The Grand Prix of Sweden and round 10 of the FIM Motocross World Championship will be the final event of three consecutive weeks of racing for the factory Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1 team:
The trip to Uddevalla, 130km north of Gothenburg, follows meetings in Germany and Latvia and will be the last before a three-week summer break.
From the nine previous rounds of 15, Clement Desalle is able to stand second in the MX1 World Championship with his works RM-Z450WS; thanks to seven podiums - joint highest tally - and two victories. The 21 year old is negotiating a first successful season with the Belgian team and heads to Scandinavia energised after his run to 1st and 2nd last week in Kegums saw the Belgian Champion again on top of the box.
"I will stay with the camper and my family on the road and we will take the boat to Stockholm early in the week," Desalle revealed on Sunday evening in Latvia. "I have a friend in Sweden who knows many tracks so we will practice somewhere not so far from Uddevalla.
"Every win is good but I only had a moto win this time and I want two! I always want more," he said concerning his latest success that comes after his maiden triumph in Portugal for round four, only two weeks after dislocating his right shoulder. "Latvia was good but Portugal was also special because I had my crash to consider. It was more surprising and put my season back on course," he added.
Steve Ramon set aside hassles with recent injury problems to return to the rostrum for the second time in 2010 at Latvia. The Belgian veteran now faces a Grand Prix in which he has been traditionally quick; earning trophies in 2006, '07 and '08. He missed the 2009 edition through his neck fracture.
"Uddevalla is a track that I really like and seems to suit my riding style. It is hard underneath with small stones on the top. It gets pretty rough with some short bumps. I am looking forward to going there," said the 30 year old who is fourth in the standings.
Uddevalla never ceases to be a well organised and popular trip on the World Championship calendar and has been ever-present on the schedule since the start of the millennium. The Glimmingen course first entertained a Grand Prix in 1977 (250cc) and since then has undergone a variety of upgrades and modifications, most significantly in 2006 when the course was reversed and the start gate was relocated. The track dips and weaves in a complicated layout and involves a mix between loose soil and hard-pack.
The Grand Prix of Sweden is annually well-attended, showing the strong following motocross has in the country despite the absence of a winner in the championship since 2000.
The weather forecast for the weekend predicts sunny and bright conditions with some cloud on race-day and the chance of the odd shower.
MX1 World Championship standings (after 9 of 15 rounds): 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 384 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1), 323 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 298 p.; 4. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1), 277 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 276 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 269 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 248 p.; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 207 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 189 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), 189 p.
