Valkenswaard Report - Rockstar Energy Suzuki

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1's Clement Desalle (pictured above) 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 (pictured above) 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.

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."

Copy and photos courtesy of the Team Suzuki Press Office.