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.

Armed with their factory-backed RM-Z250s Petar Petrov walked away from the ninth round of 16 in the series with 16th place overall.

An audience of 22,000 braved the rolling clouds and showers and scaled the slippery rocky hill next to the relentless layout north of Gothenburg to check out the best the MX1 and MX2 classes had to offer. The track held up reasonably well through the heavy rain of the weekend but the soft and shallow dirt tended to form a single dry line that made overtaking a risky task. The ground ranged from rough and bumpy to greasy and deceptive in the various looping sections of the course.

Petrov showed good speed during Saturday and real promise to trouble the upper echelons of the MX2 leaderboard. The Bulgarian battled through the watery mud to secure 11th place in spite of a crash that saw him slither back into the reaches of the top 20. The youngster could not do any better in the second race after a fall with other riders at the start and then a frustrating collision with a backmarker in the wake of working his way to 15th. He passed the flag with 18th spot.

Harri Kullas suffered some bad luck on Saturday after catching green fencing in his rear wheel during the qualification heat that caused him to retire and contemplate a lowly gate position for Sunday. The Fin’s fortunes did not improve during the first moto where he caught and twisted his left knee. He painfully retired and will now undergo a scan at the Ortema medical facility tomorrow to determine the extent of the damage and the required course of action.

With half of the calendar now consigned to the statistics sheet both Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe riders are staring at 11th (Kullas) and 12th (Petrov) positions in the MX2 standings. Kullas is 31 points from moving up to 10th (25 count for a moto victory) and Petrov needs one point to rise above his team-mate.

Trips to Kegums (Latvia) and Semigorje (Russia) constitute the team’s Grand Prix commitments for July with the back-to-back events kicking off on July 15th.

Petar Petrov:

“I feel horrible about today. The weekend was going so well until the races! In the first moto I got a bad start and then I came up to 10th or 11th and tried to pass Tixier but then I crashed. I came back from 18th to 11th and my riding was good. I went down at the start of the second moto but came back strongly until I ran into a lapper. It seems I am missing good luck these days and I am ‘down’ right now. Today could easily have been two top-10 results because I had the speed to do it. A shame.”

Harri Kullas:

“I just twisted my knee in that first moto because the track was slippy and it was difficult to see. I had a lot of pain right away and I really don’t know what I have done. We will have more information tomorrow.”

MX2 Moto1: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:51.669; 2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:03.017; 3. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:53.378; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:05.289; 5. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:17.557; 6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:22.205; 7. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +1:40.416; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:41.138; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), -1 lap(s); 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 11. Petar Petrov (BUL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), -1 lap(s).

MX2 Moto2: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 40:12.526; 2. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:18.574; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:27.266; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:29.925; 5. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:51.319; 6. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:05.434; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:19.931; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:23.237; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:24.264; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:34.735; 18. Petar Petrov (BUL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), -1 lap(s).

MX2 Overall result: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39 p.; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 38 p.; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 32 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 26 p.; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 25 p.; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 18 p.; 16. Petar Petrov (BUL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 13 p.

MX2 World Championship Standings (after 9 of 16 rounds): 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 403 points; 2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 387 p.; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 330 p.; 4. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 263 p.; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 243 p.; 6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 237 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 199 p.; 8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 177 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 168 p.; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), 163 p.; 11. Harri Kullas (FIN, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 132 p. 12. Petar Petrov (BUL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 131 p.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 saw both of their riders finish in the top seven of the Grand Prix of Sweden at a busy and warm Uddevalla circuit for the eighth round of 15 in the FIM Motocross World Championship today.

Steve Ramon collected fifth overall while Clement Desalle defied discomfort from both shoulders, his knee; and a cut on his left hand to claim a heroic seventh in the final classification.

Some 24,000 spectators came to the venue and scampered up to find a lofty vantage point on the vast rocky hillside that overlooks the circuit. The fans would have had a bird’s-eye view of a twisty and greasy layout: The fine dirt barely hiding a hard ground underneath that demanded the most from the tyres and set-up.

Ramon, who was chasing his fifth podium in six appearances at Uddevalla, was ultimately denied another Swedish trophy. The Belgian was held-up by Antonio Cairoli’s crash on the second corner of the first race and wasn’t able to break away with the leaders at the beginning of the second. The former World Champion was part of an entertaining six-rider tussle for third spot in Moto1 and finally passed the chequered flag in sixth. He was fifth later in the afternoon.

Clement Desalle did not have any easy weekend seven days after dislocating his right shoulder: A first corner crash in the qualification heat and then another incident that jarred his left shoulder while making positions meant a conservative effort to 19th in the gate. Another slip in warm-up twinged his right knee. Despite the adversity, the 23 year old was a fixture among the top 10 and even took part in the same battle as Ramon in the first race as he finished eighth. His smooth style and speed brought him up to seventh in the second moto.

After leading the FIM MX1 World Championship since round three, Desalle was finally forced to relinquish the red plate and now holds second position, 10 points from his former slot. Ramon is ninth and 11 points from further promotion.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 now has Grands Prix in Germany and Latvia in the next two weeks.

Steve Ramon:

“I feel quite good about today. It could have been a bit better but I am satisfied. I needed a bit more from my starts and the crash on the second corner of the first moto really pushed me outside and I lost some places. It was difficult from that point. At the front they go fast. I had a good rhythm and went deep in that race to come back as strongly as I could. In the second moto I felt good straight away on the bike and had a fight with a few guys. I was a bit tired towards the end but the speed was good. I think I am just missing that little bit to be closer to the podium but anyway I can take confidence from here for the next two GPs.”

Clement Desalle:

“I was not sure if I could ride on Friday and the only plan was to see how it would go on Saturday. It felt strange in the first session but the next time I got on the bike I felt better. In the qualification I crashed on the same right shoulder and afterwards must have been riding a bit tense, trying to protect it, because I hit a big braking bump and hurt the other shoulder. I had more pain in the left than the right! I had another crash in the warm-up on Sunday and did something to my knee. After warm-up I couldn’t understand what was happening to me; I think when things go wrong then they keep going wrong! I just went out to try my best in the motos and came away with eighth and seventh. I took some points but I’m really not happy because this is not where I should be. I had a bad time last week because I have difficulty accepting things like this and now before Germany I want to switch off a little bit and try to find a good approach.”

MX1 Moto1: 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 40:31.725; 2. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:03.878; 3. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:19.528; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:22.934; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:26.510; 6. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:28.680; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:31.095; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:44.450; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:46.533; 10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:52.804.

MX1 Moto2: 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 38:56.345; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.943; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:15.445; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:21.117; 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:23.148; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:25.636; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:27.171; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:30.203; 9. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:32.776; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:33.844′

MX1 Overall result: 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 50 points; 2. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 40 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 33 p.; 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 31 p.; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 30 p.; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 27 p.; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 26 p.; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 25 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 25 p.

MX1 World Championship standings (after 8 of 15 rounds): 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 322 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 312 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 300 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 250 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 244 p.; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 225 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 217 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 191 p.; 9. Steve Ramon (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 180 p.; 10. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 176 p.