DESALLE 6TH AT VALKENSWARD MX1
. Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1's Clement Desalle completed a mature and steady display to finish sixth overall under glaring Dutch sunshine at Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands and the second round of 15 in the 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship.
The talented Belgian could not repeat his thrilling victory obtained at the season-opener in Bulgaria two weeks ago but was able to secure a top-five position in front of 35,000 spectators and score valuable points on his Factory RM-Z450. Only 12 months ago, the 21 year old fell early in the first moto and suffered a dislocated shoulder: Mindful of this incident - and how the double DNF blighted his excellent charge for the 2010 MX1 crown - Desalle played a sensible game across the rough and wavy sand.
Two reasonable starts saw the 2010 championship runner-up adrift of the leading group but still a threatening presence on a technical surface that witnessed varying lap-times and fluctuating gaps between the front-runners. Desalle held-off Rui Goncalves in a close finish to score fifth in Moto1 and then rode to sixth in Moto2 for his overall ranking.
Team-mate Steve Ramon had a tougher weekend: The former World Champion was struggling for stamina in demanding conditions and hasn't been 100% fit since suffering illness two weeks ago. The Belgian was unable to rise higher than 8th and 12th for 10th by the end of the afternoon.
Desalle is third in the World Championship standings after two events and trails Steven Frossard by just seven points. Ramon is 10th.
Away from the track, the riders and team were able to get cool and re-fill at the Rockstar Energy Rig, making the first of 10 appearances this season.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 is in action this coming weekend for the second round of the Belgian Championship at Beervelde and will be travelling over the Atlantic to California for the U.S. Grand Prix on May 15th.
Clement Desalle:
"For sure this is not my best day today but at least I could take some points and it is much better than last year! I felt that I had to take some risks in order to go faster after the first 15 minutes of the race and it is not my style to go like that: I rode with my head and was smart. It was unbelievable to have this weather here in April and it made the GP hard. We have the Belgian Championship this week then a free weekend before going to America."
Steve Ramon:
"Difficult day: I'm really tired. I was feeling low already after a few laps of the second moto and I think I need to see the doctor and take a few blood samples to see what is going on with my body. It is not normal that the energy isn't there. I have tried to prepare myself well for this GP but I don't know what to say. It has not been an easy couple of weeks with feeling sick and being on medication, so we have to make some checks."
MX1 Moto1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40:49.442; 2. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:06.303; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:10.631; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:34.320; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:43.305; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:43.485; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:57.195; 8. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:59.698; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:02.322; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:23.387.
MX1 Moto2: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 39:21.653; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:14.447; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:22.047; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:27.150; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.569; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:53.640; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:09.411; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +1:15.250; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:21.478; 10. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +1:25.000; 12. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +1:38.859.
MX1 Overall Classification: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 45 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 38 p.; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 38 p.; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 33 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 31 p.; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 27 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 25 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 24 p.; 10. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 22 p.
MX1 World Championship Standings (after 2 rounds): 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 85 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 80 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 78 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 72 p.; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 63 p.; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 62 p.; 7. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 53 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 52 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), 45 p.; 10. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 42 p.
