The French rider took an immediate liking for the hillside track despite the slippery conditions which prevailed as a result of regular showers of rain to earn a creditable sixteenth gate pick for the two GP motos. He used the gate pick well to start in ninth position and even advance to eighth on the third lap and he remained in the top ten until a small crash just after half distance cost him two places to finish twelfth. Race two proved more difficult as the weather deteriorated but Maxime quickly advanced to nineteenth position after an early crash before another crash left him struggling with muddy gloves and water in his goggles, forxing him to retire.
 
Tommy Searle of Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki showed good pace to record top fifteen times in each practice session but he had to battle bravely to the finish in the qualifying race after stubbing his foot in a nasty rut; with a thought for commitment to the British team in the Motocross of Nations, the annual world team contest which will be held in two weeks' time in the UK, he decided to withdraw from racing in France in view of the slippery conditions.
 
Maxime Desprey: “It was a decent weekend for me. I started well with top twenty results in each practice session and a sixteenth gate pick for the race. The track was already slippery for the qualifying race on Saturday, but it was worse on Sunday due to the rain. My first start was pretty good and I found some good lines on the first lap; I was ninth on the first lap and then eighth but just after halfway through the race I had a small crash and lost several positions to finish twelfth. My second start was not as good as I crashed on the first lap; I recovered to nineteenth but then I crashed again and retired as I had water in my goggles and mud on my gloves.”