Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tanel Leok and Manuel Priem scrap it out at round three of the FIM MX1 World Championship at Agueda
Hot and sunny weather is warmly welcomed for round three of the FIM Motocross World Championship at Agueda in Portugal just one week after the mud and rain of the Spanish GP in Bellpuig. Although the conditions are much better than at round two, KRT riders Tanel Leok and Manuel Priem are still forced to battle hard for every point in two gruelling motos on the very technical Agueda circuit.
A mid-pack start for both riders in moto one means that both Tanel and Manuel have their work cut out. Tanel battles with Julien Bill and Clement Desalle on his way to eighth after seemingly taking some time to find his rhythm. “Today’s races were not so good,” said Tanel. “I was eighth place in the first race and I know I can do much better than that. I’m happy with my riding because I was able to push hard to the end and I was catching people up. With my injury I haven’t been riding a lot, I’m not able to practice so I’ve been going straight to the race and that’s tough you know. I’m fit but in the first few laps I don’t feel so comfortable.”
Priem’s on good form but after pulling through to 10th from a 20th place start he slips off and has it all to do again. “The first race I was running 10th until I made a small crash,” explained Manuel. “When I remounted I was in a group of around eight or nine people and I was ne of the fastest riders in this group but if I left the best line to try to pass someone I’d make a small mistake and end up being passed myself. I made a few mistakes and so this happened a few times and I finished 17th. My riding wasn’t so bad but I was maybe too aggressive for the track conditions – some places had good grip but others were slick and it was easy to spin out.”
Moto two was equally tough for Priem who crashed on lap two and was hit by local wildcard Paulo Goncalves. “In the second race I got a mid-pack start and on the second lap I crashed. I couldn’t start the bike for a while and was half a lap behind but my lap times were good and I battled to the finish to get one point. It was worth it because everyone in the team works very hard for me and so it’s my job to work very hard on the track also.
“I’m happy with my riding in the second race and I feel I rode much better, in the last 10 minutes they were showing me the blue flag because Pourcel was near but he never got any closer. I have mixed feelings about today, my results weren’t so good because I had some bad luck today but I think my riding was pretty good today.”
Although Leok’s result is much better than Priem’s he is much less happy with his riding. “The second race was really bad. I found it hard to pass and I tried hard but in the end I could only finish 10th. Hopefully I can practice more before Bulgaria and do better there.”
The results of today’s races mean that Leok improves his championship position at Priem’s expense as Tanel now sits one place higher in ninth while Manuel slips from eighth to 13th.
The next round of the FIM World Motocross Championship takes place at Sevlievo in Bulgaria on May 11th but before that the full KRT team will be in action on May 4 at Tongeren.
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