For the fifth time this season Sébastien Pourcel stood on the MX1 podium, this time at the 12th round of the series in the Czech Republic.
Fifth and second in the races at Loket – home of the Czech round of the series for many years – Sébastien recovered well from a crash during the qualifying session while his teammate Kevin Strijbos made a safe comeback after four months out with his thumb injury.
Loket is not the favourite event of the year for many riders as the track is always fast, slippery and pretty dangerous. While the layout is not so technical it often offers nice racing and tough battles and the MX1 races were probably the most exciting ones of the season.
Third in the qualifying session despite a big crash, Sébastien Pourcel got a great start in the opening race and led all of his rivals in the first lap. He started to pull away from Barragan and MacKenzie but made a mistake in the seventh circulation and crashed. Losing the lead he moved to the fourth position and lost another place when he made a mistake in the last lap.
In this first heat Kevin Strijbos – who finished 17th in the qualifying session – had a pretty bad start and then crashed. After a pit stop he came back on the track, just to ride and find the GP rhythm again after such a long break.
Sébastien missed a good start in the second race but found his way in the traffic to sit fourth after the first lap. Barragan crashed and then Seb passed Desalle for second place and was just a few seconds behind race leader Philippaerts. He reduced the gap and posted the fastest lap time of the race but made another mistake in the last quarter of the race and lost his chance to challenge the Italian rider for the win.
Kevin got another bad start in this race and slowly recovered from 25th position to score some points with an 18th place.
Sébastien Pourcel: “I’m not happy with my races today. I was more satisfied last week in Lommel even though I got a podium here in Loket. The main problem is that I crashed too much and on this track it’s pretty dangerous. We have to work on the bike settings, on my concentration and on several small details.
“In the first race I was leading but I made a mistake, then I was nervous and got pumped up arms. I had a good jump of the gate in the second race but lost some positions in the first few corners. Then I made a strong come back in the first half of the race but when I was closing the gap with Philippaerts I crashed. I didn’t lose my second place but it was not possible anymore to put pressure on him, so I simply secured my position."
“Next week I will race the final round of the French Elite Championship and then we’ll prepare with the team and some Japanese engineers for the last few GPs.”
Kevin Strijbos:
“I’m not happy with my weekend. The free practice sessions were okay but not the qualifying session or the races. In the first moto I had a bad start, then crashed and stopped in the pit – as the handlebar was bent a little bit – before going back on the track.
"I had a better start in the second race, in around 10th position but I was too slow and I was passed on my right and my left side by other riders! I wanted to do better of course, but I didn’t have a good feeling with the track and I was tired at the end of the second heat. I missed so many races that I’m not so surprised, I just started training again three weeks ago and I need more competition to reach my best level. I will have two Belgian championships next weekend, then another race and for sure I will come stronger in Ireland.”
Roger Pourcel:
“It’s good to get another podium even if Seb is not so happy with his riding here. A podium is always good for the team and the manufacturer, unfortunately after his small crash in the first race he got arm pump and couldn’t battle anymore for the win. He recovered in the second race and proved what he can do as he collected his fifth podium of the season.
“Kevin made his comeback here, we talked together before the race and I told him to be careful as this track is pretty dangerous. He did his first GP heats for four months, he didn’t take any risks and scored some points in the second race and I’m sure he will be more competitive in the last three GPs.”
