Ken De Dycker interview

Back in May, multiple GP winner, and former MXoN winner Ken De Dycker joined the 24MX Honda team for the remaining rounds of the FIM MXGP World Championship. The popular veteran made his return on the CRF450R at the MXGP of Russia, and has slowly be coming to terms with the speed of the current MXGP class.

While the Russian GP went well, he had little time on the bike in Ottobiano in Italy and De Dycker struggled for two top 20 places.

“Leading up to this race I had only limited time on the bike. I had to wait for the bike to return from Russia and after that I had a crash in practice so conditions were not ideal. Both on Saturday and in the first race I had a pretty good start around 14th place but I couldn’t get into the groove. After dropping back, I was able to regain some positions. In the second moto, I was around 16th place in the opening lap when I blew a berm. It took me a long time to get going again. I was able to remount quite well but near the end I was really spent! It’s been a difficult weekend, I also struggled a bit with the suspension setup here. However, I know we can fight for more with more time on the bike in between races.”

In the next round in Agueda, Portugal it was also a poor performance for the veteran Belgian, although he was confident his speed was returning.

“In terms of results it was a disappointing weekend but I feel that the speed is coming back. My qualifying race went great until I had that problem with my front break getting stuck. I had quite a hard crash in the first moto and needed to ice my ankle when my foot got stuck in a rut later on. The second moto was nowhere near what it could have been. I still felt sore from my crash and I just didn’t have the strength to push like I wanted. But all in all, it’s been an encouraging weekend and Last weekend in Loket De Dycker didn’t have the success he had hoped for. Bad starts didn’t help his progress.

Ken De Dycker: “Not exactly a great weekend but admittedly Loket has always been a very difficult track for me! Not only is the start super important here it’s also one of these places where you’re struggling to make up time as everyone seems to be running at a similar speed! Such was the case this time as well. My pace was good enough to catch the slower guys but with a bad start you’re never going to catch the faster riders if you’re not considerably quicker. It’s frustrating but honestly, I never had a great feeling. That’s how it is, I’m really looking forward to the two races at home now. First the Championship of Flanders and then the GP in Lommel! This is definitely motivating for GP’s like Lommel and Assen where I believe I could do well.”

Now De Dycker will head to Lommel, and his home Grand Prix. Known for his sand skills he will hopefully be able to once again battle up front.

Author:

Geoff Meyer