It was a dream year for the BUD Kawasaki Racing team as they won the EMX250 title. Heading into the 2024 season, Mathis Valin was a rookie and whilst clearly very talented wasn’t expected to win the title but that is exactly what he did. The French talent signed a two year deal with BUD Kawasaki but already got a call from the factory to race for them in 2025 so BUD needed to look for replacements.
Heading into 2025, BUD Kawasaki will line up with Jake Cannon from Australia as well as Spanish talent, Francisco Garcia.
Kevin Frelaud from DailyMotocross caught up with team owner, Stéphane Dassé to discuss a range of topics.
Stéphane, obviously, when you signed Mathis Valin for the 2024 season, I imagine you still had ambitions but at the end of 2024, you clinched the EMX250 title. I guess that you didn’t necessarily expect it at the start of the year…
Dasse: Oh no, not at all. We knew we had a good rider, we hoped to do great things, but it’s certain that winning the title, we didn’t even think about it. We said to ourselves, if we get top 5s regularly, podiums, that would already be good.
And then, from the beginning of the year, from the first Grand Prix in Europe, we started to have hope. And then, it was quickly confirmed. Since then, we have tried to win. We went all the way with a European championship title, so it’s great.
When a rider wins a title, there are repercussions. For example, and for Mathis, the repercussion is notably a factory ride at KRT for 2025. As a team, do we also have repercussions when we win this title?
Dasse: The benefits for the rider are direct, because it opens doors for him. For next year, Mathis will be in a factory team. For us, it is always a little harder to measure, commercially speaking at least. In any case, it’s still positive for all the partners, the image of the team, Bud Racing. Commercially speaking, these things can’t really be measured.
On the other hand, all the partners are staying with us, and are motivated for next year. It is true that the situation is difficult for many. We, at the partner level, have no reason to complain, it continues. This title is still part of the continuity, and of the success. It is a great reward for everyone.
Mathis originally signed with you for two years. He won the European championship title before being recruited by KRT. If he had stayed, it could have been a lever for you in terms of partners, to negotiate budgets. When your rider leaves for Kawasaki, is that taken into account, will they help you more next year?
Dasse: That’s exactly it. If we had kept Mathis, we could have negotiated better contracts with our partners for sure. But you know, Kawasaki has been helping us for a very long time. We’ve been a Kawasaki team for 18 years. What I see is that there are years when you get good results, and you’re therefore in a position to ask for a little more.
Conversely, there are years when you don’t have good results, and yet Kawasaki still maintains your budgets. For me, it was still correct not to ask them for a lot; we know that we can count on each other.
When there are good times, it’s also normal that we see a return from that side. When we go through bad times, we know that Kawasaki is always there to support us. That’s more how I see it, even if Kawasaki supports us more and more, that we have more and more direct openings with Japan, etc. It’s very positive. The financial side is not really what we’re looking at, in absolute terms.
What conclusions can we draw from this collaboration with Benjamin Garib, who left Bud Racing at the end of the 2024 season?
Dasse: It’s great. We had a great season with Benjamin and Mathis. They are two great kids.
Benjamin, we were very happy to see him, to show him Europe, to give him everything we could with Thierry Van den Bosch in terms of riding, with the team, trying to make him a little more professional, trying to do everything right so that he can get there. He finished the last race of the EMX250 series with a second place in a moto, it was his best place. I think we achieved the objectives.
We couldn’t have done much better with Mathis’ victory and Benjamin’s good place in the final round. It was the best, and we’re really happy about that for him. In addition, he’s going to have a good ride in Brazil for next year, so for us, it’s only positive this year.
In 2025, you announced a Spaniard – Francisco Garcia – and an Australian – Jake Cannon. We know that you like to look for talent abroad. What are we basing ourselves on to sign a boy like Jake who is, today, a bit unknown in the paddock?
Dasse: It’s a bit of a feeling, it’s a bit of a gamble. We like youth. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who say “Bud Racing didn’t sign any French riders for 2025”, but they quickly forget that we help a lot of French riders whenever we can.
It’s unfortunate to say, but there is a small hole in France with no riders being able to complete at the front in the EMX250 class. There are young people who have a very good level in 85 cc, who are moving up to 125 cc, but it’s still a bit early to do 250cc so we looked elsewhere.
And then Jake Cannon, I don’t know… I saw some of the stuff he did in Australia, and I liked it; it was a new motivation. We talked to him once, and it went really well. So, it just happened naturally.
We said to ourselves, come on, let’s make a little gamble, but a gamble, but still measured. Because we believe, we think that we can do great things with him.
We see that Kawasaki is coming back next year with an official team in the MX2 world championship. They also have a satellite structure with Riley Racing, and of course you in the EMX250 series. Completing the development pyramid with the return of a program and therefore a 125 KX, like the Austrians or even Yamaha do, would that be a wish on your part?
Dasse: Absolutely. In fact, that’s what we hope. Afterwards, we’re not in the brand’s books. When the Japanese have projects, it remains very secret. That’s how it is, so we don’t really know what’s going on over there.
In any case, and we see it at the off-road level, they are motivated. They released a brand new 250 this year, a brand new engine, a new chassis. So, they are really investing in the off-road field. For us, it is very positive. And we hope that there will be a dynamic a bit like Yamaha or KTM do today with smaller bikes. We believe in it! In any case, we are super happy because at Kawasaki, they believe in us from the 250 category and that is great.
A quick word about the 2025 calendar, when you saw it, what did you think of it? There are some pretty iconic races that have disappeared, so to speak. Maggiora, Agueda, etc.
Dasse: In terms of tracks, it’s a shame. For me, Portugal is one of the most beautiful Grand Prix. We love going there, we’ve been going there for a very long time. Maggiora too, it’s really nice.
But anyway, there is a financial aspect that still comes up. I think that in Portugal, given the really bad weather last year… I don’t know if financially, they got through it.
At Maggiora, we can see that there is never a lot of spectators. The tickets are expensive at a Grand Prix like in Maggiora. It is between 120 and 150 euros for a Grand Prix. Frankly, for me, it’s out of price for a GP. I think there is a cause and effect link at that level. Afterwards, on the other side for Infront, they have a business to run.
I think they found tracks where there is profitability, where there are clubs that can finance, which is normal. They have people to pay. But for us, in any case, it’s a shame if we don’t go back to Portugal.
We still have a little hope because there is a “TBA” event close to Spain. So, we say to ourselves, or rather hope that Portugal will return to the calendar. But it’s true, it would be a shame not to go back to this magnificent circuit.
Have you had a chance to take a look, to read the interview that Andy McKinstry did with David Luongo?
Dasse: Yes, I read it.
What did you think of David Luongo’s comments?
Dasse: It’s true that from the outside, when you read it, David seems a bit arrogant. Every time you ask him a question, he throws it back into the net a bit. Personally, I have a good relationship with David.
You see, I think he knows very well what he is doing. I also understand part of what he is saying. They have a line to hold.
It’s true that they developed and raised the championship in terms of image. They did some great things. Now, it’s true that as a fan, as a team, as a rider, it hurts a little to read that, but that’s how it is.
You announced a junior program for next year with three 85cc riders that you will be helping. Can we know what kind of support they will get, and what was the idea behind this program?
Dasse: In fact, we have always been close to young riders. There are some young riders that we already support with Bud Racing, two 65cc riders. There is Lucas Bos who rides a KTM and Conrad Pinchon who rode a Yamaha. And then, Tim Lopes who is next door to us. These are young riders that we see often. The Lopes were asking to do something with us, so we said to ourselves that we could set up a small academic structure.
We’re going to give them technical support, training support, a kind of training to teach them the job, so to speak. It started from that idea, especially since we get along well with all three of them.
It also allows us to start getting to know them, to see them, to learn to work together, even if they are still very young and it is still far from our main program. At the same time, we have fun.
The youth market is also an important market for us. We like working on these bikes, making them work properly, it is also a passion for us. We will help them with the technical aspect of the bike. Even in terms of training, they will come and do internships at Bud Racing. There is no short-term goal, because these are still very young boys. It will take many years before they are ready to ride a 250, but we like it a lot. They are motivated, nice; we want to help them progress.
A few weeks ago, your team was in Vancouver for the opening of the World Supercross. Unfortunately, there was Cédric’s injury. From the outside, I had the impression that many riders were surprised by the track. Is that your feeling too?
Dasse: Absolutely. Actually, the track was beautiful, the dirt was beautiful too, but it dug quite a lot. Everybody was surprised. The level was high, and the track was still quite complicated, even if they prepped the tracks a lot during the few breaks. It was very technical, and our riders suffered. It was not funny for them. It’s not the hardpack French tracks.
And then, we saw the comments from the American riders, who were a bit more used to this kind of track; it relieved us a bit. But hey, it was hard. We hope it will be better in Australia. It’s going to be 30 degrees, the ground might be a little harder; we hope we’ll be better.
A word about this World Supercross. We know that it has been a bit delayed. There was the change of promoter, a lot of negotiations with the teams. There are some who left, there are seven of you teams who stayed. What did these changes bring, internally for you?
Dasse: In fact, what we really lacked in this championship was serenity and remove being able to trust in a clear program. The championship had started two years ago. We started with six races, we finished with three, four, with cancellations, changes of dates. There was a lack of stability.
With the new promoter, it’s true that everything was stabilizing. From the announcements of the first day, until today, everything is going as planned. The dates, but also what was promised, it really gives us confidence.
There was a delay this year, but right now they are already starting to think about 2025, 2026, with the locations, the number of races, the schedules, the dates, everything. It is moving forward and that will allow the championship to rise because the sooner we are notified, the sooner we can also take care of talking to good riders, programming and planning a championship, and signing good riders and raising the level of the championship. I think it is on the right track. The relationship between the promoter and the team, at the moment, is very good.
In France, we have quite a few tracks, we also have a lot of good riders. Every year, we have a French Grand Prix, next year, there will be two. Yet, if we look at this year, our best national riders don’t race the French MXGP rounds. Do we finally understand that these riders no longer have the desire to line up at the French GP?
Dasse: No, not necessarily. Before, I understood. For example, two years ago, it was 1,000 euros per entry, plus the license fees which costs 700 or 800 euros more; it was too expensive. At that level, Infront wants to fill the grids. They lowered the entries to 300 euros. Normally, for national riders and French riders, it’s the opportunity to do a Grand Prix. Of course, you’ll do what you can, but I still think it’s a good thing to be able to measure yourself against the best, and to be there.
So, I find it a bit of a shame. And it seems like they don’t really believe in it, I don’t really understand. I think that for any French rider, doing their French Grand Prix is worth it. Today, the prices are measured, so I hope there will be a few more people in the future.
