Factory Yamaha superstar Stefan Everts won his ninth French Grand Prix this afternoon, to increase his MX1 world championship lead, while Tyla Rattray claimed his second MX2 victory of the season.
Two men would dominate the MX1 Grand Prix: Stefan Everts and local hero Mickael Pichon, but it was British GP winner Joshua Coppins who got the race one holeshot and would lead for the first six laps before being passed by Everts on a fast downhill.
Pichon was following the world champ's assault, and would take second by the flag, but couldn't challenge the Belgian for a home win.
Race two saw Everts start in front, but with Pichon right behind him – setting up an exciting race... until Pichon got a stone in his front brake and was forced to retire on only the second lap.
“It's really frustrating for me, as I had the right speed this time,” sighed Mickael. “On this fast track with many downhills it's impossible to race without a front brake, and I'm so disappointed.”
Nobody else was able to follow Everts' rhythm, and with another double win Stefan duly increased his already substantial championship lead to a massive 88 points.
“I always had a good feeling with the French Grand Prix, and especially here in St Jean,” said Everts. “Yesterday I was feeling really relax and was happy with the bike, today was good also.
“In the first race Josh was pushing really hard but I could stay with him and on some places I was quicker. When I took the lead I pushed during a couple of laps and that was enough to secure the win.
“I got the holeshot in the second race, I made some mistakes but unfortunately for him Mickael retired with a technical problem. It seems that many riders were not so lucky this year, I think I'm the only one who had no problems yet,” he admitted
CAS Honda's Coppins went on to inherit second after Pichon's departure, while Ramon took the last place on the podium with a fifth and a fourth.
