MX1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli is coming to Loket after having won four Grand Prix in a row and being the MX1 leader with 108 points difference with second classified Clement 
Desalle. The Italian has admitted several times that Loket is not one of his favourite tracks, but it was on the Czech track that he obtained his 50th overall victory last year and it is where he wants to consolidate his leadership this weekend.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle missed the overall victory last weekend being tight in points with Cairoli, so this weekend he will give his best to beat the Italian and claim what it would be his second overall victory of the season. The Belgian rider moved up one position in the point standings after the German Grand Prix last weekend but he knows that it will be very difficult to catch Cairoli for the chase of the Title as there are only four Grand Prix to go.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker also moved up one position in the point standings and he is currently third, twenty-four points behind his compatriot Desalle. De Dycker is doing a really strong second half of the season and he hopes to maintain the third place in the championship until the end of the season.
Kawasaki Racing Team has just made official that Gautier Paulin, who is now fourth in the MX1 point standings, will not take part in the Czech Grand Prix. The French rider suffered a big concussion in the first race of the German Grand Prix and even if he only has a bruised left leg, he does not feel 100% ready to be back racing his Kawasaki.
The fifth position of the FIM MX1 World Championship keeps on being for Kevin Strijbos who is now sixty-eight points behind Paulin. The Belgian rider was on the podium in Finland and he finished fifth in both heats in Germany, but at Lausitzring Strijbos struggled once again with his starts.
Tommy Searle, who is currently sixth – twenty-two points behind Strijbos, won the qualifying race last weekend in Germany and he missed the podium being tight in points with third classified De Dycker. The British rider was a bit disappointed for not having achieved his goal of finishing on the podium, but on the other hand he left Germany fully motivated to do well in Loket where he finished second overall last year while he was still racing in MX2.
Jeremy Van Horebeek had a difficult weekend in Germany, but he is already looking forward to racing this weekend in order to be back racing among to the top five MX1 riders and fight for what it would be his maiden MX1 podium. The Belgian is seventh in the Championship, followed by Max Nagl who will miss the Czech Grand Prix as has been diagnosed with the notorious Epstein-Barr virus. Nagl is receiving specialist medical treatment to help him overcome the illness, which at the moment is thought to be a mild case after the initial diagnosis. It is not yet known when Nagl will return to the racetrack.
Rui Gonçalves, who is ninth in the standings, will also miss the Czech Grand Prix. The Portuguese rider suffered a big crash in the first race in Lausitzring and he has been diagnosed with a fractured C6. Fortunately, Gonçalves will not need surgery, but he needs to rest for at least two weeks. However, his teammate Xavier Boog will be out for the rest of the season because two ligaments of his right knee are damaged and needs to rest for six weeks.
Martin Michek, who is currently fighting for the MX3 Title, will race the Czech Grand Prix this weekend and he will do his best to finish among the top ten and learn as much as possible to face the last rounds of the FIM MX3 World Championship.
2012 MX1 Podium
1. Antonio Cairoli
2. Christophe Pourcel
3. Clement Desalle
2012 MX1 POLEMAN: Antonio Cairoli
All the Grand Prix Photos will be available here
MX2
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings is looking forward to racing this weekend, as he knows he can claim his second FIM MX2 World Title. The Dutch rider has been breaking records all the season long and if he wins his Title this weekend, he will become the best Dutch rider in the history of the sport as he would have the same World Titles as John Van den Berk, but Herlings would have more GP victories than the former champion. In several occasions Herlings has admitted that if he manages to win the Title this weekend, he will keep on racing in MX2 until the end of the season as his goal is winning every single Grand Prix.
His teammate Jordi Tixier had a difficult Grand Prix in Germany last weekend because he struggled a lot with the heat, but he managed to finish second overall. The Red Bull KTM Factory Rider knows that Herlings might win the Title this weekend, but he will give once again his best to finish on the podium and keep on improving his speed.
KTM Silver Action’s José Butrón finished fourth overall in the last two Grand Prix, but he is still third in the MX2 championship with a comfortable 51-points advantage over Christophe Charlier who is currently fourth. Last year Butrón was only ninth in Loket, but this weekend he is determined to clinch two good starts and finish once again on the podium.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Christophe Charlier is travelling to the Czech Republic with the bittersweet feeling of last weekend’s result. The French rider did an incredible first race and finished second, but a crash in the beginning of the second race and some problems with his Yamaha later on forced him to retire. The French rider needs to defend his fourth position in the championship this weekend, as Glenn Coldenhoff is just three points behind him.
Standing Construct KTM’s Glenn Coldenhoff made one of his dreams come true last weekend at Lausitzring by finishing on the third step of the podium. The Dutch rider had been struggling during the whole season to make two consistent races and he finally did in Germany. Coldenhoff is now ready to take part in the Czech Grand Prix where he wants to finish once again on the podium.
Dean Ferris is twenty-one points behind Coldenhoff and he knows that he needs consistent results from now to the end of the season to try to move up in the point standings. In Germany the Australian rider made several mistakes which stopped him to be fighting for the podium positions, but he knows he has the speed to be among the top three.
Jake Nicholls is currently seventh in the championship and Max Anstie, who was racing for the podium in Germany, is eighth. Alessandro Lupino had a weekend to forget in Germany and he did not score any points. The Italian is ninth in the point standings and Petar Petrov, who is making a great progress in this second half of the season, is completing the top ten.
2012 MX2 Podium
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Tommy Searle
3. Zach Osborne
2012 MX2 POLEMAN: Jeffrey Herlings
All the Grand Prix Photos will be available here
TIMETABLE
Saturday: EMX125 Group 1 Free + Qualifying Time Practice 7:50; EMX125 Group 2 Free + Qualifying Time Practice 8:35; MX2 Free Practice 9:30; MX1 Free Practice 10:15; EMX250 Group 1 Free + Qualifying Time Practice 11:00; EMX250 Group 2 Free + Qualifying Time Practice 11:40; EMX125 Semi Final Group 1 12:30; MX2 Pre-Qualifying Practice 13:15; MX1 Pre-Qualifying Practice 14:00; EMX125 Semi Final Group 2 14:50; EMX250 Semi Final Group 1 15:30; MX2 Qualifying Race 16:10; MX1 Qualifying Race 17:00, EMX250 Semi Final Group 2 17:50; EMX125 Last Chance Qualifying Practice 18:30; EMX250 Last Chance Qualifying Practice 19:00.
Sunday: EMX125 Warm up 8:00; EMX250 Warm up 8:30; MX2 Warm up 9:00; MX1 Warm up 9:30; EMX125 FINAL 10:20; EMX250 FINAL 11:10; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 12:10; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 13:10; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 15:01; MX1 Grand Prix race 2 16:07.
LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
Grand Prix Czech Republic
