BENOIT PATUREL AND HUSQVARNA LEAD THE FRENCH ELITE MX2 CHAMPIONSHIP 03/25/2013 First round and first victory for Benoit Paturel on the Bud Racing Husqvarna TC250R. After the cancellation of round one due to weather conditions, the French Championship officially started at Romagné in Brittany. The weather conditions were perfect, as was the track. In qualifying, Benoit set the second fastest time behind Valentin Teillet, while David Herbreteau riding a Husqvarna CR125 in his first race in Elite, qualified twelfth. A good start in race one allowed Benoit to settle in behind Arnaud Aubin, Dylan Ferrandis and Valentin Teillet until mid-race, when he passed Ferrandis for third. Two laps from the end, Benoit upped his pace and also passed Aubin for second behind Teillet. In the mixed-class Super Final, Benoit was at a disadvantage as all MX2 riders, and on lap one was in seventeenth position. He quickly got into his rhythm and made his way up to eleventh, second MX2 rider behind Valentin Teillet, who fell in the latter stages of the race, handing Benoit the win and the lead of the MX2 Championship. Benoit Paturel: “I'm fairly pleased with the result of the MX2 race, but I am not happy with the way I rode. I stayed behind Aubin too long and I couldn't attack until the last ten minutes. I had a bad start in the Super Final, but I rode well once I passed Izoird on the 450, I got into my rhythm and Teillet's crash allowed me to take the lead in the Championship. The bike was great and I will continue to work hard to gain speed and experience.”
