Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1′s Clement Desalle raced to his first double moto victory and his second triumph of the season at the Grand Prix of Sweden today. The factory RM-Z450 rider was also able to walkaway after a dominant display across the wet, loose and muddy terrain of Uddevalla with the red plate as the new leader of the MX1 FIM Motocross World Championship.

More than 22,000 spectators attended the ninth round of 16 in the series and were able to scale the rocks situated next to and above the curling racetrack despite yet more rainfall and changeable conditions. The Swedish soil was slimy and slippery for the opening motos and away from a single racing line the ground was not easy to judge or tackle. Sunshine arrived later in the afternoon but the terrain still forced a cautious approach.

Desalle made a few mistakes in an action-packed sprint to third position in Saturday’s qualification heat. The Belgian banged his right knee in the proceedings but the incident had no lasting effect for the two 35 minute and two-lap motos on Sunday. After dealing with the good starts and threat from Christophe Pourcel in both races, Desalle set his own rhythm for a first ‘perfect’ 50 points since the 2011 Grand Prix of Portugal. The haul and race incidents for Antonio Cairoli gave the team the added bonus of being able to seize control of the MX1 championship by three points.

Tanel Leok finished the day with sixth position overall. Although the Estonian was not too happy with his riding to sixth and fourth positions, the second moto result represented his best of the season so far and showed how the former GP winner can set a decent pace if he enjoys a positive launch from the gate.

Both RM-Z450 racers hold slots in the top nine of the MX1 FIM World Championship standings. Desalle is now just ahead of Cairoli and 12 points in front of Pourcel while Leok is currently ninth and 11 away from further promotion.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 will now have a week to prepare for an intense trip to the east with Grands Prix in Latvia and Russia set to occur on July 15th and 22nd.

Clement Desalle:

“It’s a good result today and also a good situation with the Championship. I am happy with my riding. I feel confident and could do what I wanted on the bike and this was just as important to me. It was a bad day for Tony Cairoli and a good one for me, and it was a bit strange to get the red plate like that but these things can happen in a mechanical sport and I have also had some bad luck this season. We are doing the best that we can and I don’t want to speak about the Championship too early. I just go as fast as I can and in the best shape possible. Every small detail that helps you feel better on the bike or can win you time is really good and my team is so professional when it comes to this and they have so much experience so I have to say thanks to them. We have done some testing and we are trying to improve further and I think some of the work we did last week helped me today.”

Tanel Leok:

“It was OK today. Sixth and fourth is not so bad and I’m quite happy with the result overall but my riding wasn’t too good in the second race. I could still make fourth place but I was struggling and making mistakes. I was too tight and doing stupid things. I felt like I could do much better and could have been closer to the leaders. I had an OK start in the first moto but it was very tough to make passes on the track when it was that wet.”

MX1 Moto1: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 40:52.302; 2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.870; 3. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:28.388; 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.762; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:38.980; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +1:13.721; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:17.195; 8. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, Honda), +1:22.736; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:24.085; 10. Mark de Reuver (NED, Kawasaki), +1:35.661.

MX1 Moto2: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 39:05.450; 2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.445; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:07.064; 4. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:23.936; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:37.011; 6. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:40.893; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:52.511; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:53.034; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:16.098; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +1:21.824.

MX1 Overall result: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 50 points; 2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 44 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 35 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), 34 p.; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 33 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 26 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 25 p.; 9. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 20 p.; 10. Mark de Reuver (NED, Kawasaki), 20 p.

MX1 World Championship Standings (after 9 of 16 rounds): 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 348 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 345 p.; 3. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 336 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 315 p.; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 257 p.; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 243 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 236 p.; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 212 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 201 p.; 10. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 183 p.

Tommy Searle raced to his third GP win of the season in the eighth round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Bastogne in Belgium to confirm his ambitions of winning this year’s world title.

Just four days after his 23rd birthday the Englishman and his Kawasaki KX250F were in scintillating form as he holeshot both motos and swept to the overall GP victory. The track was treacherous in the first moto as spinning wheels quickly cut through the mud left by the heavy rain the previous day to reveal slippery rocks. Adopting a cautious approach on the opening lap Searle gave up the lead to title rival Herlings but was quickly back on his rival’s rear wheel before nearly crashing as he sought alternative lines. He wisely settled for second place, secure in the knowledge that victory in the second moto would secure the overall GP victory. Once again hitting the front from the first turn Searle ensured that he never gave his rival the chance to attack and finished an overwhelming winner of both moto and GP. The pace which the two leaders had set was so fast that Searle won the second race nearly a minute faster than the winner of the MX1 race on the more powerful 450cc machines. The victory has consolidated his second place in the world championship at the halfway stage of the series.

Tommy Searle: “My Kawasaki got me out of the gate first in both motos and that is really important in my battles with Herlings. I was a little too cautious on the first lap of the first race but the track was really tricky and I didn’t want to take any risks. I knew I was the fastest and I soon caught him up again, but we were both using the same lines so I had to search for new ones but they were not so good; I nearly crashed and lost a lot of time, but I knew I could still win the GP on the second moto. The track was better in the second race and I just concentrated on keeping him off my rear wheel. The points gap is still 24 points, but we are only halfway through the series and I have again proved that I am the fastest.

MX2
Overall
1 Tommy Searle Kawasaki 47
2 Jeffrey Herlings KTM 47
3 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM 40
4 Joel Roelants Kawasaki 34
5 Arnaud Tonus Yamaha 32
6 Jordi Tixier KTM 30
7 Jake Nicholls KTM 29
8 Jose Butron KTM 24
9 Alessandro Lupino Husqvarna 23
10 Mel Pocock Yamaha 21
14 Dylan Ferrandis Kawasaki 14

Race 1
1 Jeffrey Herlings KTM
2 Tommy Searle Kawasaki
3 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM
4 Joel Roelants Kawasaki
5 Jake Nicholls KTM
6 Jordi Tixier KTM
7 Arnaud Tonus Yamaha
8 Jose Butron KTM
9 Mel Pocock Yamaha
10 Alessandro Lupino Husqvarna
DNS Valentin Teillet Kawasaki
DNF Dylan Ferrandis Kawasaki

Race 2
1 Tommy Searle Kawasaki
2 Jeffrey Herlings KTM
3 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM
4 Arnaud Tonus Yamaha
5 Joel Roelants Kawasaki
6 Jordi Tixier KTM
7 Dylan Ferrandis Kawasaki
8 Jake Nicholls KTM
9 Alessandro Lupino Husqvarna
10 Jose Butron KTM
DNS Valentin Teillet Kawasaki

Standings
1 Jeffrey Herlings KTM 364
2 Tommy Searle Kawasaki 340
3 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM 308
4 Joel Roelants Kawasaki 238
5 Jordi Tixier KTM 217
6 Jake Nicholls KTM 204
7 Max Anstie Honda 191
8 Alessandro Lupino Husqvarna 152
9 Jose Butron KTM 150
10 Dylan Ferrandis Kawasaki 139
19 Valentin Teillet Kawasaki 67