During the annual International Season Openings Motocross in Valence France, French Enduro- and former MX1 works-Kawasaki rider Antoine Meo showed the world again what’s still possible with two strokes.
Antoine was already aware of what is possible because he already was the last rider to score WorldChampionship points when he stole the last points of the year aboard a 125cc Husqvarna in the Italian GP. That wass until again in the final and Italian GP last year top star Ken Roczen gave a superb demonstration of a two-stroke, riding his works SXS 125cc KTM into top5 positions among the 250cc works 4strokes.
Too bad that Antonio Cairoli’s mothers sad passing exactly that weekend kept him from competing in the final 450cc GP on a works SXS 250cc. But KTM is the most important factory with solid believe in two-strokes and there are some riders there with the same conviction. Antoine choosed last weekend just to pick his EXC-125 KTM (with the headlight and license plates still on it) and to go compete against the double-sized 4strokes in a motocross.
Because of that difference in contense clearly a disadvantage at the start, but simply a top level of riding his laptimes from mid-pack starts to a 6th and 9th in the heats, to finish 7th overall in a field that in 2months will form the top riders in the 2012 GP’s. Just look at Antoine’s movie, enjoy and experience that it’s just a matter of time that we will be back.
-Arie Crooijmans, TSM Guest Editor
