Ken Roczen and Arnaud Tonus will excitedly prepare for their inaugural major race meeting on American soil in which they both will aim to place the RM-Z250 in the winner's circle once more.
Roczen in particular will be eager to inflate his growing army of new fans and also reverse some of the misfortune his suffered last week at the Catalan GP when he missed out on his first overall victory with an electrical problem in the second moto at Bellpuig.
The sixteen year old and his Teka-backed team have been superlative this season so far and have only dropped out of the top three once in the nine motos of 10 completed. With his first 2010 chequered flag obtained in the opening outing in Spain, Roczen is geared-up for more spoils on arguably the largest stage for the sport in the world.
"I have raced in the US before but on nothing like the scale we will find at Glen Helen," said the flamboyant and fiercely-talented German. "It was good to have a week off and now we will go to America to pick up exactly where we left off in that first moto in Spain. We will probably have a couple of days in Los Angeles before heading to the track and I'm hoping for a fun trip and weekend before we rush back for France."
Stylish Arnaud Tonus is also eager to make his American Grand Prix debut (although he did star at the 2007 Motocross of Nations at Budds Creek in which he won the Ricky Carmichael Award) and after some bad luck with a first corner incident in Spain is looking to get back inside the top five and collect the decent results that have elevated him to sixth in the standings.
"I am really looking forward to this GP and it is a little bit of a dream to be racing at Glen Helen," the Swiss star said. "I want to work on my starts and we will have to get used to the dirt and the track. It seems a little bit sandy and hard-pack with those long up-hills but I can't wait to get over there."
Roczen is second in the World Championship table and 26 points adrift of Marvin Musquin. Tonus needs eighth points to reach the top five. The Grand Prix of France at St Jean d'Angely will occur just seven days later and will mean a frantic dash back to Europe for the German team.
Glen Helen is renowned for its history and status as a centre-point for Californian motocross. The steep hillside drags will offer some scenic images and memories for the Grand Prix riders, the vast majority of whom have yet to compete on US shores in a meeting under an FIM banner. The weather forecast for the weekend predicts sunny and hot conditions.
Main Photo: Ken Roczen
