Press Release

World MX Championships Prepare Season's Finale in Loket

FUNCHAL (PORTUGAL), 6 August 2008 – The forthcoming Czech Grand Prix in Loket will be the last before an exciting season’s finale of three consecutive GP’s starting from Dublin (Ireland) and ending in Faenza (Italy) after visiting Lierop (The Netherlands).

Steve Ramon just moved up to first in the MX1 standings and has David Philippaerts behind by just two points.

In the MX2 class Tyla Rattray still leads with a 20 point cushion from team mate Tommy Searle as Loket will be followed be a two week break.






2007 MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon is again on top of the points standings.

MX1

Teka Suzuki WMX1’s Steve Ramon is now on top of the MX1 Championship after a solid home Grand Prix in Lommel. As the defending Champion was fifth overall and took 34 points, Yamaha Monster Motocross’ David Philippaerts could score just 21 points and eventually dropped to a close second in the Championship.

With a cold war going on in between the leading duo and third placed Joshua Coppins of Yamaha Monster Motocross, KTM factory riders Max Nagl (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jonathan Barragan (AXO KTM Silver Action) are taking back to back podiums with the latter having won the latest three GP’s.

Coppins’ 2007 Championship, which he was dominating with a 107 point advantage from Ramon, actually ended in Loket last year as a race crash caused him a shoulder injury.






Josh Coppins needs a positive result in Loket to make up for last year’s accident.

Barragan is fifth in the standings behind Teka Suzuki WMX1’s Ken de Dycker, who was second overall at Lommel, as Nagl is seventh behind GPKR’s Sebastien Pourcel.

After his latest pole in Mallory Park and his latest podium appearance in France Pourcel seems to have a difficult time but will find further support in his team mate Kevin Strijbos’ comeback this weekend at Loket. The Belgian has not raced a GP since Bellpuig’s hand injury but won both motos last year in Loket, the venue of his maiden GP win (2005, MX1, Suzuki).






GPKR looks forward to Kevin Strijbos’ comeback.

Martin Honda’s Marc de Reuver lost the overall win in Lommel due to a final moto crash and he will be looking for better fortunes in Czech Republic.


MX2

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s team mates Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle continue to sit on top of the MX2 Championship and with only four rounds to go they look like the only two capable of wrapping up the 2008 title.






Tyla Rattray will try to keep the red plate before the two week break following Loket.

Though an eventful second moto in Lommel, where they both crashed at the start together with KTM UK’s Shaun Simpson, made it a difficult Belgian weekend for the leading duo as Favor KTM Motorsport’s Gert Krestinov took his maiden GP win.






Gert Krestinov won in Lommel.

The Estonian whose best career result before Lommel was 13th overall (2008, MX2, Valkenswaard, KTM) will try to repeat this performance as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Rui Goncalves, second overall in Lommel and level in points with Krestinov, looks forward to improving on his fifth place in the Championship.

The Portuguese is right ahead of Ricci Racing Yamaha’s Nicolas Aubin, who won his maiden GP last year at Loket after a dogfight with the eventual World Champion Tony Cairoli – now out of the 2008 campaign due to Nelspruit’s left knee injury.






Winning last year’s Czech Grand Prix Nico Aubin looks for a podium finish this weekend.

After rounding off the top six at Lommel, young sand specialists and Champ KTM team mates Jeremy van Horebeek and Joel Roelants aim at breaking into the top five at round 12 of the season.


LOKETSKE SERPENTINY AND LOKET

The race track in Loket is called the “serpentine” and it is one of the most twisty in the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar. The characteristic elevation changes provide a good variety of racing situations while the intermediate ground has a hard base making it totally different from the previous Belgian venue, Lommel. Last year’s winners were Kevin Strijbos –at his last year with the works Suzuki team- and Nicolas Aubin as the weather conditions were wet.


Loket is famous among the sports’ fans as it hosts the main Motocross course in the country whose capital is Prague, just 140 kilometres away from the town hosting round 12 of the World MX series. Loket is in the Karlovy Vary region and it is characterized by the Castle overlooking the Ohře river and the whole town which used to be the temporary seat of the members of the royal family –it has been visited several times by King Jan Luxembourg.


THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE

Saturday August 9: MX2 Free Practice at 10:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 1 at 11:00 am; MX2 Pre-Qualifying Practice at 12:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 2 at 2:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 1 at 3:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 2 at 3:45 pm; MX1 Time Practice at 4:30 pm; MX2 Last Chance Qualifying Practice at 5:15 pm (local time).


Sunday August 10: MX2 Warm-up at 9:00 am; MX1 Warm-up at 9:30 am; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 at 12:10 am; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 at 1:10 pm; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 at 3:03 pm; MX1 Grand Prix Race 2 at 4:03 pm (local time).



LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
ACCR-Autoklub of the Czech Republic
Loketske Serpentiny
Loket


Information, photos and results are online at www.motocrossMX1.com, the official website of the FIM Motocross World Championships.


MediaZone Moto is the leading global online broadcaster of Motocross and SuperMoto events. Fans worldwide can watch the thrills from this and every race of the 2008 FIM Motocross & SuperMoto World Championships LIVE and On Demand exclusively at www.MediaZoneMoto.com.


Youthstream is the company that manages the exclusive television, marketing and promotional world wide rights of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the FIM Motocross of Nations, the FIM SuperMoto World Championship, the FIM SuperMoto of Nations, the FIM Snowcross World Championship, the UEM Motocross European Championship and the UEM SuperMoto European Championship.


www.MotocrossMX1.com



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