Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe survived high temperatures and a dusty and tricky Nico España circuit at Guadalajara for the Grand Prix of Mexico and saw Petar Petrov and Harri Kullas pick up 13th and 16th positions overall in front of 25,000 spectators.
The first ever visit to the country for the FIM Motocross World Championship signified that the fourth round of 16 was played out in high temperatures and across a track that was rough and rutted and with loose and muddy terrain in certain sections. Kullas and Petrov needed the first practice sessions on Saturday to dial-in the factory RM-Z250s to deal with the 1600m (above sea level) altitude of the venue.
Kullas was unlucky to DNF the first moto after a technical problem and Petrov crashed and lost time that meant a finish of 16th. The Finn suffered a small slip in the second race but in general the sprint was a better outing for the youngsters and Kullas squeezed inside the top 10 with 10th place and Petrov was not far behind in 12th.
Kullas occupies 10th in the MX2 championship standings with 29 points the difference to fifth spot. Petrov is 13th.
The Grand Prix of Brazil at Beto Carrero will be the second stop on the South American tour of the calendar and Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe will head south for round five next weekend.
Thomas Ramsbacher:
"It was a tough weekend for us. Both riders didn't get the best starts, so to come back from where they were and how the track was watered was difficult. The riding wasn't bad in the first moto but when the guys came back in the mud across the bikes and radiator was like cement! Harri did OK in the second moto but crashed in the last sector of the lap and lost eighth place, went down to 12th and in the end came back to 10th. I am also happy with Petar's 12th position in the second moto."
Petar Petrov:
"A really tough GP. Yesterday I felt good and took fifth in free practice and sixth in pre-qualifying which was really good for me; my best Saturday to-date. Unfortunately my riding wasn't so great today. I was around 13th in the first moto but then crashed and it must have been at least a minute before I could get going again. I wanted to do better in the second moto and that was OK. I want an improvement next week in Brazil, that's for sure."
