Tanel Leok gained his second podium result of the season with third position for the ninth round of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship at a 28,900 spectator-lined Uddevalla and the Grand Prix of Sweden. Billy Mackenzie was sixth overall giving Kawasaki two riders and a double appearance for the KX450F-SR at the top of the leader-board.
Leok gated reasonably well and almost shook off the bad luck that has been following him for most of the season to score second and fifth places under bright skies and patchy cloud. Mackenzie was present in the mid top ten throughout the day and was content with seventh and fourth for his ranking of sixth.
Both riders qualified in the top seven through a damp Saturday (Leok fourth and Mackenzie seventh) which gave them decent picks on the line for the new 180 degree left hand first turn. The relocated start and pit-lane was one of several modifications to the impressive Uddevalla circuit that seeks to upgrade its facility each year.
The reversed layout remained in place for the second season in a row and the efforts made to soften the terrain meant that some small variations away from the dominant single racing line were possible. Overtaking was still a complicated process however and the technical nature of the track rewarded the brave as much as the inventive riders.
Leok at last mastered a decent start in Moto1 and was placed within the top five with Mackenzie not far behind. The Estonian pushed to third and then took a hefty section of the moto to pursue Kevin Strijbos. On lap ten Leok was up to second position and went on to equal his best moto result of the season (he was runner-up in the first moto at the Italian Grand Prix). Mackenzie was seventh after losing a fight with David Philippaerts but was able to hold off the attentions of Jonathan Barragan and Sebastien Pourcel for his classification.
The second race saw the pair slightly deeper in the pack and Leok’s flight was temporarily stunted by a rock wedging itself behind his gear lever. He dropped from fifth to seventh but made up ground near the end after the stone dislodged. Mackenzie was riled from the formative stages after being hit by Jonathan Barragan and being pushed over a berm.
The British Championship leader blazed his way back to fourth position and was crawling over the back of Philippaerts for third place but could not make a concrete overtaking move despite several bold attempts. The two Kawasaki riders finished less than a second apart at the line.
“The first moto felt great,” Leok commented. “I tried to catch Ken but he had made some fast laps at the start and it was very hard to close the gap. The rock in the gear lever cost me some positions in the second moto but somehow it fell out and I could catch up towards the end. I wanted to pass Billy for fourth but ran out of time. I have not been so lucky this season but this podium feels nice and there is still some time to get my first win.”
“I did not know what to expect coming to this track as I have never had good results here,” Mackenzie said. “I wanted to try my hardest in each race and keep on pushing all the way to the end no matter what the circumstances whether I hard arm-pump or was hurting. As it transpires I had some arm-pump because I did not have the bike set-up that well. We went a bit harder on the suspension for the second moto and it was better. I completely missed the second start but cut around the inside. Barragan clattered into me and that brought the red-mist down and I started charging.
I had a good pace going and rode through everyone but when I got behind Philippaerts I think I tired a little bit. I had a place on the track where I was going to pass him – through the whoops because I was doubling the middle two which not a lot of people were doing – but I could not get close enough. I am happy with the result though and the team seem to be as well. This is definitely not my kind of track so I am looking forward to the next few races and trying to get back on the podium.”
In the points table KRT are hovering around the lower half of the top ten. Leok is ninth and eighteen points from the top five while Mackenzie is tenth and thirty-one points from his team-mate.
The World Championship will now pause for a free weekend but KRT maintain their racing commitments. Leok will travel back to Estonia for a meeting while Mackenzie tackles the sixth round of eight in the British Championship. The following week sees the team head south to Italy once again for the Grand Prix Citta di Faenza and the tenth round of fifteen in the FIM competition.
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