The Husqvarna Motocross Team By Ricci Racing Ready For Valkenswaard

The Husqvarna Motocross Team By Ricci Racing Ready For Valkenswaard

Biandronno, Italy, 5th April 2012 – The World Motocross MX2 Championship gets underway on Easter Monday with the Dutch GP on the sandy Valkenswaard track close to Eindhoven.

There are sixteen races to go – from the 9th of April until the 23rd of September - before this thrilling world championship concludes at the Teutschenthal track in Germany.    

Immediately after Alex Lupino’s victory aboard his TC250 in the International Italian Motocross Championship, the Husqvarna Motocross Team by Ricci Racing headed straight off to Northern Europe close to Lommel in Belgium to start two weeks of tests and training on the treacherous and hazardous soft Benelux terrain.  

The team line-up for the first race is the Italian Alex Lupino and Frenchman Loic Larrieu, while they will be without Belgian Nick Triest, forced out for a month after injuring his left shoulder blade in the last round of the Italian Motocross championship. 

The Dutch sand is surely not the best ingredient for two riders such as Lupino and Larrieu, specialists on hard terrain, but the team has put in a lot of hard work into these trials in northern Europe and all is set for the start of the world championship.

Lupino’s victory in the Italian Championship, and the current third place of Larrieu in the French standings, have psyched up both the team and riders who are looking forward to the start of the championship.

The new Husqvarna TC250 is in constant development, and has undergone several important modifications for the daunting Dutch sand, above all to the power delivery of the engine and the setting of the suspension.

Alex Lupino: “I’m ready and I feel great. We have spent two weeks refining both the riding technique and the bike for the Dutch sand. I’m happy with the bike especially after the final adjustments made to the suspension and the power delivery of the engine, thanks to the collaboration with GET. My aim in this race will be to finish in the first eight. ”

Loic Larrieu: “I’m finding it hard to get back in form especially on soft terrain. Put it this way, I’m at 80% of fitness and speed. Firstly, in this race I aim at finishing in the points, and then my goal is for better finishes in the following races in Bulgaria and Italy. “

Ilario Ricci – Team Manager : “The team and the riders have worked hard this winter and everyone is looking forward to the start of the championship. It’s a shame for Triest who had just got over an injury and unfortunately will be out of the running for another month.

In the last two weeks of tests on the sand I’ve seen the bike continue to improve and Alex is in great form. A big step forward from last year. All the ingredients are there for a great season. ”