HEROIC STRIJBOS SUFFERS IN GERMANY
21 August 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Suzuki''s Kevin Strijbos raced to a heroic ninth place and 14th overall at a very wet and muddy German MX1 Grand Prix after taking pain killers for intense toothache.

The Belgian required heavy medication from Saturday afternoon, but made the best of very demanding conditions in Gaildorf, the 14th round of 17, after heavy rainfall turned the circuit into a quagmire.

More than 12,000 fans over the weekend braved chilly and overcast conditions to witness a lottery of a Grand Prix filled with crashes and incidents: The track evolved from a bog to a bumpy, drier and more-technical prospect by the end of the day but the terrain constituted the hardest test of the season.

Strijbos started well in both motos but a crash on the second lap of the first race dropped him from fifth to almost last. The 19 year old battled back to ninth but then fell twice more in the second outing on the same corner where team-mate Joel Smets sustained his knee dislocation yesterday. Running well out of the points and far behind the field he retired at mid-distance.

It wasn''t a happy weekend for the team with Smets'' season again being prematurely curtailed and Strijbos even losing one position in the World Championship standings, dropping to 19th.

Motovision Suzuki Racing''s Yoshitaka Atsuta also had a poor weekend and walked away with just one point for 20th spot from the first moto. The former Japanese Champion crashed in the early stages of both races, and, although he displayed some encouraging speed in the first moto, he was simply too far behind the leaderboard in the final MX1 race.

The 15th round of the series follows hard upon with the Grand Prix of England taking place in just seven days time at the Arreton circuit on the Isle of Wight.

Kevin Strijbos:

''I had a good start in the first race and was right with Townley but then I got caught in a rut and the bike stopped. I had to restart and came back from last to ninth. My riding was ok and I was feeling comfortable so I was hopeful for race two even if my tooth was really hurting in between the motos. My start was poor in the second heat and I went into the same turn where Joel got hurt and the rut was really deep. I could not control the bike and went down again. The bike was on a slope and I was really angry because I could not get it upright to restart and had to wait until I was lapped until I could roll it down the hill. The race was over when I went down again in the same corner. I just want to forget this GP.''

Yoshitaka Atsuta:

''Qualifying was OK but somebody crashed in front of me which meant I hit the ground and broke my back brake. I lost 15 minutes in the pits and had a bad position in the gate. In the first moto, I had a good jump but in the third corner someone was stuck on the inside so I thought I would take a wider line but the two lines came together and I got caught up. I was riding ok for 20 minutes but then I crashed and made a big mess; I could not grip the bars for mud. I crashed in the first few corners again in the second race and could not lift the bike because I was on the hill. I could not restart and was lapped. I tried hard on the better-and-drier mud but I was just too far behind.''

MX1 Moto 1: 1 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha 41:06.113. 2 Steve Ramon, (BEL) KTM 41:31.165. 3 Ben Townley, (NZL) KTM 41:49.476. 4 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) Honda 42:21.159. 5 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 42:31.477. 6 Luigi Seguy, (FRA) Yamaha 42:41.742. 7 Kenneth Gundersen, (NOR) KTM 42:44.087. 8 Tanel Leok, (EST) Kawasaki 42:45.994. 9 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 42:46.992. 10 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) Honda 42:54.864. 18 Danny Theybers, (BEL) Suzuki 43:10.605. 20 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) Suzuki 42:19.136

MX1 Moto 2: 1 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha 40:33.002. 2 Tanel Leok, (EST) Kawasaki 40:39.452. 3 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 40:40.219. 4 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) Honda 40:49.482. 5 Steve Ramon, (BEL) KTM 40:55.313. 6 Jonathan Barragan, (SPA) KTM 40:59.867. 7 Ben Townley, (NZL) KTM 41:21.769. 8 James Noble, (GBR) Honda 41:55.433. 9 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) Honda 42:01.527. 10 Pascal Leuret, (FRA) Honda 42:05.425. 21 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) Suzuki 41:10.099. 28 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 17:34.016.

MX1 Overall Result: 1 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha 50. 2 Steve Ramon, (BEL) KTM 38. 3 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 36. 4 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) Honda 36. 5 Tanel Leok, (EST) Kawasaki 35. 6 Ben Townley, (NZL) KTM 34. 7 Jonathan Barragan, (SPA) KTM 25. 8 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) Honda 23. 9 James Noble, (GBR) Honda 22. 10 Lauris Freibergs, (LAT) Suzuki 15. 14 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 12. 24 Danny Theybers, (BEL) Suzuki 3. 27 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) Suzuki 1.

MX1 World Championship standings (after 14 rounds): 1 Stefan Everts, (BEL) 589. 2 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) 536. 3 Ben Townley, (NZL) 460. 4 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) 404. 5 Joel Smets, (BEL) 385. 6 Steve Ramon, (BEL) 380. 7 Pascal Leuret, (FRA) 278. 8 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) 268. 9 Tanel Leok, (EST) 254. 10 James Noble, (GBR) 252. 13 Danny Theybers, (BEL) 226. 14 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) 185. 19 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) 126.

www.suzuki-racing.com

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