Battling Brit Shaun Simpson as his LS Honda Racing team-mate Ken De Dycker head for this weekend’s US GP at Glen Helen keen to climb up in the MX1 championship standings following two tough races in Bulgaria and the Netherlands.
The Monster Energy US GP is the first of two consecutive, hugely important fly-aways on the 2011 calendar. The legendary Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, is set to provide fans and riders with a great event starting with two days of amateur racing on Thursday and Friday followed by the FIM MX1, MX2 and VMX classes on Saturday and Sunday.
After last year’s last-minute comeback in the world championship schedule, Glen Helen won’t be uncharted territory for the GP riders. LS Honda Racing’s MX1 rookie Shaun Simpson showed great speed at the fast and spectacular track where he came third in the second moto. Simpson struggled with his fitness at the hot Dutch GP in Valkenswaard but the 23-year old former British MX2 champ was on-form last weekend at the Red Bull Pro Nationals in Landrake. The talented Scotsman came back in both motos to claim second and third to come home second overall behind Brad Anderson.
Ken De Dycker, who scored a fifth place equal on points with countryman Steve Ramon in Glen Helen last year, is equally fired up to mount a strong challenge in the USA. Before departing early Monday morning for America, Ken placed second behind Ramon at the 42nd International Motocross of Wuustwezel in Belgium. De Dycker is currently 14th in the MX1 World Championship while team mate Simpson is 16th.
Ken De Dycker:”Although I won the second moto in Wuustwezel I was not so happy with my riding. We found it hard to get the right set-up and my mind was more on the next two GPs than anything else. The last two weeks I have been riding really hard during training, I hope that work will pay off in the US and in Brazil. I always look forward to racing in America and I like the track in Glen Helen. In spite of a bad start and some mistakes I was fourth in the first moto last year, that gives me the confidence for a strong result this weekend.”
Shaun Simpson: “After coming away second from round one of the Red Bull Pro Nationals I was hoping to take the lead in Landrake but it wasn’t to be. However I was pleased with both my fitness and my speed, I just need a little bit of luck now. Glen Helen was a bit of a strange GP for me last year. I didn’t have the best feeling there although I enjoyed the track immensely. It’s also a long track with lap times of over 2 minutes 20 – it makes 35 minutes feel shorter! I think it’s going to be fun.”
