Team Grand Prix Kawasaki Racing celebrated another GP win this weekend as Livia Lancelot won the opening round of the Women’s World Championship
Home of the Bulgarian GP for several years now Sevlievo offered two different types of race this year as the weather changed so fast on Sunday. The first races took place on a dry track in hot temperatures before a storm changed the conditions between the heats.
On Saturday the track was in perfect condition and once more Sébastien Pourcel was the fastest rider in all the sessions scoring his third consecutive pole position. Fastest during the free practice periods Livia Lancelot didn’t find a clear lap during the timed session and qualified third in the Women’s class.
In both heats Sebastien had average starts but recovered pretty well during the first race and passed Mackenzie for third then the British rider hit him in a corner. Seb crashed, started seventh then crashed again during the next lap. Restarting 12th he took his time to recover and then pushed hard again to finish eighth.
His second start was a little bit better and it took him a few laps to find his lines as the track was damaged by the storm. After six laps he started his comeback and reached second position four laps before the end of the race. He never stopped pushing and got a nice present when Barragan crashed and offered him his second heat win of the season. Third overall on the day Sébastien is currently seventh in the standings.
Missing a good start in the first Women’s race Livia Lancelot bounced back to second position and then passed Larissa Papenmeir for the lead during the third lap. She controlled the race until she got amongst the lappers who sometimes reacted slowly to move when they saw the blue flag. Livia lost four seconds to Papenmeier in a single lap and was passed by the young German lady who won the first race.
The track was slippery for the second heat and Livia showed how fast she is when the grip is average. Passing her main rivals on the jumps she took early the lead to win the race and the overall easily. She is now the leader of the first ever Women’s World Championship.
Sébastien Pourcel:“The qualification session was again great for me and I was the fastest during all the sessions on Saturday. My first start was average, I was coming back strongly but when I passed Mackenzie he didn’t try to turn but just came on me to cut my line. I crashed and during the following lap I crashed again! Then I recovered took it quietly and came back eighth.
“My second start was a little bit better but during the first part of the race I didn’t feel comfortable, the track was wet and I was sliding and my lines were not so good. It took me some laps to recover and then I came back into third behind Barragan and Philippaerts. They were far ahead but Philippaerts made a mistake and I came back to him then passed him for second place then pushed hard to reduce the gap with Barragan. He made a mistake and I passed him then I was surprised to see the chequered flag, as I didn’t realise that the race was finished. It’s good to be on the podium even if it could have been better without this collision during the first race.”
Livia Lancelot: “It was a great weekend with two different races. The track was hard and it was hot for the first race - then it rained and was of course slippery. My start was not so good in the first race, I came behind Papenmeir and looked at her lines. I passed her as I was faster and then secured a small gap. I lost some concentration and some time when I came on the lappers and didn’t realise that she was coming closer. I lost four seconds and she passed me three laps before the end, I couldn’t pass her back as there was one good line on the track.
“When I saw the rain coming before the second heat I was confident, my start was good and in the second downhill I passed everyone. Not so many girls were jumping the double jumps and I made a big gap to secure the heat win. It’s great to be first leader of the World Championship, now I will have a few days to recover before Mantova where the goal will be to keep the red plate!”
Patrick Geladé: “It’s another good weekend for us with strong races from Livia and Sébastien. For several weeks now Sébastien has brought us strong results, in the GPs as well as the French Championship and with his third pole position in a row he confirmed his potential. We have to continue to work on the start, it’s our next goal and despite his collision during the first race Sébastien claimed another podium. Livia surprised me this weekend, she worked hard during two months to be ready for this race and she got very good results. Concerning Kevin he visited his doctor last Thursday and it seems that he could be back for the French GP.”
