Date: 9 August 2009

Factory Kawasaki racer, Gareth Swanepoel, took part in Round 13 of the MX1 World Championship this past weekend, held on the hard pack, hillside circuit of Loket in the Czech Republic.

After the grueling Lommel sand last weekend, ‘Swanie’ was happy to arrive at the fast flowing and spectacular Loket circuit, and this showed in the qualifying results.

Swanepoel blasted his Kawasaki out the gate for the 20 Minute qualifying race, exiting turn 1 in 6th position. Lap after lap ‘Swanie’ was on the gas as he held off pressure from Philippaerts, De Dycker and Cairoli that were all behind him. Riding a fantastic race Swanepoel relished in the pressure and held on to cross the line in 6th place, giving a great gate pick for the Sunday.

A great start in moto 1 saw ‘Swanie’ narrowly miss out on the hole-shot to German Maxi Nagl. Settling into 5th spot on the opening lap a great race evolved with Swanepoel mixing it up with Josh Coppins and David Philippaerts. The South African matched the Yamaha duo in speed while fending off challenges from Ken De dyker and then later in the moto from Tanel Leok and Antonio Cairoli. Swanepoel never faltered and held onto 5th spot, a MX1 career best finish.

Another great start aboard his factory KX450F-SR rocketed Swanepoel to 4th position in front of Nagl, Coppins and Ramon in moto 2. Nagl made his way past a few laps later with ‘Swanie fending off the pressure of Coppins, Ramon and now De dycker who joined the group. Coppins and Ramon eventually made their moves towards the end of the race, but Swanepoel was able to break de Dycker who had no answer for the South African. Crossing the finish line in 7th place secured Swanepoel 6th overall for the GP.

“ It’s been a great weekend for me” smiled the 24-year-old. “I think I proved to a lot of people today that I have the speed and ability to run up front. This is my first year in the MX1 class and I have been consistent throughout the year and have improved with every race. I still feel I have more in me and Lierop will certainly be a track where I think I can make the next step. The Kawasaki Racing Team have been great and have supported me well so this a good way to repay them for their hard work.”
The penultimate round of the FIM MX world championship will take place on the 29-30 August in Lierop, the Netherlands.

Race results:

MX1 Race 1
1 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
2 Desalle, Clement BEL Honda
3 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
4 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
5 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki
6 Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha
7 Leok, Tanel EST Yamaha
8 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
9 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki
10 Priem, Manuel BEL Aprilia
11 Bill, Julien SUI Aprilia
12 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha
13 Dougan, Jason GBR CCM
14 Church, Tom GBR CCM
15 Neugebauer, Filip CZE Kawasaki

MX1 Race 2
1 Desalle, Clement BEL Honda
2 Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha
3 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
4 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
5 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
6 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
7 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki
8 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
9 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki
10 Leonce, Loic FRA Aprilia
11 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha
12 Church, Tom GBR CCM
13 Priem, Manuel BEL Aprilia
14 Neugebauer, Filip CZE Kawasaki
15 Leok, Tanel EST Yamaha

GP Overall
1 Desalle, Clement BEL Honda 47
2 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM 43
3 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 40
4 Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha 37
5 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha 34
6 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki 30
7 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki 26
8 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki 24
9 Leok, Tanel EST Yamaha 20
10 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha 19
11 Priem, Manuel BEL Aprilia 19
12 Church, Tom GBR CCM 16
13 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki 15
14 Neugebauer, Filip CZE Kawasaki 13
15 Leonce, Loic FRA Aprilia 12

MX1 World championship standings:
1 Cairoli, A. ITA 503
2 Nagl, M. GER 458
3 Philippaerts, D. ITA 428
4 Desalle, C. BEL 426
5 de Dycker, Ken BEL 409
6 Coppins, J. NZL 409
7 Leok, Tanel EST 347
8 Swanepoel, G. RSA 218
9 Barragan, J. ESP 215
10 Priem, Manuel BEL 178
11 Leok, Aigar EST 167
12 Ramon, Steve BEL 153
13 Vuillemin, D. FRA 150
14 Aranda, G. FRA 143
15 Church, Tom GBR 105