Karro seventh in Swedish GP

KARRO SEVENTH IN SWEDISH GP 5 July 2009 No matter how far his career will take him, and where he may eventually end up, the track of Uddevalla will always hold a special significance for Matiss Karro. It was here, in 2008, guided via long distance telephone call by manager Tinus Nel, that he stuck his curly head into the then for him unfamiliar territory of the Suso MVR-D Suzuki racing tent, and asked a group of total strangers if he may, just perhaps, borrow one of their expensive bikes to go and wreck on the track. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place and team owner Mark Chamberlain, never one to miss a trick as far as spotting young talent is concerned, knew more or less straight away that this was the rider that he would like to peg the team's hopes on for the 2009 season. Now, fully a year later, the Riga Raider is a fully-domesticated, tea-and-milk drinking member of the English team, and the vibe is as it has always been in the Motovision tent - serious about racing, yet relaxed and friendly for the riders. Tanel Leok found a perfect berth in the team during his developmental year in the MX1 class, and similarly, Matiss is all smiles in this environment, although having said that, it would take some determined effort to dislodge the smile off the ever-friendly teenager's face. All the pleasantries are over once Matiss gets onto the track, however. From a fairly disadvantageous starting position in the qualifying race, he piled into sixth position off the start. He soon had world number 2 Gautier Paulin in such close attendance that the Frenchman could have whispered garlic-scented sweet nothings into his ear, but he initially saw off the attentions of the Kawasaki Rider and drew clear by a few metres. On a day during which the French would certainly turn out to be his bugbear, Nicolas Aubin then clamped on, and not having finished third in the 2008 world championship series on the back of a lottery ticket, the Frenchman soon found a way past. Matiss was sandwiched for a while in the baguette Aubin-Paulin, but he held his own and learnt a few tricks in the speed stakes along the way. Eventually though, Paulin also snuck past, but Matiss' team was well chuffed with h is qualifying result. By finishing 8th in the qualifying heat, he had posted his best ever qualifying result in a GP, which augured well for the race day that lay ahead. Matiss is no slouch in the starting department, of that there can be no doubt. Also on this occasion he let rip with a good measure of enthusiasm, and found himself in fourth position. He maintained the spot for five laps, even probing here and there to pass third-placed Joe Roelants, all the while fending off Paulin again. At one stage he had some clear distance, but then the French assault continued as Steven Frossard latched on. With his race fitness still only one week in the rebuilding, Matiss was having a hard time of it, and in the end he rode with a level head, yielding positions when not doing so would have meant him going in over his head. The MVR-D team members were waving him on with the usual dose of enthusiasm, and there was much happiness in the tent when the youngster came home in fifth position, his best ever GP race result on a hard-pack surface. In race 2, Matiss' start was somewhat less impressive, and he found himself down in 13th spot. He was grimly determined to repeat his first race performance, though, and gripped the throttle of his MVR-D Suzuki with an extra helping of determination. By lap 3, he was in the top 10, and he took the battle to some of the big names in MX2 world championship racing. He went as high as seventh after passing Jake Nicholls, but after a three laps long battle with German wunderkind Ken Roczen, the exhaustion got to him, and he settled for a pair of eights on the day. Matiss and his team were more than happy with his seventh overall in the GP, which matches his best ever world championship result. His haul of 26 points lofted him two positions in the world standings, where he now occupies 23rd place, despite missing three races. Matiss will be in action in the United Kingdom next weekend, where the action in the British Championships will continue.   RESULTS All GP results are available on the official website of the motocross world championships. This report is available online.   100% KARRO COMMITMENT Pic - Geoff Meyer Mail server hosting by www.mxhosting.be   MEDIA SPONSOR MANAGEMENT

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