Kevin Strijbos – 5th MXGP
Hunter Lawrence –1st MX2
Jeremy Seewer – 8th MX2
Zach Pichon – 14th MX2

Hunter Lawrence took his maiden qualification win for the Suzuki World MX2 team, grabbing his first holeshot and checking-out in what were very tricky conditions at the hilly Villars-Sous-Ecot track in France. Heavy rain showers soaked the track before the moto but after a good timed practice, Lawrence and teammate Jeremy Seewer both had good gate picks and good starts in the race as the mud flew all around them. Zach Pichon also rode well for his 14th place finish as the French rider once again stepped-up in the MX2 class.

In the MXGP class, Kevin Strijbos continued his run of fifth place finishes and will head into Sunday’s moto full of confidence that he can go even better if he can avoid the misfortune of a rock hitting his goggles.

For Lawrence, it is a great way to start the final GP of the year in what has been a very impressive rookie campaign. “I got a great start on my RM-Z250, taking the holeshot and leading the way round the first few bends. I was pretty pumped to have got that good start, so I put my head down and made sure to hit my lines and keep everyone behind me. I have been feeling good all day as I love the track and all the ruts. Everything seems to have gone well today, I just hope we can keep it going tomorrow because it was such a good feeling to take the victory.”

After a pair of fifth places at Assen last weekend, Strijbos once again got that top-five finish at this completely different track in France. “Qualification was good today. I got a decent start, despite being a little bit too late reacting to the gate. I managed to go well through the first corner though, which was good. From there on I had a steady race, I didn’t have to take any risks which on a tricky track like this was good. At one point, I got a rock on the roll-off and that broke it but I was still able to get fifth. I’m happy to have finished in that position because it was so easy to make a mistake and finish in the back, so again fifth like the last few races. I don’t think we’re going to change anything for the main motos tomorrow as everything felt good on my RM-Z450WS.”