STRIJBOS NOT READY FOR BRITISH GP
03 June 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Suzuki barely had time to catch their breath after a long flight back from Japan this week before moving across the channel and to the south coast of England to prepare for the British Grand Prix; the seventh round of the FIM 2005 Motocross World Championships taking place at Matchams Park this weekend.

Sadly the Belgian squad will be at half strength once again as Kevin Strijbos has been unable to recover sufficiently from the thrombosis in his left arm and will undergo a scan on Tuesday to determine if he actually needs surgery to rectify the condition completely. The 18 year old is unlikely to race the following week at the Italian Grand Prix and has earmarked a return at St Jean d''Angely in France towards the end of the month.

On a brighter note, Joel Smets was able to celebrate his third podium of the season last Sunday at Sugo and now lies in third position and 36 points behind Mickael Pichon in the MX1 series standings.

Motovision Suzuki Racing''s Yoshitaka Atsuta will be riding his second ''home'' GP in one week after leaving Japan on Monday and travelling to Matchams with his British team.

Matchams Park has a long and distinguished history as part of British motocross and used to host the famous Hants International races that attracted the best riders of the 60''s and 70''s. Team Suzuki owner and director Sylvain Geboers was a former winner. The track fell into a state of disrepair in the late 90s before coming under new ownership nearly two years ago. ''Matchams Motocross World'' have transformed the venue into one of the top circuits in England and in preparation for the Grand Prix have enlisted the services of track designer Johnny Douglas Hamilton who created the Isle of Wight circuit, leading to widespread acclaim for the 2004 British Grand Prix which many within the paddock felt was the best event of that year.

Matchams, with its acres of hard-standing paddock and parking space, is a compact location and when full of fans will deliver a special atmosphere. The terrain veers between mud and light sandy soil that becomes very rough and technical. The course has been completely overhauled for the Grand Prix and will feature better and bigger jumps and a spectacular timing section.

The weather forecast for the weekend is varied with bright conditions and warm temperatures predicted for Saturday and a cooler and showery outlook for Sunday.

Joel Smets:

''It was a long journey back from Japan but it was the same for everybody and I have been resting this week. I''ve some great memories from racing in England. Usually the public are so enthusiastic and the British fans are crazy for the sport; I don''t usually see anything like that in the rest of the world and I don''t know why, they just go wild especially when some British riders are at the front!

''There is normally a great atmosphere at the British Grand Prix and that is how racing should be. The Isle of Wight last year was unbelievable. Regarding Matchams, it will not be difficult because of the new track. In fact I really like finding and working out new places. Discovering a track and picking the good lines can be very satisfying and makes Grand Prix racing that much more exciting for me.''

Kevin Strijbos:

''I''m really disappointed but the truth is that I just cannot race at the moment. I can ride but only at full speed for a few laps before my arms pump up and I can hardly hold the bike. Even if I could holeshot in England, then I''d still be dropping back after about three laps. I rode the Belgian Championship last week and it confirmed that I am still not ready.

I''ll have a scan next Tuesday and the doctors will look at the thrombosis and if it has not cleared up that much then I might need an operation which will keep me out for weeks. I hope they will tell me something positive because I would like to ret urn for France. It is frustrating to miss the British GP because I have been reading about it on the internet and it seems like I track I would have really enjoyed.''

MX1 World Championship Standings (after six rounds): 1 Stefan Everts 251. 2 Mickael Pichon 240. 3 Joel Smets 204. 4 Joshua Coppins 203. 5 Ben Townley 168. 6 Steve Ramon 149. 7 James Noble 132. 8 B.Jorgensen 121. 9 Ken de Dijcker 112. 10 Paul Cooper 98. 17 Yoshitaka Atsuta 62. 20 Kevin Strijbos 48.

www.suzuki-racing.com

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