SMETS PENALISED IN FRANCE
26 June 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Joel Smets encountered a difficult French Grand Prix at a very hot and humid St Jean D''Angely for round nine of 17 in the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship.

The Belgian finished 10th overall after a broken exhaust in the second moto resulted in a one-minute penalty that dropped him to 16th.

Over 20,000 fans endured almost unbearable French sunshine at the circuit located 150km north of Bordeaux and although thunderstorms coated the track again Saturday night, the dirt dried quickly in the morning forming a rough and very physical terrain.

The Grand Prix was one of the most demanding and draining of the season to-date.

Smets started well in both motos and was holding fourth in the first race but was unable to match the speed of Stefan Everts, Mickael Pichon, Ben Townley, Josh Coppins and Steve Ramon. He scored sixth in moto1 and was set up for another podium result.

While running within the top five in the second race he tried an ambitious overtaking move on KTM''s Ramon that resulted in both riders hitting the ground. The RM-Z450WS suffered some damage in the spill and the exhaust silencer worked loose, eventually breaking off with two laps to run. The increased noise led to an infringement of the rules and a minute-penalty was added to Smets'' final race time.

The Belgian has slipped from second to fifth in the World Championship standings as Townley, Pichon and Coppins climbed the podium. The 36 year old now stares at a 20 point deficit to Coppins in the current runner-up spot.

Team mate Kevin Strijbos struggled to make an impression in testing circumstances. The 19 year old is trying to fight back from a broken left collarbone as well as thrombosis in his left arm. His limb is still not in prime condition and the Belgian is also low on confidence. Two awful starts determined his races today and his second moto result of 17th was the highlight of a forgettable Grand Prix.

Motovision Suzuki Racing''s Yoshitaka Atsuta was a welcome sight at the front of the field in both outings as he produced his best starts of the season. The only Japanese rider in the World Championship was running within the top three in the first few laps. He was struck by arm pump in the first sprint that dropped him to 13th but foraged within the top ten later in the afternoon to take his best finish of the season with sixth.

Round ten takes place in just seven days time at Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden.

Joel Smets:

''It was a very bad day. I suffered from the heat more than I expected. My fitness has been good all year long but I have been working hard since last September and maybe I am going through a small dip at the moment. In the first moto I felt fatigue in my muscles and like I did not have enough oxygen. I tried to recuperate as much as possible between the motos and things were going better in the second race. I was catching Steve and Mickael and I felt another top three was possible, then I had an unfortunate collision with Steve and it was my fault. I went to see him to apologise; that is not how I like to overtake. I thought I was going to come out of the corner further ahead but I misjudged. We had different riding directions and that''s how I took his front wheel. It was a sad race incident because we both lost decent points. With the exhaust coming off it was noisy as hell. Altogether it was a day to forget.''

Kevin Strijbos:

''There were not many positive things to take from this GP, the first moto especially. I had arm-pump in my left arm and it also felt quite sore. I could not find a rhythm and I was too slow. I was struggling to breathe and it was a bad race. In the second heat, my start was shocking because I went too far to the outside and I was last. The riding was actually a little better and I was making some grou nd but my confidence is low at the moment and this season has so far been very difficult for me.. I know I am capable of much better and when I see Townley winning I know that with a decent winter of training I could have been doing the same.''

Yoshitaka Atsuta:

''In the first race I had a great start and was maybe second or third but I felt a bit nervous, my arms pumped and I was not riding well. I tried to keep smooth but it was very difficult and I stalled the bike once. In the second moto I made another good start and I thought I must forget the nerves and push hard. After 20 minutes it was a hot and very tough race. My physical condition was ok but I need to push more. I enjoyed the GP because everybody was very quick, the level was high and I could be a part of that group.''

MX1 Moto1 Result: 1 Ben Townley, NZL (KTM) 40:00.796. 2 Stefan Everts, BEL (Yamaha) 40:07.890. 3 Joshua Coppins, NZL (Honda) 40:18.240. 4 Mickael Pichon, FRA (Honda) 40:34.070. 5 Steve Ramon, BEL (KTM) 40:43.957. 6 Joel Smets, BEL (Suzuki) 41:13.945. 7 Antoine Meo, FRA (Husqvarna) 41:21.890. 8 Pascal Leuret, FRA (Honda) 41:31.942. 9 Kornel Nemeth, HUN (Suzuki) 41:41.692. 10 Jonathan Barragan, SPA (KTM) 41:56.028. 13 Yoshitaka Atsuta, JPN (Suzuki) 40:29.990. 20 Kevin Strijbos, BEL (Suzuki) 40:05.494.

MX1 Moto2 Result: 1 Ben Townley, NZL (KTM) 39:58.274. 2 Joshua Coppins, NZL (Honda) 40:05.672. 3 Mickael Pichon, FRA (Honda) 40:20.065. 4 Jonathan Barragan, SPA (KTM) 40:51.310. 5 Pascal Leuret, FRA (Honda) 40:59.920. 6 Yoshitaka Atsuta, JPN (Suzuki) 41:22.491. 7 Stefan Everts, BEL (Yamaha) 41:29.619. 8 Steve Ramon, BEL (KTM) 41:32.032. 9 Marvin van Daele, BEL (Honda) 41:38.037. 10 Danny Theybers, BEL (Suzuki) 41:44.291. 16 Joel Smets, BEL (Suzuki) 41:00.932. 17 Kevin Strijbos, BEL (Suzuki) 41:01.902.

MX1 Overall Result: 1 Ben Townley 50. 2 Joshua Coppins 42. 3 Mickael Pichon 38. 4 Stefan Everts 36. 5 Jonathan Barragan 29. 6 Pascal Leuret 29. 7 Steve Ramon 29, 8 Yoshitaka Atsuta 23. 9 Kornel Nemeth 22. 10 Joel Smets 20. 13 Danny Theybers 15. 19 Kevin Strijbos 5.

MX1 World Championship Standings (after nine rounds): 1 Stefan Everts 375. 2 Joshua Coppins 316. 3 Ben Townley 304. 4 Mickael Pichon 299. 5 Joel Smets 296. 6 Steve Ramon 232. 7 Brian Jorgensen 164. 8 James Noble 160. 9 Pascal Leuret 159. 10 Ken de Dijcker 148. 11 Danny Theybers 141. 16 Yoshitaka Atsuta 114. 22 Kevin Strijbos 55.

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