Jeremy Van Horebeek of the Kawasaki Racing Team raced to his best-ever moto finish since moving to the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship as he took a second place at Loket in the Czech Republic.
The Belgian took a third-placed start in the second moto and fought off the challenge from the defending champion to chase down the rider ahead of him for a superb second place, just eleven seconds down on the race-long leader at the chequered flag after recording the fastest lap of the race. Sadly he did not get his justified rewards in the overall GP ranking as a single slip whilst running in fourth place cost him dearly. The track had just been soaked by a shower and Jeremy fell down in a turn; normally the incident would have been of little consequence, but unfortunately the impact damaged the front brake mechanism and he was forced to withdraw from the race, though he was credited with nineteenth place as a result of the distance he had already completed. Jeremy now holds a secure seventh place in the championship series.
Tommy Searle of Team CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy Pro Circuit had mixed fortunes. After gating just inside the first ten, he unfortunately tangled with another rider on the opening lap of racing and had to recover from the rear of the field to finish eighth. In race two he escaped the chaotic scenes during the early laps to settle into a comfortable fifth place, advancing to fourth after 25 minutes before the rider chasing him unexpectedly dropped his lap times at the end to put in a tough but fair pass on the final lap. The Englishman has consolidated his sixth place in the world standings and, with three GPs remaining, has an outside chance of advancing to fourth place in his rookie season.
Gautier Paulin of the Kawasaki Racing Team decided not to compete as a precautiony move in the wake of the serious concussion he suffered one week ago in Germany.
Jeremy Van Horebeek: “I had a cool week before this GP, and I was confident as I really like racing on this technical track. Today I was fourth in the opening race when I crashed; I had some trouble with the front brake and couldn’t finish the race. The second heat was much better; I had a very good rhythm and was physically ready; with this second place I showed what I’m able to do on a 450. I’m happy with my riding, just frustrated to miss the podium but I am confident that I can get it in two weeks time at the Belgian GP.”
Tommy Searle: “I never had a good feeling with the track this weekend, and it was so slippery that I didn’t want to take too much risks. In the first race I collided with another rider soon after the start and had to come through the field to finish eighth. The second moto was better, and fortunately there was no shower this time to change the surface of the track; I was fifth for much of the race, but advanced to fourth before Strijbos passed me on the last lap.”