Clement Desalle of the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team strengthened his grip on third in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship with a podium finish in the Asian GP at Semarang in Indonesia.
The Belgian, who has so narrowly missed the podium each week since his victory in Russia in May, shot out of the gate in the opening moto to hold third place on the exit from turn one but surrendered three places on the hectic opening lap when he went wide at turn three. After regrouping, Desalle had advanced back to fourth place at the finish, close behind third.
His second start was even better and the momentum he carried out of the sweeping first turn saw the Kawasaki hit the front at turn two. Desalle was pushed back to second place further round the opening lap but maintained a solid challenge for victory to the chequered flag to finish second in the moto and third on the day.
The scoreline has further strengthened his grip on third in the series standings as he more than doubled his advantage over fourth to thirty-seven points.
“It feels so good to be back on the podium after being so many times fourth or fifth in recent GPs, particularly as sometimes I had scored the same points as the third place on the podium,” said Desalle. “I had two consistent motos today after two good starts. In the first race I lost several positions when I went wide at the third corner, but I could recover to fourth at the finish ā then I took the lead before the second corner in the second moto to finish second after a strong ride.
“My speed was much better than yesterday ā we worked on some points last night and Iām happy with my work especially in the second moto. Now the goal is to score more podiums in the coming weeks. But first I will be so happy to see my family again after nearly two weeks away.”
