Red Bull KTM’s Nathan Watson claims runner-up in Round Five of CFS

Michelle Liew

December 16, 2019

Tough weather conditions greeted the French beach in Round Five.

Nathan Watson | Photo credits: KTM Factory Racing

Round Five of the Championnat de France des Sables (CFS) saw competitors take part at the Hossegor shoreline on the south-east coast of France. The high tides and challenging conditions resulted in the event organisers modifying and shortening the original course layout so that the race would proceed.

Championship leader Nathan Watson of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing had set sights on securing his third consecutive victory. However, a crash at the first corner only put the race at the back of the race. He then bounced back as one of the fastest riders on the track. Watson kept his momentum and completed the race as runner-up.

Round six will be held at Grayan-et-L’Hopital on 11-12 January 2020.

Nathan Watson (Red Bull KTM)- As It Happened

Photo credits: KTM Factory Racing

“In what was a difficult race I’ll take second place today and keep hold of my championship red plate. Coming into this race off the back of two wins I really wanted to keep that momentum going. But unfortunately it didn’t happen. With the weather conditions, and organisers needing to change the track due to high tides, things were a lot more unpredictable today than they usually are,” says Nathan Watson as quoted from KTM Factory Racing.

“I got off to a good start, but when Camille crashed in the first corner I crashed into him and went down, too. With the tight track, coming from the back of the pack wasn’t ideal. I recovered well to briefly lead, but then hit a backmarker and got my bike tangled with his. I lost more time, so the chance of victory slipped away. But with the red plate still in my hands I’ll work on a few things during the Christmas break and look to get back on the top step of the podium next time out.”

Camille Chapeliere (Red Bull KTM)- As It Happened

“It was a complicated day out there to say the least. The shortened course made it difficult in many places because there were so many riders on the track. A crash at the start was definitely not the best, but I fought as hard as I could to recover. Making overtakes was risky at times, but I tried to balance those risks and recover as smoothly as possible. I feel like I did that and showed my speed towards the end of the race. Finishing fourth maintains my position of third in the championship.”

Photo credits: KTM Factory Racing