SMETS OUT FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON
20 August 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Suzuki''s Joel Smets ended his 2005 MX1 Motocross World Championship after catching his leg in a rut during the second free practice session this afternoon at Gaildorf and dislocated his left knee.

The former five-time World Champion fell innocuously on a tight banked left turn and was immediately grounded, screaming in pain. The practice period was momentarily halted so that the Belgian could be given medical assistance involving a pain killing jab and an immediate transfer to the nearby hospital.
The 36 year old was given an anaesthetic and the limb was clicked back into place but further scans are necessary to determine if there is any ligament damage and if surgery is required.

The German Grand Prix has held some happy memories for the team with World Championship success being celebrated in 1994, 2001 and 2002. However, this latest incident is another unfortunate case of history repeating itself as Mickael Pichon crashed and broke his left knee during warm-up at Gaildorf, ending his chase for the MXGP World title during 2003.

The heavily overcast skies finally erupted at the start of the official Timed Practice chrono and in slippery and muddy conditions, Kevin Strijbos, winner of the last round in Czech Republic, was hovering just outside the top 10 in the first part of the 30 minute outing and finally placed fifth with a lap-time over a second away from Steve Ramon''s pole effort. The 19-year-old Belgian made some modifications to the RMZ-450 during the morning for smoother power delivery and changed down to 20'' wheels but reverted back to his original settings when the rain arrived.

Motovision Suzuki Racing''s Yoshitaka Atsuta qualified in a lowly 25th but his fast lap was ruined by a run-in with a slower rider that caused the former Japanese Champion to crash. A broken rear brake sustained in the spill prevented another opportunity to place higher up the order.

Kevin Strijbos - 5th fastest:

''My riding was not so good during the first practice and I couldn''t feel comfortable on the track. We changed the bike for the second session but it wasn''t that much better when the rain came. It was very slippery and mainly one line so we switched back to the bigger wheels and tried another sprocket. In the beginning of qualifying I was 15th and seven seconds behind first place and I thought, ''what are you doing?'' I caught Ramon and followed him for one lap and that pulled me up. The track was difficult because earlier some parts were slippery and others not. If it has to rain then I hope it soaks the terrain so that there will not be this wide difference and we know what to do with the set-up and tyres. I know that I have a bike that can give me the holeshot so I am hopeful for tomorrow.''

MX1 Timed Practice:

1 Steve Ramon, (BEL) KTM 1:56.626. 2 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) Honda 1:56.744. 3 Ben Townley, (NZL) KTM 1:57.070. 4 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha 1:57.140. 5 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 1:57.985. 6 Tanel Leok, (EST) Kawasaki 1:58.016. 7 Brian Jorgensen, (DEN) Yamaha 1:58.307. 8 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 1:58.705. 9 Jonathan Barragan, (SPA) KTM 1:58.743. 10 Marvin van Daele, (BEL) Honda 1:59.183. 23 Danny Theybers, (BEL) Suzuki 2:02.033. 25 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) Suzuki 2:02.361.

MX1 World Championship Standings (after 13 rounds): 1 Stefan Everts, (BEL) 539. 2 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) 500. 3 Ben Townley, (NZL) 426. 4 Joel Smets, (BEL) 385, 5 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) 368. 6 Steve Ramon, (BEL) 342. 7 Pascal Leuret, (FRA) 267. 8 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) 245. 9 James Noble, (GBR) 230. 10 Brian Jorgensen, (DEN) 224. 11 Danny Theybers, (BEL) 223. 14 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) 184. 18 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) 114.< /STRONG>

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