Much is expected of the 22 year old who has shown stunning form in occasional appearances on MX1 machinery in recent years and he did not disappoint at the tough Eurocircuit as he passed two 2011 world series medalists to hold down second place behind the defending champion before a couple of small errors eventually pushed him back to fourth place.

A big crash in the hectic early stages of race two forced him to charge through from the back of the field and he did this with such gutsy elan that he was able to pass no less than three rivals on the final lap to miss the podium by just one place.

His KRT teammate Xavier Boog had also enjoyed a solid opening moto to complete the top eight, but the Frenchman suffered damage to the front brake in the early stages of the second race and to show great resiliance to salvage 14th place and end the GP amongst the top ten points scorers.

Gautier Paulin: “My KX450F-SR was working really well on this tough track but unfortunately I made two mistakes in the first race after passing Frossard and Desalle for second place and had to settle for 4th.

It was tough in the second race after I crashed at the start, but I kept charging to the last lap to snatch seventh place and prove what I can do in this class. That gives me confidence for the upcoming races on some tracks that I really like."

Xavier Boog: “I had top ten speed all weekend and was pleased with my first race 8th, but the front brake got damaged in a collision at the start of race two and it was a tough race to finish 14th but it is important to fight hard when these things happen and it helped me stay in the top ten overall.

The bike is perfect, and I can’t wait to prove this on some tracks I really enjoyed, like Bulgaria for example in two weeks."

François Lemariey: “It was a good weekend for us, and he could be better without this crash of Gautier in the second heat. He did an amazing come back, and his last lap will stay in our memories; he confirmed all his potential when the racing conditions are tough. Xavier did a good performance in race one, but had some problems later. The bikes were perfect, thanks to the pre season races.”

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