Chris' Stuff: Lotto Leok at sixes and sevens in German GP

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Lotto Leok at sixes and sevens in German GP

LOTTO LEOK AT SIXES AND SEVENS IN GERMAN GP

21 June 2009

The title to this piece might suggest that the Estonian Express was at a loss for ideas of what to do at the German GP. Far from it. The rather puzzling title finds its roots in his results for the day - he finished sixth and seventh in the races respectively, seventh overall on the day, and holds onto seventh position in the championship standings. All those sevens would make the most fervent bingo biddy jump for joy, and having revealed the outcome in the first paragraph, one might be tempted to stop writing.

This would do our legions of faithful readers (at the last count well over half a dozen) a terrible disservice, though. We have a well-deserved reputation for foisting descriptive race reports upon our subscribers, and the fact that the Estonian Express produced a good sequence of numbers on this occasion is not reason enough to break the trend.

Here then, dear reader, in its full an unabridged form, is the report of how Tanel Leok's weekend at the GP of Germany unfolded ... Pulling into the paddock, the inscrutable one had good memories milling about in his head - a year ago at this very race, he was on the podium after a hard -charging second heat. This time round, on a new mount, Tanel looked set to continue where he left off. In the timed practice session, he blitzed to the second fastest time behind teammate and championship leader Antonio Cairoli. For once he utilized his good starting gate to good effect, and found himself in the top 5 at the start of the qualifying race. Tugging at his throttle with determination, he kept himself in the mix, and finally qualified fourth in the rough and tumble qualifying race.

In both races, the Estonian launched his Red Bull De Carli Yamaha into a top 10 start. Needless to say, the tip of the spear is where all the action happens, and, surrounded as the was by the world's top MX1 exponents, Tanel fought out tough battles to maintain himself near the top of the mountain. After two hard fought races, he, as we mentioned before, crossed the line sixth in the first race, and seventh in race two.

With seventh in the last heat, seventh overall for the day and seventh in the championship standings, Tanel may well have been forgiven if he had taken a flutter at the gambling machines in the evening. As it turned out, he didn't as he packed his family and his racing gear into his Vito and headed straight home for Estonia. The next GP is as close to a home GP that he will ever have had, as the world championship circus descends on Kegums in neighbouring Latvia.

Tanel Leok