FTeam Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki's rancisco Garcia took overall victory with a straight-moto win at the British round of the European EMX250 Motocross Championship at Matterley Basin. Teammate Jake Cannon joined him in the box with a third-place finish, his first career EMX podium.
The beautiful circuit in the green English countryside had been ridden thoroughly overnight and soaked to cope with the dusty conditions of the previous day. By the time the EMX250 riders took to the grid for their second moto of the weekend, ruts were already beginning to form. Another tight line through Turn One saw Garcia cross the line in fourth place but quickly pass his team-mate for third and then move up to second before the opening lap was complete. He then patiently found a comfortable rhythm to soak up the race. As the race reached the halfway point, the Spaniard upped his pace and with a series of 2-07 fastest laps, he overtook the leader before diving in at the end of the home straight, three laps from the finish, for his second win of the weekend. It was his second overall win of the season, and his first with a perfect 1-1 scoreline; he remains third in the standings but has made huge gains on every rider ahead of him and now has a 44-point lead over fourth place.
Francisco Garcia: “What a perfect weekend. I felt at home on the track yesterday during practice and then won the first moto. The track was a bit different today with more ruts, but I was always in control. At the beginning of the races I rode a bit too easy, but at the end I can always go flat out; I did that again today to take the win. I have a really good feeling with my bike at the moment and the atmosphere in the team is so good. It’s great to win the overall with a double win; I don’t have a realistic chance of winning the title after losing some points earlier in the season, so I came here for race wins… and I took my first double moto win in EMX this weekend.”
Bud teammate Jake Cannon made an even better start than on Saturday, holding on to third place the first time out of the pits, but quickly losing two positions as the race settled down. He made a decisive move for fourth place midway through the race, and immediately sprinted away on a clear track to secure fourth place in the moto, which secured him third place overall for the weekend. It was the first EMX podium of the Australian teenager's career since arriving in Europe at the start of the season. His 38 points now put him thirteenth in the standings, just twenty-four points off seventh place.
Jake Cannon: “I’m over the moon; finally on the podium! I’ve had a consistent weekend and finally showed everyone what I can do. I had a really good start today but rode tight on the first lap and made a few small mistakes which dropped me a few positions. The track was really wet and slippery today so you had to hit your targets. Now I hope I can keep that up and finish the year strong. It was a special moment as my family are here all the way from Australia this weekend.”
Stéphane Dassé (Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki team owner): “What a weekend for the team, with a double victory for Francisco and the first podium for Jake in the European Championship. They really gave me a nice birthday present this weekend! Francisco has already been on the podium a few times this season and we saw Jake’s results in the French Championship improving lately, so we are happy to have him in his place. Both riders are young and we are very happy with them; they work well together, train hard with Thierry Van Den Bosch and they bring a great and positive atmosphere to the team, so we can say that we made a good choice when we signed them.”
