SMETS GRABS 6TH IN BELGIAN RAIN
31 July 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Suzuki rider Joel Smets left a cold and rainy Grand Prix of Wallonie at the Nismes circuit this afternoon with a hard-earned sixth position after an incident-packed set of motos involved the Belgian scoring eighth and sixth positions and suffering a crash in both sprints.

Flanked by 21,000 fans over the weekend, prepared for almost winter conditions with low temperatures, showers and a strong breeze, the Nismes circuit had been renovated Saturday evening but still offered a technical and slippery test in which passing opportunities were rare.

Smets started well in Moto1, holding fifth position for the first third of the race but did not feel confident enough to attack the greasy terrain. A slip and further loss of time meant that he was passed by three riders and eventually crossed the finish line eighth.

The second race was a lottery as downpours in the first 15 minutes punished even the smallest error. The former five-time World Champion, circulating with the extra edge he was missing earlier in the day, was again holding a place just outside of the leaders but tangled with a fallen Brian Jorgensen who hit the ground just in front of the 36 year old. Some decent lap-times saw Smets confirm sixth position in a moto that delivered a plethora of crashes.

Kevin Strijbos produced a decent enough return to World Championship action by posting results 11th and 15th. The 19 year old had a nightmare first corner and ended the opening lap down in 21st. The Belgian fought back admirably to collect 11th and take confidence from his proactive performance. In the second moto he mistakenly opted to use tear-off visors on his goggles and quickly lost a decent field of vision as the rain came down, but after pitting for another set, he was able to rescue some points.

Motovision Suzuki Racing''s Yoshitaka Atsuta crashed in the opening turn of the first moto and bent the front end of the RM-Z450 as well as damaging the radiator slightly. He managed to finish the race a lap down but scored two points for 19th place. A brighter beginning to Moto2 saw the former Japanese Champion running as high as sixth. He survived a brief skirmish with Smets to collect seventh by the end of the 35 minutes and 2 laps and equal his highest Grand Prix finish of the season; he earned seventh place in the second moto at Agueda for the GP of Portugal.

Smets is still fourth in the standings and lies 13 points behind Ben Townley in third. Atsuta is 14th and Strijbos is 22nd having missed seven of the races.

The 13th round of 17 in the MX1 World Championship will take place at Loket next weekend for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic.

Joel Smets:

''That first moto was bad. I was riding at 80% and it felt like I was on cruise control. In every corner I was telling myself that I could go faster but I could not understand why I wasn''t pushing. I have had this a few times this season and I want to sort it out. I can only think that this mental block comes from being out for a year and then coming back to fight with the top guys at the age of 36.

''Physically I am feeling fit and I proved at the beginning of the season that I can do it, so it is strange that sometimes the fighting spirit isn''t there. There are five GPs to go and I want to do well. With my trainer and others we are trying to get it fixed. I really felt that I could have fought at the front in that second race but I had a little bad luck because Jorgensen crashed there in my path and I could not avoid him. I went straight into the gap between the fender and the rear wheel; I had a hard time to pull my bike back up! I lost a lot of places but at least I was making forward progress whereas in the first race I was going backwards. The lap-times showed in the second heat that I was doing well.''

Kevin Strijbos:

''Mycomeback was ok. I was happy with my riding and my speed in the first heat even if the start was bad. I had to stop because Stefan Everts had crashed in front of me but I made some positions and could run with those guys for 40 minutes. In the second race, I made a mistake by choosing tear-offs for my goggles. When I went off the start I had some rain between the sheets and I could not see a thing. I had to stop for some more and then was able to increase my speed. I am glad to be back and I think things will be much better in Loket because I can feel my speed returning.''

Yoshitaka Atsuta:

''It was a bad day but I am happy with my fitness in both of the motos. In the first race my jump was good but I someone hit in the first corner and crashed. There was a big gap to the other riders and I climbed as high as I could. The start of the second moto was better but it started to rain heavily and everybody was crashing so I just tried to stay on the bike. Smets then came and hit me unbelievably hard. He bent my gear lever and smashed my ankle. I did not crash. I was pretty mad and went full gas to try and catch him but I was making a few mistakes. I finished seventh on a difficult track and took some good points, so that was ok.''

MX1 Moto 1: 1 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) Honda 40:26.396. 2 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 40:30.935. 3 Pascal Leuret, (FRA) Honda 41:01.021. 4 Brian Jorgensen, (DEN) Yamaha 41:04.164. 5 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha 41:11.383. 6 Steve Ramon, (BEL) KTM 41:12.943. 7 Ben Townley, (NZL) KTM 41:16.903. 8 Joel Smets, (BEL) Suzuki 41:19.819. 9 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) Honda 41:27.814. 10 Manuel Priem, (BEL) Yamaha 41:29.198. 11 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 41:31.600. 12 Danny Theybers, (BEL) Suzuki 41:35.012. 19 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) Suzuki 40:33.431.

MX1 Moto 2: 1 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha 39:15.069. 2 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) Honda 39:17.550. 3 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 39:19.446. 4 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) Honda 40:11.148. 5 Manuel Priem, (BEL) Yamaha 40:15.097. 6 Joel Smets, (BEL) Suzuki 40:27.490. 7 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) Suzuki 40:31.099. 8 Steve Ramon, (BEL) KTM 40:33.272. 9 Pascal Leuret, (FRA) Honda 40:34.912. 10 Danny Theybers, (BEL) Suzuki 40:37.316. 15 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 39:33.206.

MX1 Overall Result: 1 Pichon 47. 2 Coppins 42. 3 Everts 41, 4 Leuret 32. 5 de Dijcker 30. 6 Smets 28. 7 Ramon 28. 8 Priem 27. 9 Townley 22. 10 Theybers 20. 13 Atsuta 16. 14 Strijbos 16.

MX1 World Championship Points (After 12 rounds): 1 Everts 496. 2 Coppins 458. 3 Townley 390. 4 Smets 377. 5 Pichon 346. 6 Ramon 332. 7 Leuret 243. 8 Noble 218, 9 de Dijcker 214. 10 Jorgensen 206. 14 Atsuta 171. 22 Strijbos 71.

www.suzuki-racing.com

More News
  For July 2005
  From Suzuki Racing
  For Motocross
  Biker247.com Home Page