Desalle Claims 8TH MX1 Podium At Loket

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 again sampled podium champagne in the 2012 FIM Motocross World Championship as Clement Desalle took his factory RM-Z450 to third position and picked up his eighth trophy of the season at a hot Loket for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic today.

The 12th round of 16 in the series was played out over a rough, difficult and slippery track surrounded by 23,000 spectators. The Czech soil was again ungenerous with the amount of traction it offered. The fast and flowing layout rewarded bravery in overtaking and ensured that exits from the gate determined the ranking of the upper section of the leaderboard. Desalle came into the meeting having won two of the previous three editions of the GP at Loket (taking second position on the other occasion). A repeat of his 2011 success with the works RM-Z450 initially appeared difficult after two falls in the qualification heat on Saturday cast him down to 15th place in the gate. The Belgian was not too deterred however with the long start straight not proving too much of a handicap.

Desalle made good ground from an average launch in the first moto and was swift to move up to fourth position but then faced an unbridgeable gap to Max Nagl in third. At the second time of asking in the afternoon he was part of a four-rider tussle for the lead. He fronted the pack after demoting the rapid Nagl but could do nothing about Antonio Cairoli's superior synergy with the track on this occasion. Fourth and second positions were good enough to continue Desalle's podium streak at Loket and keep him within touching distance of Cairoli in the MX1 title chase.

Tanel Leok had good speed and attacked the Loket leaps on Saturday. The Estonian was searching for positive starts to maintain a position in contention for the top five, especially after sealing the fastest lap-time in morning warm-up. His first attempt was not effective and from a first lap position of 14th in the opening moto he could only rise to 12th by the flag. The injury-free former GP winner was able to improve his capabilities away from the line in the second race and immediately slotted into a mid-top-10 slot from where he was able to lap adrift of the battle for the lead and confirmed sixth at the finish. Leok was ninth in the final classification for the Grand Prix.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 still holds prominent positions in the MX1 standings. Desalle remains second and is 30 points behind Cairoli. Leok is eighth and just in front of Rui Goncalves by four points.

The British Grand Prix will represent round 13 in the FIM Motocross World Championship on August 5th. The Matterley Basin circuit will also host the MXGP Festival across the same weekend, which will see the MX1 and MX2 classes joined by eight other international and European categories.

Clement Desalle:

"Today was better than yesterday for me in terms of my riding and feeling on the track. My first moto start wasn't great and I had to fight a lot to come back. I had to use a lot of energy just to reach fourth. In the second moto my start was much better and that was really positive. There were some good guys behind me and it wasn't easy. I wanted to concentrate on my riding but it was tough on this track. You needed to find the good traction and the good lines to make a pass but it was not easy here. Tony and Christophe were riding really well. Loket was hard today but I like to come to different tracks and have different challenges."

Tanel Leok:

"My ankle doesn't hurt any more but a week without any exercise or riding cost me a little bit today because I ran out of energy in that second moto. I need to get a bit more bike fit. Anyway, I felt good at Loket today and showed good speed all weekend. I just missed out on being able to pass Rui for fifth in that second moto but there are positive signs from this race. I'm happy that my ankle feels good and I can focus purely on making good results for the rest of the season."

MX1 Moto1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:21.567; 2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:08.471; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:10.299; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:18.171; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:25.624; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:34.700; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:40.059; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:41.563; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:43.649; 10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Yamaha), +0:45.759; 12. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:50.872.

MX1 Moto2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:46.055; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:04.170; 3. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:05.967; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:07.078; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:10.275; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:11.501; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:22.578; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:27.650; 9. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Yamaha), +0:29.445; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:38.935.

MX1 overall result: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 42 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 40 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 38 p.; 5. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 29 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 27 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 26 p.; 8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 26 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 24 p.; 10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Yamaha), 23 p.

MX1 World Championship Standings (after 12 of 16 rounds): 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 492 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 462 p.; 3. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 435 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 402 p.; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 368 p.; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 319 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 306 p.; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 277 p.; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 273 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), 223 p.