Birthday Bonanza for Leok

Celebrating his 23rd birthday in style the Estonian Express, Tanel Leok, posted his best results of the year so far at the sixth round of the FIM MX1 World Championship held at Mallory Park in Great Britain.

Getting much better starts than earlier in the season Tanel was able to translate a sixth place start in moto one to a sixth place finish after nursing his rock-damaged KX450F-SR home.

“The first race was going well – I was riding well and pushing hard,” explained Tanel. “Then a rock hit and damaged the exhaust pipe on my bike. My engine started to overheat a little and I lost a lot of power and it felt like it might cut out in the air, which was quite scary. Under the circumstances I was happy that I could finish sixth.”

Although Tanel’s second race start was not as good as his first he soon moved through the pack and became involved in a battle for third place with MX1 series leader David Philippaerts and Billy MacKenzie. Fighting right to the end Tanel was unlucky not to finish higher than fifth.

“The second race was much better, the track was good and I knew that my riding was good. I finished fifth but second place was right there. With three or four laps to go I made a little mistake but I was able to catch the pack of riders back up and I almost passed Billy MacKenzie on the last lap but the race was too short.

“I’m getting more healthy with the shoulder now and I’m able to ride the bike a lot more in between races and the more time I spend on the bike the more comfortable I feel and things are getting better and better now. From here I want to finish in the top five every week – to do that I need good starts, to push hard at the beginning of the race and to stay out of trouble.”

Staying out of trouble was something Tanel’s team-mate Manuel Priem was unable to do as he was hit hard in turn one of moto one and picked up a lower back injury that affected his performance throughout the day. 12th in moto one and 14th in moto two were not the results Manuel was looking for but they weren’t bad considering.

“In the first race I started in around 15th place but in the first turn somebody ran into my back with their handlebars and it just felt so sore,” said Manuel. “I tried to make the best of it and I finished 12th – my riding was not so good but a lot of other guys were making mistakes and I was able to catch and pass them.

“I took a painkiller before the second race and I was feeling a little bit strange – almost numb. I started sixth but was riding nowhere near as good as in the first race and I slipped back through the pack to 14th. Today wasn’t the best day for me and now I’ll concentrate on the next round of the series.”

The next round of the FIM World Motocross Championship – round seven – takes place on June 15 at Saint Jean D’Angely in France.

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Birthday Bonanza for Leok

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