Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s Gautier Paulin rode superbly in the second moto of the Grand Prix of Sweden at a cloudy and cool Uddevalla circuit to take his first podium result with the team and on the agile 2010 YZ250FM. The Frenchman’s 3rd position overall also represents the Italian crew’s first trophy in the MX2-GP category since Cedric Melotte captured the same rank at Namur for the 2005 Grand Prix of Wallonie.

After a hot and humid day on Saturday, Uddevalla changed somewhat for Sunday with heavy rainfall in the morning creating a softer and more slippery terrain. The old-fashioned course, with many tight turns, did not permit an abundance of overtaking opportunities.

Paulin rode to a solid 5th position in the first outing of 35 minute and 2 laps but it was his charge past world champion and countryman Marvin Musquin and double GP winner Jeffrey Herlings in the closing stages of the second race that proved the talented and likeable youngster is coming back to top form after his early season leg-break. Number ‘21’ took 3rd behind Ken Roczen and Steven Frossard for his first view from the podium in black and green colours.

Bike it Cosworth Yamaha’s Zach Osborne was again one of the quickest riders throughout the weekend but an unfortunate incident on Saturday when he was landed upon by controversial Russian Aleksandr Tonkov meant the American went into the start gate in last position for Sunday. Rides to 7th and 9th against the odds (and even a brief slip meaning that he was virtually last in the second race) signified 7th overall.

Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi’s Harri Kullas collected 11th in the final ranking and once more equalled his season-best moto finish with 6th in the initial sprint, in spite of stomach cramps. The abdominal problem affected his second moto in which he made the line in 15th. Team-mate Christophe Charlier had problems finding a decent rhythm on the track and was 13th overall, one place behind Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team’s Alessandro Lupino. Loic Larrieu is likely to miss the rest of the season after breaking his right tibia last week at the Grand Prix of Latvia.

Osborne is Yamaha’s leading rider in the championship standings with 5th place but is 51 points from 4th. Kullas is 10th, Charlier 12th and Paulin is now up to 13th.

After three consecutive races the world championship will now pause for a summer break for the majority of July. The Grand Prix Limburg at Lommel in Belgium will constitute round eleven and take place on August 1st.

Gautier Paulin, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team:

“I feel that I have had the speed for a little while now for a result like this and I have been working hard to get back to my best race level. This is my first podium and now I have set myself a standard. I guess I have been missing a bit of confidence because of the injury. I know physically I am strong but needed a GP like this for things to come together and the way I rode in the final few laps of the second moto gives me a lot of energy. I will go to Belgium now to get ready for Lommel. I want more good results like this.”

Zach Osborne, Bike it Yamaha Cosworth:

“What happened on Saturday was not my fault. Tonkov landed on top of me and I have the tyre marks on my back to prove it. Today was hard from the outside and it was maybe an extra 60 or 70 extra feet to the inside of the first turn. The first race was OK but I would say the second one was my better ride; the fact that I came from so far behind to ninth on a track that was not simple for passing was pretty good. In a way I am disappointed with a 7th and a 9th because my speed here meant I should have been better than that. It can’t all be rainbows and butterflies though.”

Harri Kullas, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi:

“I almost had the holeshot in the first race but made third and then a few riders passed me but I found my speed and rhythm. When Musquin overtook me I was able to keep the same pace and did not lose too much time to him. Paulin came close and it was at that stage in the race that I started to have bad stomach cramps so I had to relax a little bit and thought about defending my position. I got lucky when Roczen stopped so I was back to sixth. In the second race Tonus crashed right in front of me and I was almost last. My stomach was still bad when I tried to push in the beginning but after a while I felt better and picked up the speed. I passed a few people but it was a bit too late. Overall 11th but I want to have more than one good moto!”