LEOK GRABS BELGIAN CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY
29 AUGUST 2010

The bike enters the corner at insane speed. The rider cocks his head to the inside, his arms dropped low in a very un-textbook style. Mud and pebbles fly as the bike's wheels scrabble for grip. Somehow the bike makes it through the corner, and those spectators lucky enough to have witnessed it at close quarters shake their heads in disbelief as the bike disappears across the next rise. The style is unmistakably that of Tanel Leok, and Estonian Express does his name full justice as he extracts every ounce of speed from his bike on his way to victory at a Belgian Championship motocross event.

As one of the top riders in the world, Tanel has stood atop the podium at international - and national championship events in many countries. He has tasted the victor's champagne in Estonia, Germany, Italy, Holland, England, Belgium, Lativia and many others in between, but the pleasure does not wane with he repeating thereof. He's got winning DNA, and though circumstances may sometimes conspire against him, he always gives his best.

The action took place at Orp-le-Grand on this occasion. Orp is often referred to as a mini Namur, which to the knowledgeable, should give an idea of what the track is all about. Namur is the big daddy of all motocross tracks, and any track mentioned in the same breath is sure to provide a stiff technical challenge to the riders. Tanel posted the third fasted time in the pre-qualifying session. An extremely bad start compromised his qualifying race, but in the space of the short qualifying race, he improved his position from 24th to 8th.

Talent got the relationship between himself and his LS motors Honda just right in the first race, and barreled into the first corner in fourth position. By lap 8 he had managed to sneak past Frenchman Xavier Boog into third position. His sights were firmly set ont he front, and in the last quarter of the race, he was in second position, homing in on the lead. He latched onto race leader Sebastien Pourcel and hounded the factory Kawasaki rider. He could just not make the pass and in the end he crossed the line in second position, less than a second behind Pourcel.

Tanel had had his fill of muddy roost in the first race and in the second race he would have none of it. He consequently grabbed the holeshot and never had to suffer the indignity of seeing another rider lead him for the duration of the race. Pourcel launched a late challenge, but in a reverse of the first race, the Estonian held him off to claim the race victory. Tanel's 2-1 results earned him another top podium spot. He is still second in the championship standings, but his good outing allowed him to crawl closer to championship leader Steve Ramon whilst at the same time creating a bit of a gap between him and third placed Davide Guarneri.

Tanel's next appointment at the race track is this coming weekend at the GP of the Benelux at Lierop, Holland.

WHEN YOUR WIFE TAKES THE PICTURE, YOU HOIST THOSE THINGS NICE AND HIGH (Pic Karoliina Leok)