TEKA SUZUKI MX TEAMS READY FOR DUTCH SAND

2010-04-22 22:26
Motocross teams Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1 and Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 don't have to run the gauntlet of travel chaos this weekend for the third round of the FIM World Championship with the Grand Prix of the Netherlands at the Valkenswaard circuit near Eindhoven representing a relatively short road trip.

With the majority of European air travellers struggling to reach a degree of normality this week, the Belgian and German crews have been able to steadily focus on the first authentic sandy race of the season.

Valkenswaard will present a rough and technical surface with the dark and fine Dutch terrain testing man and machine to the limit. The Grand Prix will re-activate the MX1 and MX2 classes after a week's hiatus and before another weekend break ahead of back-to-back events in Portugal and Spain.

Clement Desalle and Steve Ramon on the factory RM-Z450WS machines, and Ken Roczen and Arnaud Tonus, both riding the RM-Z250, were able to partially hone their settings for the third GP of the campaign with participation at Drehna for the first meeting of the ADAC MX Masters German Championship last weekend. Although the German course is a little different in layout to Valkenswaard (the Dutch course is flat, jumpy and features fast, open corners) the shallow sand offered similarities. Desalle won a moto and finished third overall while Ramon was second.

Belgian Champion Desalle goes to Valkenswaard chasing his third consecutive GP podium and hoping to add to his tally of moto wins that he officially opened at round two at Mantova two weeks ago. Ramon returns to the venue where he was set for a top-three result last year until a fall on the penultimate lap of the first moto led to a broken neck and subsequently caused him to miss most of the season.

"I like this track, I try to like all the tracks, but for sure there are some that come easier to you. This is the first real sand circuit on the calendar and I hope to do as well as I can," commented Desalle, who will be competing in his first 'semi' home Grand Prix for the team with the Lommel-based workshop only an hour away from the circuit.

Ramon dusted off suggestions that events 12 months ago might hold some bad memories: "I have had some good results there in the past and won two GPs with a 125cc machine. Of course the track has changed since those times and even the sand has become a bit firmer."

Like Desalle, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2's Ken Roczen (pictured) is aiming to maintain his 100% podium record in the MX2 category. The 15 year old will compete at World Championship level at yet another new venue this season as he was too young to contest the 2009 Bulgarian and Dutch GPs and Mantova was not part of the 2009 schedule. Roczen is second in the championship standings, 14 points away from Marvin Musquin, having finished as runner-up in the previous two events. The German was fourth overall at Drehna - a race in which he competed against the 450s - and was encouraged by his bright starts; something that was missing in his last Grand Prix performance in Italy. Arnaud Tonus was sixth at the German national meet and the Swiss has been impressive in his first two Grands Prix on Suzuki machinery. The 18 year old has caught the eye with his speed, and is on the fringes of his first trophy after two fifth positions; he holds the same rank in the World Championship standings.

The weather forecast for the weekend is bright and warm with clouds at various stages of Saturday and Sunday.

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

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