Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1's Clement Desalle will be hoping to go 'two better' this weekend and chase his third victory of the 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship at round five of 15 - the Grand Prix of France - at St Jean D'Angely.
Twelve months ago Desalle earned what was his fifth podium from seven events with third position at the quick and slippery course located north of Saintes and just in-land from La Rochelle. This time the 22 year old Belgian approaches arguably one of the liveliest and best-attended races on the calendar with the red plate as MX1 series leader on his factory RM-Z450. Team mate Steve Ramon will also be in the hunt at the venue where he scored his moto victory on the works machine in 2007 and finished fourth last year.
Both riders were in action last weekend at Kester for the third round of the Belgian Championship where Desalle extended his run of domestic triumphs to two and Ramon grabbed a podium finish. The national meeting meant the Suzuki duo had precious little time to rest. The French GP this weekend starts a run of six races in seven weeks. After St Jean D'Angely, the Lommel-based crew will travel to Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Germany and Latvia.
"It is an important part of the season and we will need to be consistent and try to avoid any crashes or picking up any injuries because there's hardly any time in between the races," said Desalle. "It will be a tough time physically and after the long trip back from the USA and Brazil we will have to be cautious.
"As always my goal is to do my best this weekend. I go practicing a lot in France and the Grand Prix is a big race. The track is OK there but my feeling is that a bit more can be done to make it better. We had good fun battling in 2010 so I hope for more of the same."
"I like St Jean D'Angely and have always ridden quite well there so I'm looking forward to the weekend," commented Ramon. "The ground is hard-pack with some rocks coming through underneath so it can be slippery. Anyway I feel in good form and I think we can do well at this one."
The enthusiastic Motoclub Angerien enjoys modifying the long and winding course situated in a natural 'amphitheatre' valley setting. The extended start straight leads into an ascending-descending spiral across the incline; all easily viewable for the majority of the large crowd that routinely flocks to St Jean. Tight corners and line choices can lead to some close racing, as witnessed in 2010 with a four-rider fight for the lead in MX1.
The current weather forecast for the weekend predicts stuffy temperatures and cloudy skies with the chance of rain.
MX1 World Championship standings (after 4 of 15 rounds): 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 164 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 153 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 151 p.; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 138 p.; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 132 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 110 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 108 p.; 8. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 94 p.; 9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 92 p.; 10. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 90 p.
