Kawasaki Racing Team MX1
Priem's persistence pays off at Wuustwezel

Manuel Priem and the Kawasaki Racing Team keep on making pre-season progress. After spending weeks and weeks testing, fine tuning and setting up the KX450F-SR to suit his smooth style of riding Manuel Priem and the entire Kawasaki Racing Team's persistence pays off with a super strong showing from the 26-year-old at the Wuustwezel international in Belgium.

After setting fastest time during the morning qualifying session in a field full of international competitors that included the reigning MX1 word champion Steve Ramon, Manuel battled for a top three position in moto one with Max Nagl and Ken De Dycker before slipping back to sixth after making some small rider errors late in the race.

Getting a much better start in moto two Manuel was able to push the race leader Marvin Van Daele all race long finally finishing just one second behind the winner after 25 minutes of gruelling race action in the Wuustwezel sand.

Moto three wasn't so good for Manuel as a small crash left him feeling dizzy. Doing the smart thing and deciding to pull out of the race rather than risk injury while riding at less than 100 per cent, Manuel's day ended early but team manager Martin van Genderen still felt very positive about Manuel's performance.

"Manuel gets better on the bike every time he rides and this weekend's race proved that all the hard work he and the entire team have been putting in is really paying off," said Martin.

There's also good news regarding the recovery of Tanel Leok. The young Estonian star is back riding his KX450F-SR again and should be ready for the first GP at Valkenswaard on April 6 if he continues to progress at his current rate.



Red Bull KTM
Max Nagl rides to second overall in Wuustwezel

Red Bull KTM MX1 Factory rider Max Nagl rode to second place overall in Belgium's Wuustwezel on Easter Sunday putting in another confident performance in the pre-season competition.

Nagl rode to second, fourth and second in the three heats for his overall second podium spot after taking the hole shot in all three motos. Although he took the holeshot in the first moto he went wide in the first corner, lost the advantage and had to settle for second place. He got into a tangle with Steve Ramon after Ramon crashed in the second moto and finished fourth while in the third he held his position until he was overtaken by De Dycker in the latter part of the race.
 
"Max has been training very hard and is improving a lot," said KTM team boss Stefan Everts. "He is putting in faster lap times, He's is going in the right direction and is developing into a good factory rider."
 
Riders tackled a black sandy track heavy from the previous day's rain. The weather held out with occasion sun on race day.
 
Results
1. Ken de Dycker
2. Max Nagl
3. Marvin van Daele
 
First moto:
1 Steve Ramon
2 Max Nagl
3 Kristof Salaets
4 Ken de Dycker
5 Marvin van Daele

Second moto:
1 Marvin van Daele
2 Manuel Priem
3 Ken de Dycker
4 Max Nagl
5 Lauris Freibergs

Third moto:
1 Ken de Dycker
2 Max Nagl
3 Marvin van Daele
4 Steve Ramon
5 Marcus Schiffer