New Molson Kawasaki recruit Gautier Paulin showed some decent speed around the punishing Bercy Paris Supercross last weekend on the works KX250F over three nights and finished ninth overall in the 25th edition of the prestigious Indoor event.
European Motocross Champion Paulin lined up with the cream of French supercross talent as well as a host of big names from across the Atlantic. The annual tournament was won by former AMA champion Chad. It was the first major supercross race for teenager Paulin since signing for the British team over one month ago.
Paulin – who will have Stephen Sword and Gareth Swanepoel as team-mates in the 2008 MX2 World Championship – initially struggled to get to grips with the track and despite two crashes throughout the races from Friday to Sunday evening started brightly and posted best results of seventh and a fourth against the 450s on the Saturday and Sunday nights respectively.
“On Friday I found that the track was pretty difficult compared to Marseille, the other SX that I did this year,” he explained. “We had to work on the settings to adapt the bike. I made a couple of mistakes in the first race and had a bad position on the grid for the rest of the day.”
“On Saturday I felt more confident, I had a good start in the main and was fifth when I made a mistake in the whoops section and crashed pretty hard. I was out of it then and had pain in my neck but went on to take seventh in the last race after a good ride and good lap times.”
“Sunday was better,” he went on, “I did well in practice and then had a great start in the first final. I was fourth in the first corner and keep this position with my 250, my best result here. Unfortunately in the next outing I was battling with Mike Brown when I crashed and had another KO. I decided then to take things easier for the last race as there is a GP season to prepare and I do not want to be injured.”
“It was a great experience,” he summarised. “We worked well with the team and improved the bike. Maybe I will do another supercross meeting this season but nothing is sure yet.”
