Paulin Wins Round Three of Dutch Championship
March 19, 2012, 12:30pm
Factory Kawasaki racer, Gautier Paulin, has won the 3rd round of the Open Dutch championship at a rough and sandy Heerde circuit. Having spent the week testing sand settings with the Kawasaki Racing Team, Paulin was eager to try those out in race conditions and Heerde provided the ideal scene.
A red flag in the opening laps saw the first MX1 moto re-started however Paulin could not make the most of the re-start and had to be content with a 4th place finish.
Some changes in bike and suspension settings would give Paulin more confidence going into the second grueling moto and having to avoid a first turn pile-up he was shunted out of the top ten. Gautier put his head down and fought an amazing come back race to pip Goncalves for second on the last lap and steal the overall from the Portuguese rider.
“I want to dedicate this win to the team – they are all doing a great job since I joined them this Winter. The team is based in the Netherlands, but they haven’t won there in a while! The track was very strange, with a lot of slow corners and some deep holes. My feeling was not so good during the first race, so I didn’t take any risks and just secured a fourth position. Between the races we worked on the suspension settings, and the result was perfect. Last week we worked mainly on the engine, and we had no time to work on the suspension. But we found a good balance today, and I’m happy to see that we are all working in the same direction, with great results. If I had a good rhythm earlier in this heat I think that I would have won, as I finished so close to De Dycker. This week we’ll continue to work and prepare Mill, the next round of the Dutch series. With the new parts the engine is so powerful, we need to work with Kayaba now on the suspension. We have three weeks prior the GP in Valkenswaard, and I’m confident,” confirmed Paulin.
Results MX1 Heerde:
Race 1:
1 Evgeny Bobryshev Rus Honda
2 Kevin Strijbos B KTM
3 Rui Goncalves Por Honda
4 Gautier Paulin F Kawasaki
5 Herjan Brakke NL Yamaha
6 Ceriel Klein Kromhof NL Honda
7 Marcus Schiffer D Suzuki
8 Bas Verhoeven NL Honda
9 William Saris NL Yamaha
10 Xavier Boog F Kawasaki
Race 2:
1 Ken de Dycker B Honda
2 Gautier Paulin F Kawasaki
3 Rui Goncalves Por Honda
4 Marc de Reuver NL Kawasaki
5 Kevin Strijbos B KTM
6 Marcus Schiffer D Suzuki
7 Herjan Brakke NL Yamaha
8 Marvin van Daele B Kawasaki
9 Bas Verhoeven NL Honda
10 Lars Oldekamp D KTM
MX1 Overall:
1 Gautier Paulin F Kawasaki 40
2 Rui Goncalves Por Honda 40
3 Kevin Strijbos B KTM 38
A red flag in the opening laps saw the first MX1 moto re-started however Paulin could not make the most of the re-start and had to be content with a 4th place finish.
Some changes in bike and suspension settings would give Paulin more confidence going into the second grueling moto and having to avoid a first turn pile-up he was shunted out of the top ten. Gautier put his head down and fought an amazing come back race to pip Goncalves for second on the last lap and steal the overall from the Portuguese rider.
“I want to dedicate this win to the team – they are all doing a great job since I joined them this Winter. The team is based in the Netherlands, but they haven’t won there in a while! The track was very strange, with a lot of slow corners and some deep holes. My feeling was not so good during the first race, so I didn’t take any risks and just secured a fourth position. Between the races we worked on the suspension settings, and the result was perfect. Last week we worked mainly on the engine, and we had no time to work on the suspension. But we found a good balance today, and I’m happy to see that we are all working in the same direction, with great results. If I had a good rhythm earlier in this heat I think that I would have won, as I finished so close to De Dycker. This week we’ll continue to work and prepare Mill, the next round of the Dutch series. With the new parts the engine is so powerful, we need to work with Kayaba now on the suspension. We have three weeks prior the GP in Valkenswaard, and I’m confident,” confirmed Paulin.
Results MX1 Heerde:
Race 1:
1 Evgeny Bobryshev Rus Honda
2 Kevin Strijbos B KTM
3 Rui Goncalves Por Honda
4 Gautier Paulin F Kawasaki
5 Herjan Brakke NL Yamaha
6 Ceriel Klein Kromhof NL Honda
7 Marcus Schiffer D Suzuki
8 Bas Verhoeven NL Honda
9 William Saris NL Yamaha
10 Xavier Boog F Kawasaki
Race 2:
1 Ken de Dycker B Honda
2 Gautier Paulin F Kawasaki
3 Rui Goncalves Por Honda
4 Marc de Reuver NL Kawasaki
5 Kevin Strijbos B KTM
6 Marcus Schiffer D Suzuki
7 Herjan Brakke NL Yamaha
8 Marvin van Daele B Kawasaki
9 Bas Verhoeven NL Honda
10 Lars Oldekamp D KTM
MX1 Overall:
1 Gautier Paulin F Kawasaki 40
2 Rui Goncalves Por Honda 40
3 Kevin Strijbos B KTM 38
