After a summer break of almost four weeks, the FIM Motocross World Championship re-ignites this weekend and the Grand Prix of Limburg, in the daunting deep sand of Lommel, which will provide the factory Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1 team with a chance to shine at their home event.
The Belgian crew are located only a few kilometres from the circuit that will host the 2012 Motocross of Nations and has entertained the Belgian stop on the FIM calendar for the last two years.
Clement Desalle and Steve Ramon sit in second and fourth positions respectively in the MX1 class standings and with the works RM-Z450WS have amassed three pole positions, two victories and 11 podiums between them in the10 rounds of 15 held so far in the current campaign. The pair has also taken victories in the Belgian and German national championships through the weeks away from the international stage.
Two-thirds of the way through the 2010 contest Desalle is having a stellar first season with the team and has not dropped out of the top six in the 18 motos from 20 that he has completed. The double '0-0' for round three at Valkenswaard after an early crash led to a dislocated right shoulder has proved costly to his championship aspirations and the 21 year old needs to reduce a deficit of 67 points to leader Tony Cairoli (250 points remain).
The Belgian has celebrated triumphs in Portugal and Latvia. "I live 200km from Lommel so it is not really a home GP! Lommel has a lot of bumps so it is hard for us as well as the motorcycles; a tough track," offered Desalle who set pole position at the circuit in 2009 and was fifth overall (taking second place in the first moto). "It is a nice change from hard-pack and I like sand but the body usually aches after this GP."
Ramon has collected three pieces of silverware with two third positions and a runner-up placement in the Netherlands. The veteran and former double World Champion is operating near the same impressive speed level he had reached prior to his qualification heat crash in Portugal. Ramon presently leads the Belgian Championship and took victory last Sunday in the sand of Tensfeld in Germany.
"I should be riding on Wednesday but nothing serious, just a play on the bike to get loose and the feeling back before heading to Lommel," he said. "For sure I will need some time to recover after Sunday, as the sand was deep and it was a physical race. I was at Lommel last Tuesday and I could not see any big changes. It was really dry then and the track could be different for the GP depending on the weather. I don't think Lommel is as hard as Lierop but for sure the sand gets rough."
The 30 year old Belgian was fifth in 2008 at Lommel and then fourth overall 12 months ago in what was his first Grand Prix after missing half of the season with a neck injury.
Lommel is a familiar course to many of the Grand Prix fraternity who base themselves in the Benelux region during the season for practice and training. The flat and challenging layout is renowned for its physical and technical demands and rewards the most skilled and fittest exponents of sand-riding. Lommel itself has improved each year as a Grand Prix infrastructure with upgrades to the viewing and spectator experience. New banking zones should greet visitors to the 2010 edition of Belgium's flagship off-road event.
Unfortunately the general weather forecast for the weekend is not too positive with cloudy conditions on Saturday and showers on Sunday.
MX1 World Championship standings (after 10 of 15 rounds): 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 434 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Teka Suzuki WMX1), 367 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 331 p.; 4. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Teka Suzuki WMX1), 315 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 306 p.; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 276 p.; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 269 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 223 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 219 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), 196 p.
