Rockstar Teka Suzuki's Clement Desalle celebrated his fourth podium result of the season with third position overall at a hot and sunny Glen Helen for the Grand Prix of USA and now occupies the same slot in the FIM Motocross World Championship standings after six of 15 rounds.

The steep hills of Glen Helen, near San Bernardino and an hour east of Los Angeles, housed a layout that was rough and extremely quick compared to normal Grand Prix circuits. The extra length created the longest lap-time of the year. The two 35 minute and 2 lap motos were demanding simply due to the hot and dry heat that climbed to over thirty degrees. The first USGP of the century, in the heart of one of the sport's global 'hot-spots', was graced by a 16,000 attendance.

Desalle made a reasonable start in the first race and was holding third place at one stage before being unable to resist the challenges of Max Nagl and Ken De Dycker. In the second moto the 21 year old Belgian was more aggressive and played an active role in a dynamic battle for the runner-up position with Antonio Cairoli and Mike Alessi, which the Belgian champion won.

Desalle hold 3rd in the world championship table. Desalle, winner of the Portuguese Grand Prix, needs 22 points to catch Max Nagl.

Clement Desalle:

"Qualifying was not so good and I also made a bad start. I improved on this for the first moto and was going for third or fourth but it was hard physically and very hot. I was aware of my shoulder and did not take so many risks. I did not want to crash and knew we had another tough race coming up. I felt really good in the second moto and even though Ben was too far to think about the win I am very pleased to make the podium."

Text and Image: Team Suzuki Press Office