Benoit Paturel of the de Baets MX team has achieved a top ten finish in his home Grand Prix in St. Jean d’Angely, France. Dex Kooiker also rode a strong second moto in the EMX125 class and finished sixth.
After a difficult weekend in Galicia, Paturel was keen to show something good in front of his home crowd. In time practice he set a good tenth time on the clock but came out even stronger in the qualifying heat. Because it had started raining heavily, the track had become very slippery and muddy. After a good start, Paturel rode a hell of a race and managed to cross the finish line in a very nice sixth place.
In the first moto, Paturel had a very consistent race. Throughout the race, he was just outside the top ten and changed positions. In the final stages, he made up for a lost position and managed to cross the finish line in twelfth place.
For the second moto the rain was pouring down. Paturel got a good start and rode well with the group in front of him. For a long time, Paturel managed to hold on to eighth place, but in the second part of the race he had to give up two places and finished in a good tenth place.
With a 12-10 in the motos, Paturel finished in twelfth place overall and is now eighteenth in the world championship standings.
After a setback in the first moto of the EMX125 class, Dex Kooiker took revenge in the second moto. He got a very good start and rode a great race. Kooiker managed to cross the finish line in sixth place and took his best result in the EMX125 class of the season. Due to his zero score in the first moto, Kooiker finished in twelfth place in the day’s classification and now occupies twentieth place in the standings.
The World Championship continous on the 1st and 2nd of June in Teutschenthal, Germany!
Overall MXGP France:
1 Tim Gajser 43 Pnt
2 Romain Febvre 42 Pnt
3 Jeffrey Herlings 40 Pnt
4 Jorge Prado 38 Pnt
5 Pauls Jonass 36 Pnt
12 Benoit Paturel 20 Pnt
Overall EMX125 France:
1 Simone Mancini 47 Pnt
2 Noel Zanocz 45 Pnt
3 Mano Faure 40 Pnt
4 Gyan Doensen 33 Pnt
5 Francesco Bellei 24 Pnt
12 Dex Kooiker 15 Pnt
