Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 sweated through another round of the FIM Motocross World Championship at Loket today but the 14th fixture of 17 on the 2013 schedule saw a memorable set of performances and results by both Clement Desalle and Kevin Strijbos with victory and second position respectively ensuring a dominant 1-2 finish overall.
Desalle also further consolidated second place in the series standings with a 39 point gap over Ken De Dycker and 90 behind Antonio Cairoli, while Strijbos is fifth and just 28 points from fourth spot.
High temperatures and traditional summer weather – apart from a freak heavy storm – greeted the Grand Prix of Czech Republic as the renovated circuit near the German border welcomed 22,000 spectators (weekend figure). The Belgian duo tackled a hilly and narrow layout with rippling bumps and a predominant racing line that made overtaking difficult to judge and force.
Starting from second and fourth positions in the gate for the new downhill start-straight and first turn, Desalle and Strijbos were both extremely strong out of the gate. Strijbos grabbed the holeshot in the first moto but it was Desalle who took control of proceedings and established a comfortable gap over his team-mate to win by almost 20 seconds. The factory RM-Z450s were again a force away from the start line in the second moto and once more Desalle was irrepressible. Smooth, faultless and in tune with the track ‘#25’ was a runaway and maintained his pattern of victory every two years at Loket dating back to 2009 (and always finishing on the podium in his five appearances since then). He delivered the team’s second triumph of 2013 after his success at Qatar and his 11th spray of champagne this season.
Strijbos had a slightly harder job in Moto2 and caught and passed both Ken De Dycker and Tommy Searle (impressively on the last lap) to enforce his runner-up ranking with fourth place. Strijbos ‘walked the box’ for the third time this year.
After two Grands Prix back-to-back and five in a six week period, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 can now recollect back at its workshop in Lommel, Belgium. The team’s home Grand Prix – at Bastogne for the second year in succession – will take place on August 18th with trips to the UK and Holland then left on the 2013 calendar.
Clement Desalle:
“I’m really happy about my riding today. I could make some cool lines and fast lap-times that allowed me to make a gap in both motos. The gap allowed me to relax and I could control it until the end. It was a really strong day for me. I didn’t have too much pressure because I go to the start line to do the best I can, like at every GP, with many second and third positions I am happy to finally win and with both motos is really good.”
Kevin Strijbos:
“It’s been a good weekend. I had a great start, went from second to third, but was able to follow Ken and pass him back. I was happy with that. I felt good for the second moto. I hesitated a bit at the start and misjudged the gate drop. I rolled a little bit and had to break and then finally went for it, so I lost some momentum. It was difficult in the beginning and I couldn’t run my lines and couldn’t go like I wanted to. I tried to take it easy and then started pushing hard so I was able to get Ken again and then Tommy on the last lap. First and second for the team is great and I want to thank them all for what they do.”
