The French Elite Motocross Championship headed to Gaillac this Sunday, May 17, for the fifth and penultimate round of the season.
MX1: Vialle wins & Benistant leads the series
A specialist in starts, Tom Vialle took the holeshot in the first MX1 race and quickly set an MXGP-level pace to pull away at the front. The Team Honda HRC factory rider comfortably managed his lead all the way to victory.
Behind him, an entertaining battle unfolded between Maxime Desprey, Thibault Bénistant, Kevin Horgmo, Adrien Malaval, and Brice Maylin. As the laps went by, Bénistant secured second place, while Malaval surprised everyone by rounding out the podium. Desprey finished fourth, and Horgmo, hampered by an ankle sprain sustained earlier in the week, fell behind the leading pack.
In the second race, the script repeated itself. Vialle quickly took control and dominated from start to finish to secure a decisive one-two finish. Bénistant finished second again, while Horgmo capitalized on a mistake by Desprey in the final laps to claim third place. Maylin rounded out the Top 5 ahead of Malaval.
The overall standings were led by Vialle (1-1), followed by Bénistant (2-2) and Horgmo (5-3), thus completing an all-Honda podium. The championship, however, will be decided in the final round in Brittany, where Bénistant will arrive as the new leader with just a five-point lead over Desprey.
MX2: Valin wins & Garcia waits for the title
Mathis Valin dominated his first appearance of the season in the French Elite Championship by taking a convincing 1-1 overall for Kawasaki Racing Team.
Valin grabbed the holeshot in Race 1 and quickly controlled the pace to secure a comfortable win. Behind him, Fran García and Mathys Boisramé battled for several laps before the Bud Racing rider pulled away. Alexis Fueri finished strongly to secure third ahead of Jules Piètre, Saad Soulimani and Yannis López. Boisramé’s race ended in disappointment after a late mechanical issue forced him to retire.
Race 2 saw López take another holeshot aboard his Stark, but Valin soon moved into the lead and once again proved untouchable. García stayed closest to the Kawasaki rider, while Boisramé bounced back from his first-race DNF with third place. Jake Cannon finished fourth despite an early crash.
The overall podium featured Valin first (1-1), García second (2-2) and Fueri third (3-5). In the championship standings, García now heads into the final round needing to outscore Boisramé by just 10 points to secure the title.
