With barely time to pause, or negotiate delayed air travel from Portugal, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 will be back in action this weekend for the fifth round of 15 in the FIM Motocross World Championship.
The Grand Prix of Catalunya at the Bellpuig circuit, just over 100KM west of Barcelona, is the site of the last European meeting before the eagerly-anticipated trip to California in two weeks time.
Ken Roczen has so far scored four podium results on the fuel-injected 2010 RM-Z250, the only MX2 rider to have picked up a trophy from each Grand Prix this term. The 16 year old was in the hunt for his first win of the season last Sunday until a blameless incident with a backmarker while fighting for the lead at Agueda for the Portuguese GP meant he was relegated to the last step of the rostrum. Although he surrendered the Red Plate as series leader, he will be looking to shave the 12-point deficit he now faces to World Champion Marvin Musquin.
Team-mate Arnaud Tonus has provided ample back-up in his first season with the German crew and only his second term as a GP rider. The eighteen year old Swiss has taken results of 5th, 6th, 9th and 6th in his first outings on the World Stage and also boasts some podium finishes in national meetings and pre-season events. "My riding has been good since I began the GPs with the team and it is positive for my confidence; I did not expect to be consistently around the top-five so soon if I am honest!" he said. "I am now really focussed on getting those results each week. Sometimes I feel I can go for the podium but my main goal is to keep on the level I am, because I know it will be worth it at the end of the season."
"It is nice to know I am doing a good job for the team because they do not put any pressure on me at all and it is great to work with them. I know I am part of a very good set-up and I put pressure on myself because of that," added the stylish youngster who is the son of former 500cc rider Charlie Tonus and travels to each race with the support and presence of his family.
This weekend Tonus will be chasing his first silverware and also trying to consolidate his fifth place in the Championship Standings, while looking to close the 17-point gap to Steven Frossard in fourth. "I like Bellpuig. Normally I prefer the hard-pack because it is the type of track I ride more. The start there is very important," he said.
Larissa Papenmeier will also be back on her RM-Z250 for the third round of seven in the FIM Women's World Championship. The German is currently sixth in the standings.
Bellpuig is a quick and hard-pack course: The layout is dwarfed by a triple step-up section with the landscape also housing a spectacular step-down. Bellpuig has been on the FIM World Championship schedule since 2000 and has become Spain's premier venue for grand prix racing. The track was the site of Ken Roczen's exciting duel for the lead last year in what was only his second GP. "The track in Portugal is quite sandy whereas Bellpuig is more hard-pack and I prefer that," he said. "It is pretty cool there and I hope it will be sunny."
Luckily for Roczen and the rest of the paddock, the forecast predicts clear sunshine for Sunday but some clouds on Saturday.
