HSL in the SX of Paris Lille
Doing this weekend his first race on the 250 Bud Racing Kawasaki Monster Energy, Maxime Desprey claimed all SX2 heat wins during the first Supercross of Paris Lille. With four heat wins and the ‘Prince of Paris Lille' crown, Maxime was the best team's representative.
Moving from Bercy to Lille as the stadium in Paris is under renovation, the main European Supercross moved North of France in the brand new ‘Pierre Mauroy stadium' in Lille and was as successful in Lille than in Paris. Leading the first practice sessions on Saturday, Maxime Desprey showed good speed and nice riding style on the track. He was far ahead of his rivals in the two races on Saturday, even if he crashed at the start of the second one and had to come back from last to first! On Sunday he again dominates the SX2 class, winning the two other races to collect the famous ‘Prince of Paris Lille' title. Only one race for Maxime on his Bud Kawasaki, but already four heat wins!
The team lined up three SX1 riders in Lille, and it's American Josh Hill who did the best performance with a fifth overall. Posting top eight results in the four SX1 races, Josh confirmed the US domination with five Americans in the top six! Second of the first race on Saturday behind Eli Tomac, Christophe Pourcel had a tough second race as he collided at the start and later crashed again and retired. On Sunday he had a couple of bad starts and finally scored ninth overall, two ranks ahead of Valentin Teillet; Saturday was a little bit tough for Valentin, who came stronger on Sunday and scored top ten in three heats for his last race with the team. Next season Xavier Boog, Maxime Desprey and Nicolas Dercourt will be the Bud riders alongside Meghan Rutledge and 85 riders Brian Moreau and David Braceras.
Maxime Desprey: "We didn't plane since so long to race this SX, but we prepare it carefully with Jacky (Vimond). I came here to have fun on the bike, and I must say that I enjoyed riding there! I had so much fun on the track, I feel so comfortable on the 250 Bud Kawasaki that I got four holeshots; I crashed at one start so I had to recover from last to first, it was so nice to hear the public cheering me! It was good experience, I rode relax and I know that I will have to work hard for next season; I will work with Jacky alongside Xavier (Boog) and Nico (Dercourt), and I'm confident."
Stéphane Dasse: "We had a good weekend in Lille, we met many people and our riders did good performances. Maxime rode very very well for his first race with us; he never gave up and was so fast! We saw that he was happy to ride his bike, and he got four heat wins! It was our last race with Valentin (Teillet) and he did his best, as Josh Hill who was racing with us for this event did good also. Christophe (Pourcel) struggled with his starts, and we have to work before the Genoa SX next weekend; anyway, he got the best French result with a second position in the first final on Saturday."