in the first corners; Clement won the first race, then we had some nice battles together but when I passed him in the second heat I was able to make a gap with him. He raced with me during half of the last heat, but then I kept a strong rhythm and won it alone. It was great to race there, rather than training alone at home.

“After a tough weekend such as Thailand, where the results were not what I could expect even if the team and myself did our job as usual, it’s nice to win again a race.”