Photo: CDS
The FIM World Championship travels to Great-Britain this weekend for the seventh round of the series. After switching venues for many years the world’s MX stars will be racing in the familiar surroundings of the Mallory Park race track, located in the East Midlands region, where last year’s British GP was held. However Mallory Park will have a different layout compared to last year, but again the track seems challenging, technical and filled with jumps. So far the freshly-built circuit has received positive feedback from Brits who sampled the track in the buildup to the GP.
MX1 sensation Clément Desalle enters Mallory holding sixth place -shared with Tanel Leok- in provisional standings. Clément enjoyed a strong result last season in the UK when he was seventh in the first race, crashed early on in the second heat but still managed seventh overall (equal in points with Sebastien Pourcel and Marc De Reuver). The young Belgian has going from strength to strength lately so it’s going to be interesting to see how he goes in the second half of the seaon.
The halfway point GP also marks the third race of the FIM veteran’s World Cup, where reigning world Champion Peter Iven will defend his leadership. The LS Motors-Honda mounted rider is more than keen to repeat last year’s Mallory Park victory. The likeable Dennis Verbruggen (MX2) raised more than a few eyebrows with his excellent qualifying speed in Bellpuig and hopes to translate his refound pace in a healthy points score. Verbruggen is excited about racing in front of the English fans as well: “The GP in the UK is always fun because of the atmosphere, normally it’s always packed and the crowd is awesome.”
LS Motors-Honda team manager Steven Lettani says: “We are confident that Desalle will be up there again, especially knowing he did well in Mallory last year. It’s a type of layout that suits him, although the soil can be quite treacherous even more so as it becomes rutted up and bumpy. Getting a good rhythm throughout the weekend and capitalizing on Sunday will be the key for both riders. It’s just that we have to keep on eye on how Clément handles the after effects of the dental surgery he had last week. A nerve in one of his teeth was causing discomfort while racing, particularly last season in the Belgian GP, but he had that fixed now. The only thing is, that he had to stay of the bike for a while and he was just getting some mileage yesterday (Tuesday). As far as Dennis is concerned the ability and the ingredients are there. He needs to hang in there week after week and I’m sure persistence will pay its dividends!
