Steven Frossard upheld the honour of the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team with a second place moto finish in the British round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at Matterley Basin.
The Frenchman, left alone to defend KRT honour in the absence of Gautier Paulin through injury, responded magnificently to the challenge, serving notice of his speed with third place in the timed session and a strong ride forward from ninth to fifth in the qualifying race to decide grid positions.
After a strong start in third place in the opening moto Steven quickly advanced to second and put the leader under pressure for almost the entire race before a small mistake in the closing laps cost him a few vital seconds and forced the Kawasaki man to accept second place.
There were high hopes of a repeat performance in race two as Steven again gated well, but an incident at turn one as he touched with a rival resulted in damage to the rear brake and he was forced to quit the race. Nevertheless the Frenchman has retained his seventh place in the world championship rankings and the points gained from his fine first moto ride mean that he is now just two points from sixth in the standings.
Steven Frossard commented: “I had a pretty good qualifying race, and today I got two good starts. In the first moto I was third but passed Desalle quickly to secure the second position behind Cairoli. I had a good rhythm and was never far from him, but I made a small mistake four laps before the end and got arm pump.
“I was happy with this second position and was expecting another good race in the second race; in the first corner I was in the top three side by side with Desalle when we touched and I crashed. The rear brake was damaged so it was impossible to continue and I’m frustrated as a podium result was possible here as I like this track so much.”
