Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1's Steve Ramon will travel to southern Europe and the Agueda circuit this weekend confident of marking his first podium finish at the Grand Prix of Portugal.

Round four of 15 takes place after a brief respite in the 2010 FIM Motocross World Championship calendar during which the 30-year-old Belgian was able to sweep the opening meeting of the Belgian Championship at Beervelde on the factory RM-Z450WS.

Ramon is currently in fine form after his success on Belgian soil and also capturing his first Grand Prix podium of the season two weeks ago at Valkenswaard, ensuring that the team have a 100% rostrum record in 2010 as Clement Desalle collected trophies in the first two races in Bulgaria and Italy. The 2007 MX1 World Champion will now attempt to tackle the climbs, drops and orange dirt of Agueda and aim for his first spray of champagne at the venue.

Agueda has entertained the World Championship each year since 2004 and the inauguration of the MX1 and MX2 classes. Ramon has scored fourth ('04, '05) 14th, eighth and fifth positions in that time. In 2009 he was not present at the GP due to the neck fracture he sustained at the previous race in Holland. The veteran is swift to admit that the Portuguese layout is not one of his preferred courses on the schedule. "Agueda is hard physically when the bumps and ruts come through. It is always a tough GP; I don't hate it, but it is not my favourite track," he said. "My riding has been good recently and the results have also made me happy so we will go there and hope to do our best."

Clement Desalle will travel to Portugal and attempt the Grand Prix. The Belgian dislocated his right shoulder in a fall during the first moto at Valkenswaard and made his decision to participate after a riding session Wednesday afternoon. "I was unsure about whether to race at Agueda but I was also desperate not to miss the GP," he said. "We made a test and the shoulder seemed to hold up ok so we will go there and see what we can do. Agueda is a cool circuit. The jumps are not big but they are fun. The dirt can be slippery when it is not that rough in places but overall it is a track I appreciate."

Ramon presently holds third in the World Championship standings and is 37 points away from the lead. Desalle is sixth.

Although the weather outlook is positive this week, the forecast for the weekend predicts cloudy skies with showers and temperatures in the mid-teens.