Steve Frossard Wins GP of France - Dirt Rider Magazine

The French Grand Prix could not have a better ending with two home riders on the podium, Steven Frossard was the overall winner of the MX1 class and Gautier Pauline managed to be on the third step of the podium in MX2. The top of the MX2 rostrum was for Tommy Searle, who obtained his first overall victory of the season.In the MX1 class, Antonio Cairoli was second overall and Clement Desalle was third, while David Philippaerts finished 9th after being third in the first heat.

Monster Energy Yamaha's Frossard could not have a better weekend at Saint Jean d'Angely; after a difficult qualifying race yesterday, he commanded the first heat and he finished second in the second one. The French rider obtained his maiden MX1 overall victory at his home track and he is convinced that he can place his Monster Energy Yamaha at the top of the podium many more times from now to the end of the season.Second overall was Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX1's Cairoli, who missed the overall victory by five points after being second in both heats. The Italian admitted that he does not feel fully fit, but that he is happy with his result, as he is closer to the red plate holder, Clement Desalle.Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1's Desalle was a bit disappointed with his third overall position as he won the second heat with great authority. The Belgian did a great start in the first heat, but he got stuck with a rider in the second corner and he crashed. Desalle could only be 11th, so that cost him the overall win.Kawasaki Racing Team's Xavier Boog obtained his best result of the season this weekend in Saint Jean d'Angely being fourth overall ahead of Evgeny Bobryshev. Boog finished fourth in the first race, but a mistake in the second race made him lose all the opportunities to be on the podium. However, he recovered from a thirteenth position to cross the finish line seventh.Completing the top five was Honda World Motocross' Bobryshev, who missed the podium in the last laps of race two, as Frossard and Cairoli overtook him when he was riding second. For the Russian is a very good result as the French track was not of his favourite.Ken De Dycker got a solid sixth position as he managed to keep a consistent rhythm in both heats. De Dycker has moved up three positions in the Championship and he is now twelfth.Max Nagl, who was second in the point standings when he arrived in France, did not have a good weekend finishing seventh and ninth respectively. The German is now fourth in the Championship tight in points with Steven Frossard.Rui Goncalves did not have a good start in the first heat and he finished 14th. However, he did an extraordinary second race and his fourth place made him finish eighth overall.David Philippaerts was very happy with the third place he obtained in the first heat, but he was unfortunate in the second one and he was only able to finish 18th. The Italian left France with a bitter ninth overall position, followed by Estonian Tanel Leok.Shaun Simpson could only be 13th after today's races, whereas Ben Townley got a 16th final position due to a dnf in the second heat. Townley was having a great weekend on his comeback, but when he was riding behind Nagl, the German crashed and Townley went down the ground and could not finish the race.Steven Frossard: I was really focussed on my riding and for sure my goal was victory today. I was smooth and didn't take many risks. This is my first year in MX1 and to win here at St Jean is something so good for me. I want to thank my sponsors, my parents and everybody. It has been a really great day, especially because I haven't ridden for three weeks. It is good to be third in the championship but I am still counting the cost of those mistakes in Glen Helen. I have to concentrate more and get back what I lost.Antonio Cairoli: Now it's time to get back in shape and go after the red plate.

I am looking forward to the two GPs in Portugal and Spain and I would like to use them to close the points gap in the championship.Clement Desalle: Max Nagl cut the line really early and I hit his wheel and crashed. I had to roll the bike back down the hill and was totally last. It was really difficult because in those situations you have to keep a bit calm, even when the rest of the riders are getting away. I fought as hard as I could but I made another mistake and landed in all the mud. After that I focussed on completing the race. Afterwards I was very disappointed because again more mistakes and I wanted more consistency but I am still learning about all the things that can happen in a GP. I had good speed here and at least was able to show that in the second moto. You had to be careful on the track. I think the ground is very typical of the region and can be very soft but then very hard in different places but as I always say it is the same challenge for all of us. We have done five races now and I will keep on doing the best I can. I lost some points today but I'm happier for the second moto performance.MX1 Race 1: 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 39:43.001; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:14.166; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:26.589; 4. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:46.857; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:55.476; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:57.385; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:58.511; 8. Benjamin Townley (NZL, Kawasaki), +1:12.515; 9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:14.588; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:20.473;MX1 Race 2: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 39:50.343; 2. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:10.986; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:13.765; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:16.816; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:19.766; 6. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:21.768; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:25.968; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:29.524; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:31.244; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +0:36.506;MX1 Overall: 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 47 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 35 p.; 4. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 31 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 29 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 25 p.; 9. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 23 p.; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 22 p.;MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 199 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 193 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 179 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 179 p.; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 161 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 141 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 133 p.; 8. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 115 p.; 9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 114 p.; 10. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 109 p.;

It was the first time there was no KTM on the podium in the MX2 class, as both Ken Roczen and Jeffrey Herlings were not that fortunate this weekend, finishing fifth and fourth respectively. Tommy Searle was first, while Zach Osborne finished second and obtained the first podium of the season. Third overall was French rider Gautier Paulin.CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit's Searle obtained his maiden overall victory of the season in Saint Jean d'Angely, as he did back in 2008 before he left to the USA. The British rider confessed that it was his worst GP so far, but thanks to the great job his team made to change some settings of the bike, he was able to be at the top of the rostrum.For Bike-it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha's Osborne was the first time he was on the podium this season, but he was not that happy for such second overall position, as he missed the overall victory for just three points. Osborne explained that even riding with little fracture on his wrist, he can still obtain satisfactory results as today.Monster Energy Yamaha's Paulin was second overall being tight in points with Osborne. Paulin assumed having made many mistakes in today's races, but he was very satisfied for having obtained the second podium of the season in front of his crowd.Fourth was Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX2's Herlings, who made many mistakes during the first race and he could only finish seventh. Herlings succeeded in being second in the second heat, but it was not enough to be on the podium.His team mate and current leader of the MX2 class Ken Roczen was fifth overall in France even after having won the first race. The German took the holeshot in the second heat, but he had a big crash in the opening lap, which made start again from the back of the pack. Roczen had some problems with his bike and he crashed again, and he got a disappointing 11th position.Nicolas Aubin did a very good performance in his home GP and he managed to finish sixth overall, followed by Arnaud Tonus and Joel Roelants. Harri Kullas got a solid ninth overall position and Max Anstie completed the top ten.Tommy Searle: The team is doing a great job to give me a winning bike; we made some changes to the suspension this morning and it worked. I made a couple of mistakes early in the first race but I was the fastest at the end of the race. When I saw Roczen rolling about on the ground on the first lap of race two I felt bad for him, but I had to take full advantage. I said to myself "This one is mine now." I went past Osborne for the lead, but then Herlings came up fast. He was making mistakes and I knew I would be able to get him again before the end; he went wide in a corner, I was able to go under him and just put my head down. I've been consistent so far but we're all picking up the pace; I'm so happy to give Jean-Jacques, Gael and the rest of the team this victory in their home GP but we are getting stronger every week and I now need to win more races if I'm going to win this championship.Zach Osborne: I have had the speed all season but I just haven't had the results so it feels good to turn it into a podium today. I didn't feel so comfortable in the lead but by mid-race I had picked it up again and passed Gautier. I had a few bad laps in the beginning and had to recover from that. By the time I was around Gautier, Tommy had already caught Jeffrey and was away. I was doing the maths with the points in my head. I haven't ridden during the week since the U.S. Grand Prix but I knew I could take it the distance with my fitness. In the end I was close. I have to get a run of podiums going again now and the next track in Portugal is good for me.Gautier Paulin: I feel much better than I did in Brazil. I am enjoying my riding now and can play around with the bike a lot more. It was bad that Ken had a crash but it meant a change for all of us. I was feeling fast but I made some mistakes in the second moto and couldnt make the passes I wanted. I was close but not in touching distance. Zach was really fast and the lap-times were coming down. It was great out there. I think a lot of riders were making mistakes. The track was slippery and in some parts very hard and it was tough on the up-hills with the 250 because a mistake at the bottom would ruin a whole section. Anyway things are getting better for me. This was my first podium in France and I really happy about that. In the end another good result to push on and keep being consistent.MX2 Race 1: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 40:46.690; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:13.754; 3. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:24.369; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:36.109; 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:53.180; 6. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), +1:13.915; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:28.231; 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:34.282; 9. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, Honda), +1:48.937; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:54.521;MX2 Race 2: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 39:47.629; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:01.734; 3. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:04.429; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:05.211; 5. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), +0:51.885; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:58.504; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:15.537; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:24.505; 9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:32.280; 10. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:35.299;MX2 Overall: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 43 points; 2. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 40 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 40 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 35 p.; 6. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 30 p.; 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 23 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 19 p.;MX2 Championship: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 226 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 213 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 199 p.; 4. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 162 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 160 p.; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 138 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 135 p.; 8. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 119 p.; 9. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 114 p.; 10. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), 104 p.;