Tanel Leok
| Tanel Leok | |
|---|---|
Leok at .
|
|
| Nationality | Estonian |
| Born |
June 1, 1985 (age 31) Võru, Estonia |
| career | |
| Years active | 2000 – present |
| Teams | KTM, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, TM, Husqvarna |
| Wins | 3 |
| GP debut | 2001 GP da Holanda, 125cc |
| First GP win | 2008 Irish GP, MX1 |
Tanel Leok (born June 1, 1985) is an Estonian professional racer competing in the in MX1 class.
Tanel was born in Võru, Estonia and currently resides in Balen, Belgium. His father, Arvo Leok, was a motocross rider and introduced his son to the sport at a young age. He lived in Estonia and attended Sõmerpalu Primary school until he was 16 years old when he decided to pursue his racing career full-time.
He became the first rider with two junior world titles to his credit, winning the 85 cc FIM world cup in 2000 and the 125cc FIM Junior World Cup in 2001. He turned semi-professional midway through the 2001 season, and qualified for a number of GP races at 15 years of age. He claimed his first senior title in 2001 as well, being crowned German 125cc champion. His hard-charging and unmistakable racing style earned him the moniker "The Estonian Express."
In 2002 his first professional team was Vangani Racing KTM His teammates in this team were Tyla Rattray and Ben Townley. In 2003, the Vangani Racing team metamorphosed into Bruforce Racing, still on KTM motorcycles. Tanel had by now definitely broken through in the top level of motocross world.
After a few successful races in the 125cc class in 2003, he successfully shifted to 250 cc class for the Motovision Racing Suzuki team in 2004. He made a huge impact during this season, being the only remaining top level rider on a two-stroke machine in the class. His reputation was solidified with a number of furious on-track battles with the hotshots of the class, such as multiple world champion Stefan Everts.
At the end of the 2004 season he signed a two-year contract with the Kawasaki factory team of legendary champion maker Jan De Groot. Leok claimed his first podium in MX1 class on 2 April 2006 at Zolder, Belgium. This contract was renewed for another two-year term at the end of the 2006 racing season. After having claimed numerous GP podiums in the preceding year, Tanel Leok won his first MX1 Grand Prix in Ireland in 31, August 2008. He claimed 9 podiums and 1449 points with kawasaki team.
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