Having achieved his goal of a top three championship finish in 2008, Nicolas Aubin will be looking at the 2009 contest ready to reach the next stage of his plans; the MX2 world title. The flamboyant French rider will begin his second season with Yamaha and the Ricci Racing team and although he was not able to add to his tally of a single Grand Prix win in 2008, his position as one of the protagonists of the class ensured that he was able to scale the series standings to a career best.

Aubin’s breakthrough came when was arguably the major surprise of the 2007 MX2 World Championship. Signed by the Italian team towards the end of 2006 he announced his new union with the YZ250F with a strong seventh position at the first round in Holland and then embarked on a season-long run of progression that would eventually include a debut win in the Czech Republic, two podiums and sixth place in the final standings.

Aubin initially pushed himself into the spotlight during ‘06 by briefly leading and running inside the top three during the first half of the Bulgarian Grand Prix on a privately entered machine looked after by his father. He again appeared at the front of the pack at the British Grand Prix and took 23rd overall at the end of the year despite only making several appearances in the 15 round world championship. Starting a new training regime in December, Aubin was optimistic of his chances in 2007 and rightly so. Fast across a range of terrain, guiding the Yamaha with Gallic style, Aubin exceeded expectations to become one of France’s main MX2 representatives. His efforts certainly assisted the rise of his profile within the team as he gelled with the Ricci-tuned YZ effortlessly.

Quiet but intelligent and thoughtful, Aubin should have made the top three in more than just two of the fifteen rounds in 2007. He was one of just two riders to beat Antonio Cairoli in a straight shoot-out through all of last year.

With the two riders ahead of him in the 2008 championship having departed for new pastures, Aubin – who is a fan of the YZ450F despite his relatively small stature and has designs on the MX1 category – is expected to make a major impression in the 2009 MX2 title chase and is certainly one to watch.