Monster Energy Yamaha MX2 Crew Readying For Pre-season

The
factory MX2 collective of the new Monster Energy Yamaha team are
preparing to flex their racing muscles for the first time in 2011
with the Starcross International event at Mantova in Italy this
weekend. Gautier Paulin, Harri Kullas and Christophe Charlier will
place their YZ250FMs in the gate at the renowned sandy circuit for
what will be the opening meeting in a busy pre-season period.
Paulin, entered by the Rinaldi faction of the crew and beginning
his second year with Yamaha, has been counting the practice laps in
southern France and completed a successful suspension text two
weeks ago. The 20 year old has been running further tests on a new
motor in Italy for the 2011 Grand Prix campaign that gets underway
at the fast and hilly Sevlievo layout in Bulgaria on April
10th.
Like Kullas and Charlier, Paulin will contest the initial rounds of
the Italian Championship at Ponte e Egola and Faenza to dial-in his
machine ahead of the first round of fifteen in the FIM MX-GP World
Championship.
Charlier is the defending Italian number one and the talented
French teenager has been busy over the winter period in his native
Corsica. The 2009 European champion will enter all four of the
Italian national dates. "I have been working hard and been riding
in the sand twice a week," the nineteen year old said. "I have
tested the bike once and I already find it improved to 2010 but we
will work more in March, before, during and after the Italian
Championship events, so that we are ready to go in Bulgaria. I
don't have a specific aim for 2011 other than to go as fast as I
can, but to get inside the top five of the championship with some
podium results would be good."
Like Charlier - and in fact the Gariboldi technical squad that will
field the two youngsters - Kullas begins just his second term at
the highest level. The Finn has been active in Spain, Belgium and
on home turf during the off-season. "Training has gone well," said
the eighteen year old. "I have changed my trainer this year but not
really any of the methods. We had five weeks in Spain with good
weather and decent tracks and then I headed back to Finland before
moving to Belgium where I am based for the season. Getting good
riding time is now my priority. We go to Italy next week and we
will work more with the race bikes; I have been using the stock
version until now and it has been absolutely fine."