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"Mr Perfect" Francisco Garcia
Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki's Francisco Garcia rode a cool, mature race from outside the Top 10 in the second moto of the weekend at Frauenfeld in Switzerland to maintain his unbeaten record and extend his series lead to 27 points in this year's FIM European EMX250 Motocross Championship. Bud teammate Jake Cannon was again on the podium over the weekend, and Kawasaki now leads the Manufacturers' standings by 28 points.
Overnight snow had melted by the time racing commenced, and the priority during the early laps was to avoid costly errors. The Spaniard used outside lines on the opening lap to advance into sixth and was then content to keep a controlling watch for several laps as a single racing line began to form. After spending three laps patiently analyzing alternative lines, he clinically picked off the opposition one by one to storm into the lead through the waves on Lap 8 and, punching the air and patting the red plate on the front of his KX250 at the checkered flag, he raced majestically to yet another controlled double-moto victory.
Bud teammate Jake Cannon again took a Top 6 start but made life difficult for himself when he fell in deep muddy ruts at Turn 3, losing 20 seconds to be pushed back to 16th. By Lap 6, he had advanced to eighth, enough to ensure another overall podium, and kept pushing relentlessly for every potential point, eventually closing down more than 10 seconds on the rider ahead to take the checkered flag in the wheel tracks of seventh. Third overall over the weekend, the Australian teenager remains a clear second in the series standings to his teammate, 19 points ahead of third.
"The track was difficult today, and I didn't make the best start, but I was riding well, and now I have won four out of four races. I felt strong on the bike, and I could see the leader, so I just stayed calm and moved to the front when I was ready. Now we are looking to stay consistent and carry on like this; the season is really long. The next race after Easter is in sand on Sardinia; I enjoy racing in sand, so we will try to continue our run of success."
- Francisco Garcia
"That was a tough second moto; in these kinds of conditions you don't want to crash on the first lap, so I made it tough for myself, but I'm riding solid and I fought hard to come back from that crash. I need to avoid those mistakes and put in two good motos over the weekend. Overall, I'm on the podium again, and consistency is what I'm looking for. We put in a lot of work during the winter; we trained hard and big thanks to the team and our coach!"
- Jake Cannon