GPKR riders reach the podium in both France and Belgium

The Grand Prix Kawasaki Racing Team head to both Beervelde in Belgium and Penes les Fontaines in France for some national championship action just one week before the first grand prix of the season

Fastest rider in Pernes les Fontaines – home of the third round of the French MX1 Elite championship – Sébastien Pourcel eventually claimed second position overall while Alexandre Rouis had a tough weekend with a crash at each start! In Beervelde for the opening round of the Belgian championship Kevin Strijbos made an exceptionally strong comeback with third place overall.

On Saturday the weather at the track was sunny in Pernes and Sébastien Pourcel posted an amazing lap almost two seconds faster than second placed rider Nicolas Aubin!

On Sunday he reconfirmed his great speed and dominated the three races but he won’t celebrate a triple success in Pernes. Sebastian’s pipe broke during the first race and cost him a one-minute penalty. Awarded sixth position in that race Sebastien won the two other races easily by 40 and then 15 seconds over Aubin and is now fifth in the series, 29 points behind the leader.

Alexandre Rouis had an even worse day as he was involved in a pile up in the first turn of the three races! He rode strong to consolidate some points for the series and finished 9th, 17th and 12th to sit in 8th in the standings.

The racing conditions were not as good in Belgium but the club did a good job to prepare a decent layout to the riders. Kevin Strijbos was back in action after being sick one week earlier and despite his lack of racing he was able to battle for the win. Runner-up in the opening heat, he collided with Philippaerts in the next one but still scored a strong 3rd position. Kevin got the holeshot in the last race then made a couple of mistakes to finish 5th and 3rd overall.

Sébastien Pourcel: “If I didn’t have this technical trouble in the first heat it would have been a perfect day for me! I was excited before the second start and in the last two races I posted a couple of fast laps to secure my lead. Twice Aubin came second but it was pretty easy to control him. I had better starts here than in Thomer especially in the second and third race but we’ll have to wait next weekend in Valkenswaard to be sure that the problem is solved. We’ll do some testing on Wednesday and I will continue my physical training all week long.”

Kevin Strijbos: “The track was rough and it was important to be carefull on the bike - especially so close to the first GP. I’m happy with the first two races where I had a good speed and never gave up but the last one was more difficult. I felt tired and couldn’t go as fast as I would have liked but it was a good training before Valkenswaard.”

Alexandre Rouis: “It was a black day for me as I had to came back in each race from the last place to secure some points. I chose another place behind the grid for the last start and I was in the top 10 at the first corner when another rider crashed under my front wheel. The only positive thing is that I had good lap times during the races and I didn’t feel tired at the end of the day.”

Roger Pourcel: “We never damaged any part of the exhaust pipe this season in testing or racing but here during the first race Sébastien had a problem and he got a penalty. That’s the rule and we have to deal with it. He recovered pretty well in the following races and took a GP ryththm to test the bike and himself. Alex was especially unlucky here but he never gave up and still scored points in each race.”

Patrick Geladé: “It was an important event for Kevin who didn’t race a lot in the pre-season with injuries and illness. Kevin showed that he has good speed, he got some great starts with the bike and it was important for his comfidence. For sure he is a little bit late in his preparation and didn’t do so much testing yet but we are all convinced that the base is strong enough for the first GPs.”

By: GPKR PR