Ken Roczen flicked his Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 fuel-injected RM-Z250 to a fifth moto victory of the season and gained second position overall at a 21,000-packed Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic.
The fourth podium result from the last five rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship meant that the German was again one of the main protagonists across another difficult terrain; just one week after his maiden success of 2010 in the near-impossible sand of Lommel in Belgium.
A generous portion of the crowd cheered the 16 year old after he seized the holeshot and escaped from his peers in the first moto at the 12th round of 15 in the FIM competition. A less-than-ideal start in the second affair of 35 minutes and 2 laps meant that the stylish racer had to forge a flight to second from fifth and then attack World Champion Marvin Musquin for the lead. Once ahead, a 1-1 double looked on the cards but a mistake while trying to move past a backmarker meant he fell and then again had to pursue Musquin. A grandstand finale took place in the final two laps but despite his close proximity to the Frenchman, Roczen could not find space away from the main fast racing line.
Enjoying his own tussle with the track, Arnaud Tonus had two steady races to score eighth and seventh for sixth overall and his best points haul from the last four rounds. The Swiss was impeded by a goggle malfunction in the second moto and had difficulty to pick his way through the ruts but was reliably 'on-song'.
The penultimate round of the Women's World Championship saw Larissa Papenmeier defy discomfort through a recent stomach injury to place fourth overall. The talented young German raced her RM-Z250 to fourth in very muddy conditions on Saturday afternoon and was fifth on a drier course Sunday morning. 'Lare' now stands fourth in the table and needs 17 points to reach a repeat of her runner-up championship position from 2009.
Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 will now contest the sixth round of eight in the ADAC German MX Master series in Moggers, Austria, before the crew begin to travel across the Atlantic and to the new venue at Campo Grande for the Grand Prix of Brazil in two weeks time.
Ken Roczen:
"The first moto was awesome. I got the holeshot and didn't look back. In the second race my start was good but in the first corner I lost my way a little bit. Anyway, I came back to second quickly, passed Marvin and then crashed when I tried a different line to overtake a backmarker. I had to work again. There were a lot of square-bumps on the track and passing was not easy. I took a lot of risks trying to catch Marvin again; I guess sometimes you just need to pin-it! I am excited to go to Brazil now after making a race for the German Championship in Austria next week."
Arnaud Tonus:
"An eighth and seventh is so not bad today. I rode well, consistently and with a good rhythm. I had a good start in the second moto but on the first lap I had a problem with my goggles because I went for a tear-off and somehow damaged the lens. The whole race was difficult because I could not see that well. Anyway I'm quite pleased with how the Grand Prix went overall."
MX2 Moto1: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 39:33.781; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:30.926; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:35.408; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:37.549; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:52.968; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:56.169; 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:57.223; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), +1:00.372; 9. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:01.813; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:11.753.
MX2 Moto2: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 38:58.574; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), +0:00.516; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:43.397; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:58.354; 5. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:14.565; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:24.314; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), +1:28.202; 8. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:29.270; 9. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:29.793; 10. Valentin Teillet (FRA, KTM), +3:41.077.
MX2 Overall result: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 47 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 35 p.; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 34 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 27 p.; 7. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 25 p.; 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 23 p.; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 21 p.;
MX2 World Championship standings (after 12 of 15 rounds): 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 527 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 449 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 404 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 391 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 329 p.; 6. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 313 p.; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 302 p.; 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 298 p.; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 293 p.; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 254 p.;
Women's World Championship (after 6 of 7 rounds): 1. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 274 points; 2. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KTM), 235 p.; 3. Maria Franke (GER, KTM), 222 p.; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 218 p.; 5. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 204 p.
