The FIM Motocross World Championship arrives at the stony hard-pack and compact circuit of Pietramurata, Arco di Trento this weekend for the fourth round of the 2015 MXGP series and Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP's Clement Desalle has the chance to take his second win in a row at the Italian venue.
Desalle, 25 years old, is the current leader of the MXGP standings on his factory RM-Z450 by 10 points having scored podium finishes in the three races of the season so far and by earning the chequered flag in the first moto of the previous Grand Prix in Argentina.
The opening European event on the MXGP trail sees the paddock forming up properly for the first time in 2015 after flyaway fixtures in Qatar, Thailand and South America. Nearly three weeks have passed since the teams made the long trip back from Neuquen and Desalle and the Belgian crew have regrouped and done some more work to help retain their competitive edge.
"I had an easy week to get over the long journey back from Argentina and then had some really good days following my normal training programme," Desalle explained. "We also did some testing. The bike has been really good since the start of the season and I'm very happy with my starts but we wanted to keep working. Some of those tight corners in Thailand were a bit tricky so we had a look at the engine and made some good adjustments."
Twelve months ago Desalle scored second and first positions in the motos at Arco di Trento for his initial victory of the 2014 campaign and will be eying the possibility of repeating the success and at least maintaining his 100% podium record this term, which has helped the Belgian to two red plates as MXGP series leader. "The track is one of those where you have to find that best point for traction and grip and I enjoy that," he said. "We are still leading the championship but I avoid adding pressure to the situation by keeping my focus and that is to do the best that I can at every round.
"Having said that...I do like the design of the bike with the red around the numbers!" he joked.
Arco di Trento first popped-up as a Grand Prix venue two years ago. The facility itself is set in the shadow of the immense dolomite mountain range close to Lake Garda. Twisty and condensed, the layout is also narrow and pushes an intense focus on the slightly uphill left hand first turn. The crowd funnel into the tight spectator zones and give the circuit a busy and vibrant aspect. The weekend looks as though it will start damp with rain forecast for Saturday's practice and qualification sessions but Sunday should be dry and sunny.
Missing the Grand Prix and unable to try and replicate the scorecard that took him to third position overall last year at Trentino will be Kevin Strijbos. The 28 year old has still not started riding his RM-Z450 after further surgery on his right wrist. Strijbos will assess his recovery towards the end of the week but it looks unlikely he will make it back to GP action for round five in Holland on April 25-26th and hot on the heels of the Italian race. "It has come too soon for me. I'm not ready at the moment and I want to race again when I will be in a position to go for good results and not just ride around for 10-15th place," he said.
So Desalle will fly the Rockstar Suzuki colours alone for the second GP in succession but, of course, will not be the only RM-Z runner in the mix. Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe will count on Glenn Coldenhoff in MXGP and Jeremy Seewer in MX2 with both riders fresh from a decent showing at Drehna last weekend for the inaugural meeting of the '15 ADAC MX Masters German Championship.
Coldenhoff won the first moto and finished as runner-up in the second to capture the second step of the overall podium across the shallow sand. "I holeshotted the first race and had Max Nagl behind me from the second lap," he recounts. "I had a lot of pressure but was happy to keep him behind and take the win. In the next race Nagl had the holeshot and it is so difficult to catch him when he does that, so I rode my own race and minimised any risks; it was a good weekend."
The Dutchman faces just his fourth Grand Prix on the RM-Z450 and first using the extra power around the Arco di Trento curves. The 24 year old has good previous form in Italy having taken the RM-Z250 to a moto win last year and an overall podium finish. "I have good memories of Arco for sure and I also remember that a good start is so important there. I'm feeling better and better on the 450 so I'm hopeful for the weekend."
Jeremy Seewer also shone at Arco in 2014 and his first Grand Prix around the Italian dips. The Swiss youngster fronted the MX2 pack for the first time in his career and recorded a top-five finish in the opening moto. Seewer comes back to the Trentino 'meet' with a fresh buzz of his maiden Grand Prix podium finish in Argentina three weeks ago. The # '91' was also quick at Drehna and grabbed a third position behind Coldenhoff and Nagl in the first race before some very rare mechanical problems forced him out of the second affair.
"For sure getting on the GP podium gives you some confidence," he says. "Once you have seen that you can do it then you just want more...but it also brings a bit of pressure. People look at you expecting you to be there all the time. I knew if I achieved my goal of always aiming for the top five in every moto that a podium chance would soon come around and I'm not going to change that approach."
Bearing in mind his performance at Arco last year and his affinity with the deceptively difficult soil at the track, Seewer could be a decent bet to go two-in-a-row for MX2 trophies this weekend. "I grew up riding on that type of stony and slick ground so it feels very natural for me," he admits. "Having said that Arco is tricky and hard to get a feeling for; I wouldn't say it is one of my favourite circuits."
The Grand Prix of Trentino marks the launch of the 2015 European EMX Championships with 250 and 125/300 (two-stroke) classes. World Champion Brian Hsu will debut with the RM-Z250 in EMX250 while Bas Vaessen will also make his debut with the squad.
MXGP World Championship standings (after 3 of 18 rounds): 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 133 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 123 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 123 p.; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 106 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 96 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 95 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 72 p.; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 62 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 60 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 55 p.; 11. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 48 p.; 12. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 47 p.; 13. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 47 p.
MX2 World Championship standings (after 3 of 18 rounds): 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 125 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 125 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 112 p.; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 82 p.; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 81 p.; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 80 p.; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 79 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 73 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 70 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 57 p.
Desalle, 25 years old, is the current leader of the MXGP standings on his factory RM-Z450 by 10 points having scored podium finishes in the three races of the season so far and by earning the chequered flag in the first moto of the previous Grand Prix in Argentina.
The opening European event on the MXGP trail sees the paddock forming up properly for the first time in 2015 after flyaway fixtures in Qatar, Thailand and South America. Nearly three weeks have passed since the teams made the long trip back from Neuquen and Desalle and the Belgian crew have regrouped and done some more work to help retain their competitive edge.
"I had an easy week to get over the long journey back from Argentina and then had some really good days following my normal training programme," Desalle explained. "We also did some testing. The bike has been really good since the start of the season and I'm very happy with my starts but we wanted to keep working. Some of those tight corners in Thailand were a bit tricky so we had a look at the engine and made some good adjustments."
Twelve months ago Desalle scored second and first positions in the motos at Arco di Trento for his initial victory of the 2014 campaign and will be eying the possibility of repeating the success and at least maintaining his 100% podium record this term, which has helped the Belgian to two red plates as MXGP series leader. "The track is one of those where you have to find that best point for traction and grip and I enjoy that," he said. "We are still leading the championship but I avoid adding pressure to the situation by keeping my focus and that is to do the best that I can at every round.
"Having said that...I do like the design of the bike with the red around the numbers!" he joked.
Arco di Trento first popped-up as a Grand Prix venue two years ago. The facility itself is set in the shadow of the immense dolomite mountain range close to Lake Garda. Twisty and condensed, the layout is also narrow and pushes an intense focus on the slightly uphill left hand first turn. The crowd funnel into the tight spectator zones and give the circuit a busy and vibrant aspect. The weekend looks as though it will start damp with rain forecast for Saturday's practice and qualification sessions but Sunday should be dry and sunny.
Missing the Grand Prix and unable to try and replicate the scorecard that took him to third position overall last year at Trentino will be Kevin Strijbos. The 28 year old has still not started riding his RM-Z450 after further surgery on his right wrist. Strijbos will assess his recovery towards the end of the week but it looks unlikely he will make it back to GP action for round five in Holland on April 25-26th and hot on the heels of the Italian race. "It has come too soon for me. I'm not ready at the moment and I want to race again when I will be in a position to go for good results and not just ride around for 10-15th place," he said.
So Desalle will fly the Rockstar Suzuki colours alone for the second GP in succession but, of course, will not be the only RM-Z runner in the mix. Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe will count on Glenn Coldenhoff in MXGP and Jeremy Seewer in MX2 with both riders fresh from a decent showing at Drehna last weekend for the inaugural meeting of the '15 ADAC MX Masters German Championship.
Coldenhoff won the first moto and finished as runner-up in the second to capture the second step of the overall podium across the shallow sand. "I holeshotted the first race and had Max Nagl behind me from the second lap," he recounts. "I had a lot of pressure but was happy to keep him behind and take the win. In the next race Nagl had the holeshot and it is so difficult to catch him when he does that, so I rode my own race and minimised any risks; it was a good weekend."
The Dutchman faces just his fourth Grand Prix on the RM-Z450 and first using the extra power around the Arco di Trento curves. The 24 year old has good previous form in Italy having taken the RM-Z250 to a moto win last year and an overall podium finish. "I have good memories of Arco for sure and I also remember that a good start is so important there. I'm feeling better and better on the 450 so I'm hopeful for the weekend."
Jeremy Seewer also shone at Arco in 2014 and his first Grand Prix around the Italian dips. The Swiss youngster fronted the MX2 pack for the first time in his career and recorded a top-five finish in the opening moto. Seewer comes back to the Trentino 'meet' with a fresh buzz of his maiden Grand Prix podium finish in Argentina three weeks ago. The # '91' was also quick at Drehna and grabbed a third position behind Coldenhoff and Nagl in the first race before some very rare mechanical problems forced him out of the second affair.
"For sure getting on the GP podium gives you some confidence," he says. "Once you have seen that you can do it then you just want more...but it also brings a bit of pressure. People look at you expecting you to be there all the time. I knew if I achieved my goal of always aiming for the top five in every moto that a podium chance would soon come around and I'm not going to change that approach."
Bearing in mind his performance at Arco last year and his affinity with the deceptively difficult soil at the track, Seewer could be a decent bet to go two-in-a-row for MX2 trophies this weekend. "I grew up riding on that type of stony and slick ground so it feels very natural for me," he admits. "Having said that Arco is tricky and hard to get a feeling for; I wouldn't say it is one of my favourite circuits."
The Grand Prix of Trentino marks the launch of the 2015 European EMX Championships with 250 and 125/300 (two-stroke) classes. World Champion Brian Hsu will debut with the RM-Z250 in EMX250 while Bas Vaessen will also make his debut with the squad.
MXGP World Championship standings (after 3 of 18 rounds): 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 133 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 123 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 123 p.; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 106 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 96 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 95 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 72 p.; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 62 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 60 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 55 p.; 11. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 48 p.; 12. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 47 p.; 13. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 47 p.
MX2 World Championship standings (after 3 of 18 rounds): 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 125 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 125 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 112 p.; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 82 p.; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 81 p.; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 80 p.; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 79 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 73 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 70 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 57 p.
