Pourcel Opts Out Of Latvia
Cycle News Staff | July 15, 2011
Team Monster CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit has announced that Christophe Pourcel will not compete in this weekend’s Latvian Grand Prix, the 10th round of the World Motocross Championship.
The team says that they want to skip the Latvian round “to come back stronger two weeks later in Belgium.”Pourcel started the season on the sidelines, then signed with MotoConcepts Yamaha to ride the AMA Lucas Oils Motocross Series, stating at the time, “I’m very excited to make a brand new start in the motocross season with a new team, a new motorcycle and some good people behind me. It’s going to be interesting to see what we can accomplish together.”The partnership lasted for two races. After starting the season at Hangtown, things unraveled after that.
Pourcel pulled off in the first moto and rode back to the pits with arm pump. He the then pulled out of the second moto after just four laps. The team was then slated to test with Pourcel during the week, but he didn’t show up. He then failed to show up for the High Point round and was released from his contract.Then Pourcel signed with the CLS team to contest the World Championship, making his debut last weekend with the team in the German Grand Prix. The Frenchman, however, pulled out of the first moto after neglecting to wear a chest protector and complaining of getting roosted. In the second moto he pulled out again – not happy with the setup of his KX450F.According to the team, Pourcel tested this week in Holland, but team owner Jean Jacques Luisetti and Pourcel have decided to miss the GP of Latvia to come back stronger two weeks later in Belgium.
“For sure it has been a tough decision, but we’re convinced that it was the best one,” said Luisetti in a team release. “Since he is back on a bike after his terrible accident four years ago, Christophe is very demanding about the bike settings and we still have to work. For sure many people will comment this decision, but if we come to retire in both heats that would be worse; we need to work in a quiet atmosphere, and for sure it’s better to work during private sessions rather than on a GP. It was important to ride Germany to know in which directions Christophe wants to go, and we already made some changes on the bike but the work in not yet finished; our rivals worked all winter long to set-up their material, not us due to Ben Townley’s injury and we need time. We already found solutions in connection with Pro Circuit in the USA, and made several improvements this week, and we’ll continue during the next two weeks to work hard. The goal is to be ready for Lommel, we all know that it’s a tough race, but Christophe will be back there.”
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