Mathis Valin claimed the FIM European EMX250 Championship title in style with a double race win at Cozar, final round of the series. He offers team Bud Racing Kawasaki his first European title in this class, and the second one as Brian Moreau won the EMX125 in 2017.
Third of the qualifying session on Saturday, Mathis cleverly choosed a mid-gate start position, several gates away from his title rivals and claimed a clear holeshot ahead of Bud teammate Benjamin Garib. Establishing a three-second advantage already on the opening lap, Mathis smartly managed the advantage to sweep home as moto winner thirty minutes later and thus be confirmed as European EMX250 champion in his first season with Kawasaki and his rookie year in the 250cc class. On Sunday he again swept into turn one in front from mid-gate but drifted slightly wide in the rapid sweeping turn to emerge second. This would already ensure the overall victory but the stylish youngster confidently swept inside for the lead at the start of lap five and, soaking up pressure admirably despite sickness, kept his main rival of the campaign off his rear wheel to the chequered flag for his tenth moto victory, fourth overall win (three of them with a maximum score) and ninth podium in the eleven-round series and a decisive thirty-four point title victory. The result was also important in the stakes for the FIM Manufacturers’ Championship; with an eight-point advantage at the start of the day Valin’s victory ensured that Kawasaki deservedly take the title by eleven points.
Benjamin Garib was also impressive on Saturday as he followed Mathis through the opening turn of the race, maintaining second-place throughout the moto and defiantly holding off a last-lap challenge to complete a rousing 1-2 for the Bud team and Kawasaki. On Sunday he was closed down entering turn one to emerge sixteenth but he dug deep to claw back one position after another until he was ninth on lap ten of fourteen. He continued to push to narrow the gap to the riders ahead but just ran out of time to make the further pass which would have secured him his first career podium. Fourth overall, edged out of the podium by a single point, his efforts did however confirm seventh in the final series standings.
Mathis Valin: “This season was incredible; at the start of the year I could never have dreamed that I could win the European title in my rookie season. My aim at the start of the year was to be around the top-five but in fact I won nearly half of the races to take the title. I was delighted to secure the title with a race win on Saturday, but I came here determined not only to win the title but also to take the victory in this final round and we did it! It was a great and incredible season; I want to thank Stephane Dasse and the entire Bud team, our coach Thierry (Van Den Bosch) and all my family for their support. Now I will take a little break and then we’ll go for the winter training and another step in my career with a new bike, a new team and a new life as I will be based at Lommel. »
Benjamin Garib: “This first moto means a lot to me. This results just shows how hard work pays off; I didn’t start the season well with so many muddy races, but this was a new track for everyone and I had a good pace all weekend. On Saturday I had Mathis in front of me and it felt like a training moto; then on Sunday I had a really bad start but I came through from the back even though it is really hard to pass here. I had the speed but I got stuck behind some guys for a long time and by the time I got to ninth the gap was too far to eighth to make the final pass I needed for the podium. But I’ll take the positives from the first moto; that was a good note to end the season. My thanks to everyone in the Bud Kawasaki team for the last two years; we were always improving and had a lot of fun together.”
Stephane Dasse (Bud Kawasaki team owner): « We are super happy. For us it was a perfect season as we won the French Elite and the European Championship! There was a great atmosphere with both riders in the team, our bikes were competitive, and Mathis surprised us! When we signed him for two years we were not expecting such good results already this year but he is really strong mentally; we saw him progressing all year long and since mid-season he made another step. Now he is ready to move to MX2 and we want all the best for him in the factory team. We will continue to invest in young riders for the European Championship; that’s what we enjoy and with this championship, the French Elite, Paris Supercross and the World SX we have a strong and busy program. »
