Paulin ruled out of first 2010 MX2-GP events

Gautier Paulin

Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team’s Gautier Paulin will miss the opening rounds of the 2010 FIM MX2-GP World Championship after breaking his left fibula in a training accident today. The recently turned 20 year old, who finished 3rd in the ’09 series, was just days away from making his Grand Prix bow for the factory team on the 2010 YZ250FM when he twisted his ankle traversing a rut at La Fare-les-Oliviers circuit, near Aix-en-Provence in his native France. Paulin swiftly halted his training moto and an x-ray revealed a clean break that will require an estimated four weeks of convalescence, signifying his absence from at least the first two Grands Prix. It is a disappointing blow for the former European champion who had negotiated the off-season in fine form with two victories in the Italian MX2 Championship and round one of the Dutch national competition. The 2010 FIM MX-GP World Championship will kick off at the Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria this coming weekend. “I feel pretty devastated by this but now that it has happened I am totally focussed on healing as quickly as I can and making my Grand Prix debut for Yamaha,” Paulin said. “I didn’t do anything wrong on the bike and didn’t even crash but when I caught my ankle I knew something was wrong. I was, and still am, completely dedicated to this MX2-GP championship for the Yamaha Monster Energy MX team and now I will set myself a new goal of getting back on the bike as soon as possible.”