At a cloudy and cool Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden and the 11th round of 15 in the 2009 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship, Teka Suzuki World MX1's Ken De Dycker scored his fifth podium result of the season with third place overall.
Some 22,000 spectators witnessed the Belgian start well and bring the fuel-injected RM-Z450 to second and fourth positions in the two motos.
The 25 year old, competing at the venue where he enjoyed victory for the first time in 2007, was able to mark a decent pace across a terrain that was loose and slippery underneath the top soil. The fast and jumpy course was also stringent with passing opportunities.
De Dycker kept a close distance to leader Max Nagl in the first moto but was not able to get near enough to make a bid for first spot. In the second outing he chased David Philippaerts, and although it looked again like he might be able to improve his standing, was ultimately unable to overtake the Italian. The result and trophy still represented his best points score since round five in Portugal.
In the MX2 class, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2's Ken Roczen continued his incredible breakthrough campaign by winning his first moto and finishing on the podium with the overall runner-up position for the second time in just seven GP appearances. The 15 year old stalked and passed Rui Goncalves to earn his maiden chequered flag and that of the RM-Z250 in the first moto. A victim of some bumping out of the gate in the second race saw him needing to gain places from mid-pack and he reached seventh by the end of the 35 minutes and 2 laps.
De Dycker is sixth in the MX1 standings and requires 25 points over Philippaerts to reach third. Roczen is also sixth in MX2 and has to accumulate 45 points to break into the top five.
Teka Suzuki World MX1 now has a break from international duty and in just under a month will resume activity for round 12, which is the Grand Prix of Limburg at the Belgian circuit of Lommel; the team's home event. Steve Ramon should be able to make his first appearance for the squad after recovering from a neck fracture sustained at round four in Holland.
Ken De Dycker - 3rd:
"It was difficult to pass out there. The speed was virtually the same between us all so to overtake would have involved me pushing a rider off-line or doing something aggressive and it wasn't worth the risk to crash. I did not get close enough to Nagl in the first moto and it was pretty much the same in the second with Philippaerts; however I am quite pleased with two results like this. Everybody is so fast that it will be hard to push back into the top three. I have already lost points in the beginning of the season through some mistakes. Now I will just keep on fighting and hope to get stronger for the next races."
Ken Roczen - 2nd:
"I had a big battle with Rui in the first moto which I really enjoyed. Winning my first Grand Prix in Teutschenthal was an awesome feeling but my first moto win feels just as good. I got bumped coming out of the gate in the second moto, but this is part of racing and I just had to ride as hard as I could to come from outside the top-20. I made a big charge and ran out of time to close on the guys at the front. I am really happy with this second place and the way things are going for me this season."
Grand Prix of Sweden results:
MX1 Moto1: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 39:02.962; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Teka Suzuki World MX1), +0:18.573; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:22.408; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:25.497; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:46.418; 6. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:50.709; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:52.170; 8. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:18.423; 9. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:23.629; 10. Bryan Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), +1:30.245.
MX1 Moto2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 39:39.929; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:02.994; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:06.508; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Teka Suzuki World MX1), +0:14.103; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:26.194; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:39.085; 7. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:59.922; 8. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:03.833; 9. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:15.007; 10. Julien Bill (SUI, Aprilia), +1:17.891
MX1 Overall Classification: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 47 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 43p; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Teka Suzuki World MX1), 40p; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 36p; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 36p; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 29p; 7. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 29p; 8. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), 24p; 9. Julien Bill (SUI, Aprilia), 19p; 10. Bryan Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), 18p.
MX1 World Championship standings (after 11 of 15 rounds): 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 428 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 375p; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 363p; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 345p; 5. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 343p; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Teka Suzuki World MX1), 338p; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 299p; 8. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 215p; 9. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), 175p; 10. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), 167p; 15. Steve Ramon (BEL, Teka Suzuki World MX1), 100p.
MX2 Overall Classification: 1. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 47 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 39p; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 36p; 4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 35p; 5. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 34p; 6. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 34p; 7. Matiss Karro (LAT, Suzuki), 26p; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 23p; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Yamaha), 22p; 10. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), 21p.
