News 18 Feb 2014

Styke expected better in first European appearance

Australian champion not satisfied with Montevachi performance.

Source: Kemea Yamaha.

Source: Kemea Yamaha.

Kemea Yamaha’s Luke Styke will undergo further testing in Europe this week, unsatisfied with his performance at last weekend’s third round of the Italian International Motocross Championship at Montevachi.

The Australian MX2 Champion was a solid fifth in the MX2 race and 20th in the combined MX1/MX2 Elite moto, but admits he expected a stronger debut aboard the 2014 YZ250F in the lead-up to the grand prix season.

Styke was initially scheduled to contest the Valence International in France before it was cancelled, prompting the team to round out the Italian-based international series instead.

“It was a good race to see where we’re at,” Styke commented. “To be honest I expected a little better. I felt good on the track in the beginning, but as it got rougher I wasn’t comfortable anymore on the bike.

“With that I didn’t take any risks and just tried to get as much rhythm as possible. This week we’re going to the south to do some testing with the team. I hope we can find some adjustments to improve the feeling on the bike and then we’re ready for the first GP.”

Team manager Marnicq Bervoets will work with Styke to ensure improvement in upcoming testing before the GP season commences in Qatar next month.

“Luke was a bit disappointing, but as this was only his very first race in Europe we don’t need to worry,” said the former GP racer. “We only had a little time to test with the race parts and Montevachi was more of a test session then it was a serious race. Now we know where we should work on and that’s what we’re going to do.”

While teammate Petar Petrov will contest this weekend’s Hawkstone Park International in the UK, Styke will continue testing in Southern Europe with his Kemea Yamaha crew.

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