VOL. 51 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 P51
and other observers in France
but was ultimately vindicated, as
the worst result posted by the
trio across all six motos was a
ninth position by Ferrandis. The
French tallied a points total that
was 10 ahead of Belgium with
the USA winning a close fight
with the British for third place. It
was the largest margin of victory
since the Americans owned pro-
ceedings at St Jean D'Angely in
France in 2011.
Marshalling a troupe that had
gathered in the week and bond-
ed closely (all three paid credit
to the "spirit" and "character" of
the team) Paulin was the abso-
lute standout. Not only from his
peers but also for the event. With
MXGP World Champion Tony
Cairoli electing for the MX2 class
after two years of domination on
his 350SX-F, the Kawasaki rider,
Paulin, made sure the category
stayed in the firm grip of a sole
athlete. He was untouchable in
both the first and third races on
the program and blended his usu-
al flexible, bendy and sometimes
unorthodox style on the bike with
a rich vein of confidence to blast
away.
"To win in a dominant way like
that this weekend is almost be-
yond words," he said afterwards.
"I was dreaming when I watched
Ryan Villopoto on the television
at Budds Creek in 2007 and he
was crazily fast…and now I've
made the same thing. I domi-
nated qualifying and both motos.
I didn't get the holeshots but I
fought to the end. I feel like I de-
Paulin's Monster Energy Kawa-
saki teammate Steven Frossard
and CLS Monster Energy Kawa-
saki's Dylan Ferrandis (a Nations
rookie) in place of more obvious
choices like Red Bull KTM's Mar-
vin Musquin and new MX2 World
Champion Jordi Tixier. Selector
Olivier Robert bared the heat
from fans, past riders, press
