TEAM SUZUKI STRONG FOR SUN CITY
14 July 2006 - Suzuki Racing

Team Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon head to Sun City in South Africa this weekend for the 10th round of the 2006 FIM Motocross World Championships holding strong second and fourth places on their factory RM-Z450s.

Last Sunday Strijbos and Ramon both climbed the podium at the fifth round of the Belgian Championships in Nismes and now make the long trip to the southern hemisphere having pinned the ‘yellow colours’ on the World Championship rostrum at eight of the nine events so far. On two occasions, the Flemish duo has filled both steps beside perennial winner Stefan Everts.

Strijbos, who has been struggling with leg cramps in the last few meetings, hopes to be fully fit for the third consecutive edition of the South African event and the third time in succession that the luxurious oasis of Sun City has created the entirely man-made hard-pack layout for the Grand Prix circus.

The meeting won the award for best GP of the 2004 World Championship but the 10th round this weekend represents the last visit to the popular tourist attraction with the fixture slated to head down to Durban for 2007.

Flanked on all sides by the grandstands used for the high-profile golf tournaments, the Sun City circuit is an impressive and spectacular course with many jumps and interesting technical sections.

Strijbos recently signed a fresh two-year extension to his contract with the Belgian-based Suzuki crew and commented on his satisfaction with the deal after the Grand Prix of Sweden. “I always knew that I would want to be a part of the team again so it has worked out really well. I am lucky that Suzuki has given me everything that I asked for and their technical support is amazing. I can speak my own language within the team and it is not far from home. We have a family atmosphere there and I am really happy to be a Suzuki rider for another two years.”

The 20 year old missed the 2005 trek to Sun City through injury but scored a decent fourth place the year before. “I think the track is good even if the dirt can be a bit better,” said Strijbos, “but it is fun to ride with some nice jumps. It is a long way to go but I enjoy travelling to South Africa.”

Steve Ramon has now notched five podiums in his first term with the team and was one lap away from winning his first moto on the RM-Z450 in Sweden. The former 125 World Champion was third under the African sun 12 months ago which bodes well for this coming Sunday.
“It is always nice to go to South Africa and I had some good results at Sun City last year,” he said. “The layout has a lot of jumps and there is a lot of air-time.”

“I am starting to move up in the Championship now and have the same points as Tanel Leok. I want to keep on being consistent and try to catch Kevin,” he added.

MX1 World Championship (after 9 of 15 rounds): 1 Stefan Everts (BEL) 442, 2 Kevin Strijbos (BEL) 328, 3 Tanel Leok (EST) 294, 4 Steve Ramon (BEL) 294, 5 Ken De Dycker (BEL) 292, 6 Jonathan Barragan (SPA) 212, 7 J.Garcia Vico (SPA) 165, 8 Pascal Leuret (FRA) 159, 9 Cedric Melotte (BEL) 157, 10 Manuel Priem (BEL) 146.

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