LEOK 6TH IN LIEROP MX1 QUALIFYING

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 saw both of its riders on works RM-Z450 machinery capture decent positions in the start gate for the Grand Prix of Benelux tomorrow.

The 14th round of 16 in the FIM Motocross World Championship is taking place across the rough sand of Lierop and Tanel Leok and Clement Desalle posted sixth and eighth positions respectively today in the MX1 Qualification Heat race.

Warm and sunny skies greeted the first day of action in the Netherlands and the distinctive and shifting terrain of the circuit - a frequent Grand Prix host - proved a tough test for the Belgian crew. Desalle entered the event still with a painful hand after his crash at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago. The demands of Lierop were not easy on the Belgian's state of fitness but he made an excellent start in the 20 minute qualification dash to run inside the top three for the opening phase. Adopting a safety-first policy to preserve his potential for the motos on Sunday, Desalle cruised to eighth position.

Leok tweaked the front suspension and rear shock of his factory RM-Z to find a harder setting after clocking the fastest time in free practice. The Estonian made some mistakes on his fast laps to only classify 10th in pre-qualification but hounded the rear wheel of Shaun Simpson during the race for a satisfying sixth place.

Further good weather conditions are predicted for two physical Grand Prix motos tomorrow.

Tanel Leok:

"My practice speed was good but I made a few mistakes in the next session and it proved too difficult to try and be fastest again. The race was OK and the start was good but the first two laps could have been better. I also struggled a bit with the low sun and it took some getting used to and it was tricky to make a pass. I hope it will be hot tomorrow and the track will be rougher and more difficult! We altered the bike a little bit to keep it higher across the bumps and holes."

Clement Desalle:

"Every time on the bike I felt a bit better because I still have a lot of pain in my hand. I lack strength and mobility compared to normal and cannot really grip the bars. My start was really good in qualification and that's a really positive point. I led for a little while and focussed on my rhythm to not do anything stupid. I was holding fifth place and was looking at third but made a small mistake which broke my flow. I also had a bit of sand in the clutch for a short while. Near the end I just kept it on two wheels."

MX1 Qualification Heat: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 24:12.893; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:13.633; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:27.226; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:28.214; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.311; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:32.943; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:43.903; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:54.453; 9. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:04.796; 10. Marcus Schiffer (GER, Suzuki), +1:05.700.