TEAM SUZUKI IN ZOLDER TOP 5
02 April 2006 - Suzuki Racing

Steve Ramon and Kevin Strijbos guided their works RM-Z450 machines to fourth and fifth positions

The race took place at the blustery Zolder circuit in Belgium today for the Karcher Grand Prix of Flanders, the opening round of the 2006 FIM MX1 World Championships.

The Zolder trackside crew had been busy overnight and in the early stages of this morning to repair the jump take-offs and sections of the layout that had been severely worn throughout practice and qualification yesterday. Race day began brightly, although with a cold, stiff breeze showers were likely and the rain did not ease off until just before the first MX1 moto.

Both Suzuki riders took to the line inside the top five - Ramon fourth and Strijbos fifth - but it was debutant Ramon who got the brighter start as he ran within the top five for the opening circulation and did not drop out of the leading group. The 16,000 attendance were treated to some decent racing as reigning Champion Stefan Everts chased down holeshotter Sebastien Tortelli. The pair set a fiery pace and managed to lap everybody up to fifth position by the end of the 21 laps. After a crash by Ken De Dycker, Ramon was elevated to third position but was caught and passed by Tanel Leok two laps later.

Strijbos, who had been suffering with a heavy cold during the week, recovered from a poor jump from the gate that saw him down in the lower half of the pack around the first turn. He fought his way up from 11th to sixth place but then struggled for energy and slipped back to eighth.

The track was at its driest throughout the whole weekend for the second moto and again the RM-Z450 proved an effective tool on the starts as both Belgians were jostling among the leaders. Everts and Tortelli escaped again and the tussle for third place saw both Suzuki’s in contention with the Kawasaki duo of Leok and Sword. Strijbos provided an exciting end to the day’s action as he moved past the Estonian with just three laps remaining. Ramon was unable to pull through and repeat his fourth spot from the first heat, but his top-five finish confirmed a ranking of fourth in the overall classification, just one point in front of his team-mate.

Team Suzuki now has a weekend free from World Championship competition but will begin the trip to Catalonia and the Bellpuig circuit in 10 days time for the Grand Prix of Spain. They will then drive across the Iberian Peninsula for round three in Portugal just one week after.

Kevin Strijbos:

“The first race was pretty bad. I did not make a good start and even though I could take some positions, after 20 minutes I was finished. I think I pushed too hard and I am still not 100% after being ill. I could not breathe and my stomach was painful. I rode my own pace and tried not to do anything stupid but I was not happy with the performance. Before the second heat I felt tired. My start was better but I could not push for 40 minutes. Things were going well towards the end and I could pressurise Leok. I am content with the overall result but we have to work harder and be more competitive in the first laps. Stefan and Tortelli were too far away. We have some work to do still.”

Steve Ramon:

“This was not a good GP for me. My riding was not good enough. My starts were fine but I couldn’t follow the speed of the guys in front. I was struggling in the ruts and I don’t know what to say except that I am not happy! I want to be up there with the top guys and today that was not possible; we have some improvement to make.”

Sylvain Geboers - Team Owner:

“I expected to be in the top five with both riders but the first heat did not work out that well. I think the distance between the top two was too much. The second heat was better, especially Kevin, but we can see that both riders have to work on their speed. Today was acceptable but we can be better.”

MX1 Race 1: 1 Sebastien Tortelli, FRA (KTM), 2 Stefan Everts BEL (Yamaha) 11.063, 3 Tanel Leok EST (Kawasaki) 1:05.994, 4 Steve Ramon BEL (Suzuki) 1:33.493, 5 Ken De Dycker BEL (Honda) 1:54.790, 6 Jonathan Barragan SPA (KTM) -1 Lap, 7 Pascal Leuret FRA (Honda) -1 Lap, 8 Kevin Strijbos BEL (Suzuki) -1 Lap, 9 Cedric Melotte BEL (Yamaha) -1 Lap, 10 Stephen Sword GBR (Kawasaki) -1 Lap. 15 Danny Theybers BEL (Suzuki) -1 Lap.

MX1 Race 2: 1 Everts, 2 Tortelli 38.639, 3 Strijbos 1:15.573, 4 Leok :23.799, 5 Ramon 1:30.347, 6 Sword 1:39.574, 7 De Dycker -1 Lap, 8 Melotte -1 Lap, 9 Barragan -1 Lap, 10 Leuret -1 Lap.

MX1 Overall result and World Championship points: 1 Everts 47, 2 Tortelli 47, 3 Leok 38, 4 Ramon 34, 5 Strijbos 33, 6 De Dycker 30, 7 Barragan 27, 8 Sword 26, 9 Leuret 25, 10 Melotte 25.

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