STRIJBOS 10TH ON DESERTMARTIN GATE
16 September 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Suzuki rider Kevin Strijbos registered the 10th fastest lap-time on the RMZ450 this afternoon during a close qualification at a cold and overcast Desertmartin for the Grand Prix of Ireland, the 17th and final round of the 2005 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship.

Strijbos placed eighth and fourth in the two free practice sessions around the hilly, red-sanded terrain after changing the sprocket and making a slight adjustment to the carburation on the four-stroke machine.

The 20 year old Belgian was holding ninth position for the majority of the 30 minute Timed Practice in chilly and windy conditions and despite lowering his best effort three times on his last three attempts could not significantly scale the order, eventually ending the period in 10th.

Motovision Suzuki Racing''s Yoshitaka Atsuta was 17th after struggling to find his rhythm in Timed Practice. The former Japanese Champion, who still hasn''t confirmed his plans for 2006, altered the jetting on his RM-Z and remains confident for the races tomorrow at the venue where he scored a podium in the British Championship several months ago.

After the Saturday race programme the international season will be completed next week at the Motocross of Nations, where Strijbos will again represent his country and help Belgium defend the trophy they won at Lierop last year.

Kevin Strijbos:

''I tried my best but it was so difficult because we were all doing pretty much the same times. I always seemed to be on the wrong side of the track because I never found the fast guys like Coppins, Pichon and Townley and to get a tow at a circuit like this is really useful because you can fix your pace with some kind of reference. I''m happy with my riding. Even if tenth doesn''t look that good it is ok for the start. It did not look that easy to pass in the MX2 race so I must get away with the leaders tomorrow. The track is nice to ride but because of the stones it can be very slippery.''

MX1 Timed Practice Classification: 1 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 1:40.343. 2 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha 1:40.408. 3 Tanel Leok, (EST) Kawasaki 1:40.475. 4 Mickael Pichon, (FRA) Honda 1:40.878. 5 Steve Ramon, (BEL) KTM 1:40.981. 6 Ken de Dijcker, (BEL) Honda 1:41.121. 7 Kenneth Gundersen, (NOR) KTM 1:41.845. 8 Ben Townley, (NZL) KTM 1:41.947. 9 James Noble, (GBR) Honda 1:42.120. 10 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 1:42.252. 17 Yoshitaka Atsuta, (JPN) Suzuki 1:43.992.

MX1 World Championship (standings after 16 rounds): 1 Stefan Everts, BEL 671. 2 Joshua Coppins, NZL 614. 3 Ben Townley, NZL 545. 4 Steve Ramon, BEL 465. 5 Mickael Pichon, FRA 446. 6 Joel Smets, BEL 385. 7 Pascal Leuret, FRA 296. 8 Ken de Dijcker, BEL 292. 9 Jonathan Barragan, SPA 284. 10 James Noble, GBR 282. 12 Danny Theybers, BEL 267. 14 Yoshitaka Atsuta, JPN 209. 16 Kevin Strijbos, BEL 173.

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