from ... Clement Desalle
Wednesday 26 September: Rockstar Energy Suzuki's World MX1 Championship runner-up Clement Desalle talks about his 2012 season that finished last weekend in Germany, this weekend's Motocross of Nations in Lommel and his plans for the winter in preparation for 2013 aboard the factory RM-Z450.
After the UK and my crash in practice I didn't - and couldn't -
really ride the bike. At the beginning it was tough to get through the
races and the doctor said it would be six weeks before it would be back
to normal. It was like a bone break except it wasn't! The pain was the
annoying thing and I wasn't comfortable riding, so it was a bit
frustrating and doing the GPs in Lierop and Faenza was dragging out the
recovery time but I trained in between the races with running and
cycling.
By the time of Teutschenthal last weekend I was
confirmed as runner-up in the championship and although any motivation
for the overall 'bigger picture' was pretty low, Germany was still a
race to win so I was happy to go there and even happier when the track
started to get a bit better on Sunday.
The Motocross of Nations
is this weekend and is a big thing. After Faenza two weeks ago we went
to Lommel to do some riding although Jeremy Van Horebeek was not there
and then also a week later, before coming to Germany, and De Dycker
could not be there! A few days off after Italy helped with my hand and I
put my normal schedule into place. Lommel will be my third time
representing Belgium because I missed out last year due to my injury.
The 'Nations is different and its cool that it is only once a year. I
like the little things; like racing against some different riders and
having new colours gear, helmets and boots.
Lommel means deep
sand but I think we have a good chance to win; I don't think there is a
point going to the meeting with any other attitude. We have a strong
team and although there will be some excellent sand riders it will be
all about the three of us. There should be a lot of fans and support,
lots of friends and - above all - it will be good time and hopefully a
lot of fun. Pressure really comes from the amount you take on your own
shoulders and this is not something that will bother me for Lommel. I
know how I will tackle this race.
After the Nations I will take a
week off but then we have two testing sessions in the following
fortnight for our 2013 preparations. In that free week I will be
organising and cleaning everything; emptying the motorhome and doing all
the little things that I never really get time to do when you are
thinking about the next race through the season. There are a few DIY
jobs to be done around the house; painting the bedroom and small things.
I'm not too bad with my hands. I won't say that I can build a wall but
some of the simpler stuff is fine.
A week later and I will enter
the Superbiker Supermoto race at Mettet. It will be my first time doing
Supermoto and also at Mettet! They have asked me to do it for a few
years now and I've always had to decline but now it was possible and
it's a huge event in Wallonie so now I'll give it a try. I will have to
do a bit of training and Eddy Seel will help me. I remember a British GP
at Mallory Park a few years ago was also hosting a Supermoto GP at the
same time and it looked pretty cool for a while. I've not done any
racing on asphalt, so we'll see.
Once Mettet is finished then I
think it will be holiday time. Andrea and I haven't booked anything yet
but I think we will do it next week. She is working so we will need to
plan it well. For the last few years we've been to a big hotel just to
relax but normally after three days I'm bored so I think we'll do
something more touristy this time. I quite fancy heading to the States.
We might go to Miami because we can have the beach and also go to
Daytona and the Everglades. Daytona will be cool. I love Nascar; the
speed, the sound and the close racing.