Priem packs a punch in MX1 GP season opener

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Manuel Priem and Tanel Leok battle it out in very tough and testing conditions at round one of the MX1 World championship at Valkenswaard in Holland

Large amounts of rain and snow in the weeks leading up to the opening round of the FIM MX1 World motocross championship at Valkenswaard made the going deeper and more difficult than almost everybody anticipated.

Luckily come race day the sun broke through the clouds and a large crowd of 26,000 keen spectators crowded into the circuit to catch the opening race of this year’s 15 round series.

Hopes were high for the Kawasaki Racing Team at their home grand prix as Belgian rider Manuel Priem qualified sixth on his full factory KX450F-SR while Estonian star Tanel Leok - who’s still regaining strength and confidence after his pre-season shoulder injury - qualified in 18th suffering intense amounts of pain after riding without a pain killing injection.

Making sure to have an injection before Sunday’s race one an over excited Leok hit the start gate and had to battle through the pack for an 11th place finish. Meanwhile team-mate Priem was having a much better time of it.

“In the first race I started well but I was very nervous in the early laps and made too many mistakes and dropped from fourth to ninth,” claimed Manuel. “Then things just got better and better, some guys crashed and I passed a few riders including Strijbos and also Coppins on the last lap so that was a good race for me and I finished fifth.
“In the second race I made a mistake in the start and had to come through the pack to eighth. Although the result was okay I didn’t feel so good on the bike and couldn’t push as hard as I wanted too. Overall I was joint sixth with Coppins which is a good start to my season.”

Leok’s day ended early when he suffered engine gremlins in moto two and was forced to retire from the race before the finish meaning he had an early end to a painful weekend.

“The pain in my shoulder was so bad during the qualifying session that I couldn’t ride properly,” explained Tanel. “I decided that if I was going to race I would have to have a pain killing injection and also tape my shoulder up.

“In the first race I hit the gate at the start and came through the pack to 11th so I think that was good. I rode very well in the second half of the race, doing consistent lap times and not doing crazy things or crashing.

“In the second race I had some bike problems and my shoulder was so bad also. I need to see my doctor now and hopefully I can come back strong in Spain in two weeks.”

 

Tough start to GP season for Molson Kawasaki

In deep and difficult conditions Molson Kawasaki teamsters Stephen Sword, Gautier Paulin and Tom Church all score points at Valkenswaard GP season opener

The opening round of the MX1 and MX2 FIM World motocross championships was a real test of both man and machine as the Valkenswaard circuit was even deeper and trickier than normal due to the large amounts of rain and snow the Brabant region of the Netherlands has suffered in the last few weeks running up to the season opener.

The damp conditions didn’t stop a massive crowd of 26,000 race fans from venturing to the Valkenswaard circuit though on a surprisingly sunny but chilly Sunday afternoon.

With Gareth Swanepoel recovering from a recent wrist operation it’s up to his full factory team-mates Stephen Sword and Gautier Paulin to fly the team’s colours in the MX2 class on their KX250F-SRs while satellite rider Tom Church represented the Molson outfit in MX1 on his KX450F.

All three Molson team riders qualified for Sunday’s point’s paying races with Sword finishing ninth in his heat, Paulin 12th in his and Church 26th in the timed MX1 session.

Moto one saw both the Molson MX2 riders struggle as Sword and Paulin got gathered together in an opening lap pile up which also affected at least five other riders. Coming from the back is never easy at world championship level and with an abundance of roost and a severe lack of good lines available due to the very boggy conditions both Sword and Paulin had to work overtime to first catch and then work their way through the pack.

While Paulin hung tough for the entire duration – unfortunately missing out on scoring points by two places – Sword was forced to withdraw after a mid-race fall left the Scotsman feeling dizzy. Regrouping for moto two Sword started a superb sixth with Paulin 16th this time in much drier conditions which made for much more entertaining race action. Sword battled briefly with fellow Brit Tommy Searle on his way to a seventh place finish while Paulin hung in there for 15th.

“Track conditions were very difficult this weekend which meant you had to get everything just right if you weren’t going to make mistakes,” explained Sword. “In the first race I got a mid-pack start but got caught in a pile-up with Gautier Paulin and a couple of other riders just before the whoop section. I was coming through quite well and setting some good lap times, so I kept going but then had a big crash on one of the step-downs and banged my head pretty hard. I was feeling dizzy so I figured it was best to pull in.

“I had a reasonable start in the second race after choosing to start on the very right hand side of the start gate where the ground was quite a bit firmer. I came out of the corner in around sixth place and I just stayed consistent through the whole race because I knew I had to leave with some good points. I finished seventh in the end, which puts my championship total to 14 points.

“I’ve just got to work hard now and concentrate on next weekend’s British championship round and then the next GP in Spain.”

Paulin agreed with his team-mate about the tough track conditions. “Qualifying was difficult because the track was so one lined and I’m not so used to riding in these conditions,” said Gautier. “To finish 12th was okay but meant I didn’t have such a good pick for the start gate.

“On lap one of the first race I crashed with about five other guys including my team-mate Swordy and was a long way behind but I kept going for the whole race because I need the experience in these conditions. Moto two was a tough race for me too but I managed to keep pushing for a 15th place finish and to get some points for the championship.

“I’m really enjoying riding the Molson Kawasaki, it’s a very nice bike to ride and the set-up is good. I’m now looking forward to the next two GPs in Spain and Portugal because the tracks should suit me a little bit more than this one has.”

Mirroring his team-mates’ non-scoring performances in moto one, the Molson team’s MX1 pilot Tom Church realised that an improvement must be made before raceo two. After spending plenty of time scouting for lines between races Church put together what was probably his best ride of the season so far to finish 15th after chasing GPKR factory rider Kevin Strijbos across the line.

“I was nearly last out of the gate because I hit a soft spot but I managed to fight through to about 12th on the first lap which was a bit of a surprise because normally first lap charges are not my strong point,” said Tom. “I fought as hard as I could but a few of the sand specialists like Van Daele and then Verhoeven passed me but then he crashed and Leok pulled out and I could see Strijbos ahead. I was trying my hardest to catch him but I ran out of time. My goal before today was to put in a pair of top-15 finishes and I suppose one is better than none and it’s nice to come away with six points.”

GP season starts for Team GPKR in Holland

Tough and testing conditions test the Grand Prix Kawasaki Racing Team to the limit in Valkenswaard at round one of the FIM motocross World championship

The weather conditions affected the opening grand prix of the year and the sandy surface of the Valkenswaard circuit was wet and heavy due to the many rain showers that hit the area for the last two weeks. On Saturday afternoon another shower ruined one part of the track which looked like an enduro section!

None of the three GPKR riders were able to give their best with Kevin Strijbos and Sébastien Pourcel finishing 9th and 13th in the timed practice period while Alexandre Rouis failed to qualify.

One day later on a sunny day but with a still wet circuit the GP took place. Kevin started the opening race in the top 10 while Sébastien had to make a pit stop after one lap to repair a gear level damaged in a collision. Coming back on the track last and far behind everyone else he crashed twice during the 35-minute moto and finished 16th while Kevin took the seventh spot right behind Manuel Priem and Joshua Coppins.

The second start was not great for the GPKR riders either as Kevin was 16th after one lap and Sébastien last after a big crash in a fast section. Neither Kevin or Seb found a good rhythm in the second race and Seb retired before half distance after a pretty big crash while Kevin scored 14th position. For sure these results are not what the riders and the team were expecting and everyone will work harder to show much improvement before the Spanish GP in two weeks time.

Kevin Strijbos: “The conditions were very different to last weekend and on this wet sand I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. We worked on the suspension last week but my main problem here came from the engine. We are late in our testing program but we now have two weeks to prepare the following round of the championship.”

Sébastien Pourcel: “It’s a weekend that we must forget promptly and on Monday I will work harder to prepare for the other GPs. I practiced this winter on sandy tracks but I never found such wet sand as we had here in Valkenswaard. On Saturday I was unable to post a good time and in both races I crashed in the opening lap. I scored some points in the first race but that’s not enough and I retired in the following one after three crashes. I’m of course disappointed but I will never give up and I will work hard to be ready for revenge in Spain.”

Alexandre Rouis: “It was my first experience on a track like this one and it was really difficult for me. On this circuit you must open the throttle and not think too much but I was too stressed for my first attempt in a GP. It was a good experience and I will use it for Spain in two weeks.”

Patrick Geladé: “Unfortunately we did not do so well at this race. We have to work hard in the next two weeks, we know what we have to do and in Spain you will see another GPKR team on the track. As I already said we lost valuable testing time with Kevin’s shoulder injury as we postponed several testing sessions.

“Early in the season we fixed the settings of the engine that we use on hard tracks but we have some development to do for the sand. For example we have in the workshop two engines that Kevin has never tested and only he can do this as he doesn’t ask for the same characteristics as Sébastien.”

Roger Pourcel: “The weekend was difficult despite the fact that we worked more than in the past on sandy tracks to be ready. In the future Sébastien will have to compete more in Belgium and race on tracks like this one. I was expecting better results from Kevin even if I know that we have to work to adapt the bike to his riding style. The mechanics worked hard in the past few weeks and they will continue, we’ll be racing next weekend at the French MX3 GP in Castelnau de Lévis and that will be another testing session. Alex was way off qualifying here because he didn’t ride enough on sandy tracks yet but this qualifying experience will help him for the future.”

By: Kawasaki PR