Valkenswaard Report - Rockstar Energy Suzuki
Wednesday 27 April: MX1's Clement Desalle completed a mature and steady display to finish sixth overall.
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.