The Mantova Starcross was the starting gun shot of the 2013 European MX season that saw the top MX GP riders and team’s line up at the 30th edition of the famous event.
Kawasaki Racing Team’s, Gautier Paulin, was excited to get his first ride under the belt and set some blistering times in the Saturday qualifications as well as the second fastest time in the Superpole, with Belgian, Clement Desalle posting pole.
Weather conditions changed overnight and a frozen track made it more technical for the riders. Paulin did not want to take any risks on the challenging underground but still managed a podium in the opening moto. He then went on to score a 7th and 5th in moto 2 and moto 3 to place 5th overall for the day.
Gautier Paulin: “The track was very different from Saturday to Sunday, and I had more fun on Saturday as the ground was soft. I had fun on the bike, and posted some fast lap times. Sunday was different, it was frozen on some places and very dangerous with some deep ruts so you had to be careful. I felt good on the bike. We tested the factory parts last year but just got them now for this race so today we managed to test them under race conditions. I took it easy as the first GP is in a month, and wanted to go back home safe and be ready to go training on Monday.”
Next up on Paulin’s calendar will be the Hawkstone Park international on the 9-10 February.
MX1 Overall Classification:
1. Strijbos (Suzuki / BEL) 72 points
2. Bobryshev (Honda / RUS) 52
3. Leok (Honda / EST) 52
4. Horeebek van (Kawasaki/BEL) 51.
5. Paulin (Kawasaki/FRA) 50.