The 250 European Championship kick off last weekend in Cozar (Spain) and that race was more than a challenge for the riders and the staff of team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki. As rain never stopped during the past three weeks and during the weekend it was a muddy GP, but both Jake Cannon and Francisco Garcia got a race podium.
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for the Team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki’s riders in the opening round of the European EMX250 Motocross Championship but both Francisco Garcia and Jake Cannon showed clearly that they will be title candidates as each posted a second-placed moto finish.
Australian teenager Jake Cannon raced to an impressive second place in Saturday’s first moto on his series debut; he emerged seventh from the initial sort-out at turn one and stayed calm and avoiding mistakes as others faltered he gradually advanced up the leaderboard. By lap six of eleven he had taken over third and gradually closed down the leaders to finish second at the chequered flag. On Sunday morning’s muddy second race he lost time in a first corner crash and subsequent pit stop for fresh goggles and gloves which cost him more than a minute and he spent the rest of the moto chasing to eventually finish just out of the points in twenty-first.
Francisco Garcia, second-fastest in Timed Training, had moved forward from a fourth-placed start to second in the first moto before he was eliminated on lap five but he rebounded defiantly in the second moto. From third place on the opening lap, in a race run in even muddier conditions after further overnight rain, he advanced to second on lap four and chased the eventual winner to the chequered flag for the team’s second runner-up moto finish of the weekend.
With twelves rounds of the series remaining both riders have plenty of opportunity to reduce their nineteen-point deficit to the individual points-leader and their two impressive rides mean that Kawasaki is second, just six points from the lead, in the manufacturers’ championship.
Francisco Garcia: “I had a good feeling with the bike and the track both days, even though the track conditions were really difficult because of the rain; I am Spanish so this was my home GP but the weather is not normally like this in Spain (laughs). It’s just a pity about the DNF in the first race, but the championship is long and my physical and mental condition are both good. l think this will be a good year for me and next week is the team’s home GP in France so let’s go for it.”
Jake Cannon: “I was over the moon with my first race in EMX particularly after I saw the track when I arrived. It was just crazy for practice and I only managed four laps; I wasn’t sure how the day was going to go but I executed a good start in the first race and rode smart and came good at the end. I saw fourth trying to put a charge on me but I found some good lines and all of a sudden I was behind second and could pass him on the last lap. In the second moto I crashed off the start and then I lost another minute when I needed to stop in the pits for fresh goggles and gloves; I felt comfortable riding in the mud both days but I just need to get round the first turn, stay off the ground and minimize those mistakes.”
