ROCKSTAR TEKA SUZUKIS 5TH AND 6TH IN MANTOVA GATE QUALIFING

Clement Desalle and Steve Ramon took their Rockstar Teka Suzuki RM-Z450 WMs to fifth and sixth positions across a tremendously-rough Mantova circuit in Italy for the Qualification Heat of the Grand Prix of Lombardia. The Belgian duo came through the 20 minute and two-lap dash to claim the same positions in the start gate for today's two moto sprints.

The dry and loose Italian sand was churned into a bumpy and difficult surface thanks to the presence of two extra classes - Veteran's World Cup and the 125cc European championship - at the second round of 15 in the FIM series. As the terrain tore up through the afternoon, Desalle and Ramon set quicker lap-times and finished Pre-Qualifying practice in second and first positions respectively.

In the heat race, Desalle was help up by a falling Sebastien Pourcel on the first corner but rode well to fight back to fifth and challenge Tanel Leok for fourth. The Belgian Champion then picked a wide line around a tight corner and hit a soft berm causing him to briefly crash and lose time on the Estonian. Ramon struggled to push his way higher up the order and in the post-race debrief stated his desire to refine his set-up.

Both riders experimented with different tyre profiles and Desalle also altered his gearing to cope with the conditions. Ramon used the same configuration from Bulgaria but will now add a few clicks to his suspension tomorrow and also see what more Pirelli can offer him in his search for further traction.

Clement Desalle:

"I did not get a bad start but Pourcel crashed in front of me and I was held up. After that I pushed hard but did not want to take any big risks. We worked on the bike a little bit and will have a look at the track tomorrow."

Steve Ramon:

"My riding was good today but the track is pretty difficult because of all the classes; there are many small bumps and ruts especially on the jump take-offs and it can get a bit dangerous. Timed qualifying was really good but the race not so much. We struggled a bit with the suspension because the track is changing. We will try to improve the set-up for tomorrow."

MX1 Qualification Heat Result: 1. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 25:44.800; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.321; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:10.077; 4. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +0:22.800; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1), +0:26.731; 6. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1), +0:27.409; 7. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:40.390; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:44.190; 9. Anthony Boissiere (FRA, TM), +0:47.236; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), +0:51.753.