2011-06-16 08:54
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 is currently pulling up at the freshly reformed La Ba�eza circuit for the Grand Prix of Spain and the seventh round of 15 in the 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship.
The small town south of Leon will host a GP for the first time after filling part of the MX3 schedule in 2010. Not much is known about the track meaning a fresh test for MX1 standings leader Clement Desalle and former World Champion Steve Ramon on their works RM-Z450 machines.
“It is cool to find a new place and have to work out the lines and learn how the dirt is,” commented Grand Prix of Portugal winner last week Desalle from his motorhome this morning in Spain. “Hopefully we will find the right speed straight away.”
The GP series has moved from eastern to northern Europe, to the USA then Brazil and is now on the third of three back-to-back events that started in France and in the Iberian Peninsula. In this period Desalle has only missed the podium once and has picked up three wins from six meetings, carrying the red plate as championship leader for all but one. ‘My bike has been really good this year. We haven’t had to change much from the testing we did pre-season and I have a great feeling with it.”
“The win last week in Portugal was really good because the track was so difficult. I won but I could have also crashed and even hurt myself. You saw a lot of other good riders hit the ground. The red plate on the bike means that we are doing well but I really don’t want to talk about the title yet because I don’t want to put that pressure on myself. I just want to try and do my best each week and let the races count down.”
Perched on a plateau with some scenic views of the surrounding countryside La Ba�eza, or the Circuito de la Salgada, is a national championship venue and has two distinct halves; one very fast with a long straight and the other tight and twisty with several switchback corners. The soil is quite loose and shallow – meaning hard-pack – and the layout is quite flat in terms of its undulation. The riders will be happy to find some jumps that really let them play and show-off with the motorcycle. After becoming a mainstay of the calendar at the circuit of Bellpuig, the Spanish round transfers from the east cost and Catalunya to the north western region of Castilla and Leon.
“This is a totally new place for me so that is different and something to look forward to,” said Steve Ramon who has been nursing a tight right groin this week after his fall in the first moto at Agueda last weekend. “I actually haven’t seen any pictures or videos and I hear it has been changed quite a lot for the GP layout. It will be interesting.”
The weather forecast for the weekend is good and predicts sunshine and temperatures in the mid-20s.
MX1 World Championship standings: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 249 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 237 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 213 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 192 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 177 p.; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 167 p.; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 161 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 137 p.; 9. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 136 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 134 p.; 11. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1) 125 p
Source: Team Suzuki Press Office
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