Back at the French Elite Championship for the penultimate round of the season at Villars sous Ecot, Mathis Valin clinched another podium, his sixth one this year.
Home of the 2023 French MXGP Villars sous Ecot met the fifth of the six rounds of the series, and team Bud Racing Kawasaki was back racing after missing the previous round (Bitche) organized the same day as a the European Championship in Portugal.
Fastest rider in the timed practice period, Mathis got a great start in the first moto to take the lead during the opening lap, but he had during most of the race to deal with the experienced Mathys Boisrame who put pressure on him. It was a nice battle, but finally Mathis made a gap to win the race 20 seconds ahead of Mathys. The second race was even more intense as Mathis and Mathys changed their position to lead alternatively the race, and crossed the finish line with only four tenth of a seconds between them! Second of this race, tied in the points, Mathis was classified second overall to consolidate his position in the standings before the final race at Ernée in 3 weeks.
Third of his group in the timed practice session, Benjamin Garib was in the top four during the first laps of race one, and finished sixth; his second start was not that good, but he score a seventh position and he is now fifth in the standings.
Points compensation: missing a round at Bitche, organised the same day as a EMX250, Mathis and Benjamin will got points compensation at the end of the series. For this missed race, they will get a credit of points which is the average number of points that they scored in the five rounds they attended. So we are still fighting for the title and hope to reach it !
Mathis Valin : “The day started really well with a very good lap time and a good speed. Then in the afternoon two very intensive races; in the first moto I start in the top three, I managed to overtake everyone and then during ten minutes we had a big fight with Mathys Boisrame and I won. Second moto I got the holeshot, then Boisrame passed me and we fight the whole moto ! I manage to pass him but unfortunately he overtakes me; I didn’t give up and I finished four tenths of a second behind him so rather happy and satisfied with the weekend!”
Benjamin Garib : “ A 6-7 this weekend, the track was good, many ruts and jumps! Weren’t the results I wanted but I’ll keep working and building for more! I want to thank my team for everything.
