It was the Frenchman's first race since early May and he inevitably found it difficult to immediately find a good rhythm around the fast Loket raceway in qualification, but a tenth place gave him a good basis and he advanced resolutely from an initial eighth to finish sixth in the first 35 minute GP moto, maintaining his excellent lap times throughout the race. He had a difficult start to the second race as his neighbour at the start gate reacted too quickly and, as is normal in the tense atmosphere of a GP start, Gautier reacted too; after hitting the gate, he was last away but needed just three laps to forced his way into the top ten and eventually finished sixth again to secure fourth overall in the Grand Prix. Despite missing half the series to date, he is now back to eighth in the points standings.
After his podium finish at the last GP in Finland Steven Frossard was optimistic of another good result, but an early crash during the qualification race left him with the final choice of start gate and he inevitably had to battle through the pack in both GP motos. His resolute approach saw Steven advance to eleventh in the opening moto and an even harder charge in race two saw him up to fifth place by half distance but the leaders had already made their escape and he had to be satisfied with that result. The combined scores earnt him sixth overall on the day and consolidated his fifth place in the championship standings.
Gautier Paulin: “My goal this weekend was to score a top five result, and with fourth overall I achieved it. I enjoyed to be back racing and to spend time with the team, and I had a good feeling with the bike as we worked on the settings on Saturday. At the start of the second moto I acted like an amateur; the rider next to me hit the gate and I did the same, twice! I was last away but recovered to sixth, so I’m happy with this weekend as I only struggled with arm pump on Saturday and that is usual when you haven’t raced for several weeks. The track was rough for a comeback, but I got the job done even though I trained more on sandy tracks during the past two weeks. Now we have Lommel next weekend; it will be a tough race physically but I’m ready for it.”
Steven Frossard: “After my crash during the qualifying race I knew that today would be difficult as I was last on the grid. The result is not so great, but I’m happy with my second race. The first one was more difficult; I had some troubles to find a good rhythm and then I had some stomach troubles so I couldn’t catch a group of four riders who were not far ahead of me. In the second race my start was better; I got to fifth place but the leaders were a long way away and I had no chance to catch them. Now I will go to Belgium to prepare for Lommel. I have a good feeling with the sand; for sure it will be a tough race physically but I’m ready for this challenge.”