MX Faenza: Christophe and Sébastien Pourcel family toast double GP win

The fourteenth of July is a national day in France for many years and the fifteenth could now become Gallic festival as Christophe and Sébastien Pourcel both claimed historic GP wins at Faenza in Italy.

It is the first time in the history of Motocross that two brothers obtained such results on the same day, and once more the Pourcel family have written another chapter in annals of the sport after their duel MX2 podium last year in Namur, and their double pole position earlier this season in Bulgaria. The ‘green brothers’ gave Kawasaki their second ownership of both classes since the round in Japan, and are now respectively second and third in the standings of the MX2 and MX1 World Championships.

Winner of his qualifying race on Saturday, Christophe got pole position and entered the gate first for Sunday. He was not slotted next to Cairoli but the Italian once more moved over and across his rival and got the holeshot of the opening race. Coming to second spot straight away Christophe passed Cairoli in the first lap and led the race for ten circulations. Cairoli retaliated and fronted the field again but Christophe kept the pressure on and crossed the finish line four seconds behind. The Frenchman and reigning number one got the holeshot in the second race and pulled away, while Cairoli made his way through the pack to come back from fifth position. When he reached second on the ninth circulation the gap with the race leader was eight seconds, and he never made up the time as Christophe had a better rhythm than his rival. Pourcel crossed the line twenty three seconds before Cairoli, and won the GP with the same number of points while Rattray finished third in both races.

Second in Timed Practice and just one and a half hundreds of a second behind Barragan, Sébastien felt easy on this old-style track and twice got a great start as he came to second place in each race behind Brown and later Philippaerts. He only needed three laps in the first race and four in the next to reach the front and cruise to a double win. None of the motos were easy as the race conditions were difficult, with hot temperatures and different grip on the sections of the track depending of the watering. Seb controlled both races with maturity and confidence and maintained a strong gap over MX1 series leader Josh Coppins who finished twice as runner-up.

Christophe Pourcel. ‘It’s good weekend. On Saturday I won my qualifying race with a strong gap and today I twice got a good start. In the first heat Antonio was a little bit stronger than I at mid-race distance, he passed me and I couldn’t do anything. I got the holeshot in the second race, and when Antonio came second I was eight seconds in front. We had a similar speed, and when he realised that he couldn’t reduce the gap he gave up and I increased my lead. It’s a kind of revenge to beat him on his home soil, and I’m happy for the team and our partners. We have worked hard since the beginning of the season. This weekend I had a new front fork on my bike and in between the races in the week we go training and cycling with Thierry Godfroid. I hope that I can win some other GP’s before the end of the series, and next weekend I will race with my brother in the French championship. He impressed me today, he is now really fast on a 450 and I’m proud of his GP win.’

Sébastien Pourcel. ‘I came here confident after my race last weekend in Belgium, I took three great starts there and it was a good practice session as the grip of the track in Nismes was similar to Faenza. The timed practice session was a little bit strange as they watered the track just beforehand, so we had only the last five minutes to post a fast lap! Today I got a great start in both races and then at mid race I eased off as I knew that the last period would be difficult. In the first one I was completely tired at the end as it was so hot, and the last three laps were particularly hard. I was thinking about the first heat win of my career and immediately I made a mistake! I recovered promptly. I knew that Coppins was behind me in both races but it was not a real problem as I know that I was faster than him today. For sure the second heat was easier. I felt more confident after my heat win as now I’m sure that I can keep a good rhythm for forty minutes.’

Gregory Aranda. ‘I had a difficult qualifying session on Saturday, as my bike broke in the last lap and forced me to go to the last chance. I was disappointed but recovered before the session and posted the fastest lap. In the first race I got a good start despite my bad position on the grid, I was in the top fifteen when I crashed. It was hot, I re-started twenty-fourth and scored two points. In the second heat my start was not so bad but I crashed on a fast downhill, stopped to change my goggles and came back into the race but crashed again. Next week will be different as I will race the French series with a 450, I really like much this bike!’

Roger Pourcel. ‘It’s a fantastic day for us. It reminds me of the time when Chris and Seb were racing the 80cc cadet and 125cc junior French championships. One day in Sommières they both won their class the same day, and it was an important step for us to find new partners. Today we were not really expecting such results, even if I have known for a long time that both of them can win races! Christophe surprised me in the second heat, he posted several consecutive fast laps in the second half of the race and Antonio was unable to follow him. This weekend Seb was strong, during the free practice session he never showed his real speed and just missed the pole position by less than two tenths of a second. We found some good lines on the track, and today he controlled both races easily. It’s the first time that he won a GP, and his brother won the same day, what can I say? For sure a dream came true, but we know that we have worked hard with the mechanics, Kawasaki and our partners to get these results. Unfortunately the weekend was not as good for Gregory Aranda, he took a good start in the first race and was in the top fifteen when he crashed. He took two points, but retired in the second race after a crash.’

Patrick Geladé. ‘It’s an amazing weekend for us; that’s the first time that two brothers took a GP win on the same day. We know that Christophe will move in the US soon, so next year it will be impossible to get such results! Honestly Christophe impressed me this weekend. I was pretty sure that Seb would be strong when I saw his first reactions on Friday, but Christophe was complaining about the track and didn’t seem too focused on the event. He made a good performance in the first race as he followed Antonio when he passed him, and in the second heat we spent forty minutes behind the computer, looking at the lap times. For me he produced one of his best races so far. The MX1 GP was also tough for us. We know that Seb sometimes has troubles in the first period of the races and in both heats he was aggressive in the opening laps and took the lead. He surprised me as he kept a good rhythm twice for forty minutes. For sure he is now a regular GP winner and will be a title contender next season.’