Pourcel Leads Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Sweep in Texas

Corona, Calif. – There was no lone star for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki this week in Texas as the team swept the podium at Freestone Raceway. Christophe Pourcel won the first moto with his teammates all coming home in the top 6. The second moto also saw nearly all green bikes at the front with Tyla Rattray taking the checkered flag, Dean Wilson third and Pourcel fifth. Jake Weimer recovered after falling in the first turn to finish 12th. Overall the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team finished first with Pourcel, second with Rattray, third with Wilson and eighth with Weimer.

In qualifying, Pourcel went against the grain posting the fastest lap in the first session while nearly every one of the remaining qualifiers posted their fastest lap in the second session. With Pourcel’s time came first gate pick while Rattray had fifth pick and Wilson sixth. Weimer rounded out the qualifying eighth with all the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders within one-and-half-seconds of the top spot.

In the first moto, Pourcel crossed the line in fourth on the first lap but by lap two he was sitting in second. He would stay there until lap 11. Behind Pourcel, his teammates were all dicing for position with Weimer starting in ninth, Rattray 11th and Wilson in 13th. All three continued to move up and by lap 13 they were running third, fourth and fifth with Wilson ahead of Rattray and Weimer respectively. Back at the front Pourcel went off the track, but recovered quickly and took the lead on lap 12. He wouldn’t look back as he took the moto win with Wilson joining him on the podium in third. Weimer finished fifth and Rattray was sixth.

“I was surprised I was able to catch the leader so fast after going off the track,” said Pourcel. “The races didn’t really go how I wanted them too, but I was able to get the win. There are a lot of fast riders out there so recovering from mistakes and moving up through the pack is hard.”

In the second moto, Wilson got the best start of the bunch coming out second with Rattray coming out in fifth. Pourcel crossed the line in 12th and after going down in the first turn, Weimer was 26th. Weimer worked his way through the field gaining 14 spots by the end of the moto. Pourcel also moved up steadily going from 12th on the first lap to eighth at the halfway mark and finishing third. Rattray also moved forward steadily gaining on the leader as he moved from fifth to first after making a last lap pass on Wilson. Wilson gained the lead at the halfway point and led eight laps before slowing on the last lap and losing two spots near the finish line.

“I knew I needed to be faster on the opening laps of the motos,” said Rattray. “That is something I’ve worked on the last two weeks and it paid off today. In the second moto, I didn’t see Dean at all until the last lap. I made up a lot of time on him and he let me by in the back. I was kind of surprised.”

“When I saw Tyla get the checkered flag, my heart shattered,” said Wilson. “I made a rookie mistake today and I’m crushed right now. We have another race next week though, so I have to put this behind me and move on. My bike was great today and I rode strong, so I’m just going to keep working to get my first win.