RAMON COMES IN 3RD AT FINAL GP
16 September 2006 - Suzuki Racing

Team Suzuki’s Steve Ramon will enter the start gate in third position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of France at Ernee

- the 15th and final round of the 2006 FIM Motocross World Championship.

The Belgian steered his RM-Z450 to a lap-time half a second from pole position at the venue less than 100km west of Le Mans. Kevin Strijbos was fifth and less than a second away from Mickael Pichon.

The free practice periods were shortened after a deep grey sky coated the French track all day on Friday. Saturday dawned shadowed by more threatening clouds but remained mercifully dry, save the odd spell of drizzle. The first session took place on a soggy track with many tricky ruts rendering the jumps difficult to clear. The terrain was also very slippery and although it dried significantly by the afternoon a degree of caution was necessary.

Ramon nor Strijbos altered things on the RM-Z450 and Timed Practice saw the pair circulating in the top five. Ramon made one last push for a fast lap within the final minutes but a small mistake meant that he had to abandon the effort.

Both Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon will be looking to confirm their second and third positions in the World Championship standings tomorrow.

Steve Ramon:

“It was a good day. The first practice was a bit muddy and I did not push too hard. The second practice was less slippery and my riding was better although it is still difficult to ride smoothly here. The ground is very hard underneath and getting traction is not easy. You have to play a little bit with the throttle; if you are too aggressive then you can go down. I had third in Timed Practice and went for pole position on the last lap but made a mistake. I am pleased with third though. It is close with the times.”

Kevin Strijbos:

“Today was not so bad. I have not practiced with the 450 since Lierop and have only been working with the 250. I spent the first practice getting used to the bike again and I had some decent lines but my speed wasn’t good enough. The second session was a little bit the same and I needed to be more aggressive in the corners. The Timed Practice was much better but it was hard to get a lap at the end because the dry line was so narrow. I have a good feeling on the track though.”

MX1 Timed Practice: 1 Mickael PICHON (FRA), KTM 1:58.485, 2 Joshua COPPINS (NZL), HONDA 1:58.709, 3 Steve RAMON (BEL), SUZUKI 1:59.092, 4 Stefan EVERTS (BEL), YAMAHA 1:59.255, 5 Kevin STRIJBOS (BEL), SUZUKI 1:59.257, 6 Tanel LEOK (EST), KAWASAKI 1:59.846, 7 Kornel NEMETH (HUN), SUZUKI 2:00.025, 8 Ken DE DYCKER (BEL), HONDA 2:00.030, 9 Gordon CROCKARD (GBR), HONDA 2:00.123, 10 Manuel PRIEM (BEL), YAMAHA 2:00.693.

www.suzuki-racing.com

More News
  For September 2006
  From Suzuki Racing
  For Motocross
  Biker247.com Home Page