Some youngsters explode onto the scene, but others serve a long apprenticeship before they finally show their full potential, and Steven Frossard must surely fit the bill as a genuine example of the second category.

Although he took up the sport at an early age, his youth career did not produce outstanding results until he clinched the French 125cc Junior title at the ripe old age of 18, and even his rankings in the national adult championship were not startling initially.

But of course half the battle in any motorized sport is to be in the right team at the right time, and that opportunity came at the end of 2006 when Jean Jacques Luisetti, keen to assist an up-and-coming rider in Team CLS, spotted Steven’s raw talent and invited him to join the team in their second season of operation.

The stocky Frossard, one of the most dynamic riders in the sport, took to his Kawasaki KX250F immediately. He kicked off his first World Championship campaign by scoring points in every moto of the first four GPs, even surging to a top ten placing at round three in Portugal, and incredibly maintained his points spree two weeks later in Italy with a broken hand before the doctors insisted that he take a break from racing to let the injury heal properly.

Disappointing early season results on his return in 2008 were soon forgotten as Steven advanced to be a genuine threat for the podium in every race from mid-summer until a collision at the penultimate round in the Netherlands put him out of the final round with a back injury but could not deprive him of his deserved top 10 world ranking nor the fiercely-contested French MX2 Elite title.

Inconsistent results were again a factor last summer, but when Steven was on form he was a genuine potential winner, taking moto wins in Bulgaria and Germany as well as several podiums on his way to 6th in the world.

If there was a chink in Steven’s armour in the past, it was his form in sand but the native of Lyon has been working hard this winter with former GP rider Kees van der Ven and is now capable of winning on all surfaces aboard the Team CLS Pro Circuit KX250F.

Steven Frossard: “I want to be a genuine title contender in my final year in the MX2 World Championship, and I have never had such a good opportunity. My CLS Pro Circuit Kawasaki is the most powerful bike I have ever ridden in my entire career and I am sure I will be able to score even more victories than I did last year. I have spent two months this winter with Kees van der Ven to learn more sand techniques; now I am fast on all surfaces and have all of the tools I need to win the MX2 world title.”

Career Resume