The FIM Motocross World Championship returns to South Africa this weekend for round ten of the 2008 MX1 and MX2 season.
Two years after its last appearance on the FIM calendar, the series returns with David Philippaerts leading the MX1 standings and home star Tyla Rattray on top of the MX2 series.
Philippaerts finished third overall, behind Jonathan Barragan and Steve Ramon, last time out in Sweden, allowing reigning world champion Ramon to close to within 12 points of the Monster Yamaha rider.
Philippaerts' team-mate Josh Coppins had the most momentum heading into the Swedish round, but suffered two poor starts - forcing come from behind damage limitation rides that have left him four points behind Ramon.
Ramon's Teka Suzuki team-mate Ken de Dycker currently holds a relatively safe fourth in the standings, while Sebastien Pourcel the lead Kawasaki rider in fifth position, albeit just two points ahead of KTM rider Barragan.
Red Bull KTM rider Max Nagl and CAS Honda's Billy Mackenzie were also on form in Sweden, where Steve Boniface also led 13 laps at his only third GP appearance of the season, having replace Mike Brown alongside Mackenzie.
In the MX2 class, Red Bull KTM rider Rattray heads home with the red plate under his belt courtesy of an excellent run that has seen him finish off the podium just once so far this season.
But Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s reigning world champion Antonio Cairoli is just 14 points from the South African, with the Italian's increasingly bitter rival Tommy Searle a further nine points back on the second factory KTM.
KTM UK’s Shaun Simpson, fourth in the championship, is almost 100 points from Searle!
The 1600 metre Alkmaar Raceway course features all sorts of jumps and challenges on a rich red loamy soil. It is built on 30 hectares of ground on the banks of the Crocodile River. Track watering and ripping started last week to make the course perfect for the weekend’s GP.
