Ken De Dycker looks ahead to Agueda!
Agueda, an hour south of Porto, is hosting the sixth round of the 2011 Motocross World Championship. For MX1 rookie Shaun Simpson, the undulating course with its typical red earth proved to be a successful hunting ground last year. The popular Scot finished third in the qualifying race and finished fourth in the opening series. After the French GP, Simpson drove on to Portugal, while his teammate De Dycker returned home. In Saint-Jean d'Angély, Simpson was unable to repeat his excellent qualifying result on Sunday, but Shaun has his sights set on two top-10 results this weekend!
Between Agueda and La Bañeza, the location of the Spanish GP, Ken De Dycker will join his GP colleagues who travel from one race to another by camper. The distance separating the Iberian diptych is therefore barely 400 kilometers. That's why we took the opportunity to sit down with Keeno just before he traveled to Agueda. Our topic of conversation? The GP of Portugal of course!
You have already achieved some good results in Portugal, one third last year, two second in 2009. What do you think of the track in Agueda?
Ken Dycker: “It is a course where I have done well in the past. I hope to fight for a top-5 this weekend and especially to be able to mix more with the leaders. My speed is good at the moment, so I know there is more to it. In France I lost too much when overtaking slower riders and of course my starts also have to be better. The track in Agueda is often wet and then it becomes very technical. Not left for me; In any case, I do better on slower circuits.”
Agueda is well on its way to becoming a classic on the World Cup calendar. I came across another one in the statistics red milestone from you in Agueda. Do you know what match I'm talking about?
Ken Dycker: (looks questioningly) “Oops, I'll have to think about that! The red surface has always been there, it looks cool in photos or on TV... Now I know: I achieved my first top-3 in a series in Agueda in 2006. In 2004 I rode the first time in the top 5, both of which were on a Honda! When I look at it that way, I do have a thing for Agueda; There are also nice jumps and I don't mind that the track becomes very difficult after a while. But I do think they could make some changes to the layout or something to keep it original. Agueda has hardly changed since I first drove there.”
What was the past week like?
Ken Dycker: “On Tuesday and Wednesday I started training with the motorcycle. Today (Thursday) I went cycling and completed my normal physical training. But I also made sure to get enough rest. The weather was ideal for training in Belgium this week, but I am very curious about what awaits us in Portugal. Everyone in Belgium or the Netherlands immediately imagines exotic scenes when you talk about Portugal. In all those years of GP racing in Agueda it has rained at least once every weekend, and often much more than that!”
The GPs follow each other in rapid succession during this period of the season. Do you have to pay even more attention than usual to ensure sufficient rest and recovery? Ken De Dycker: “That's not necessarily a rule. First of all, you have to listen to your body and anyway you have to control yourself sometimes because the season is long. In Saint-Jean d'Angély I went quite deep, at the beginning of the week my heart rate during training was higher than normal due to fatigue. But now I have fully recovered, I am ready to fly!”
Photos credit: Ray Archer
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