Team Suzuki's Kevin Strijbos could not make good on his pole position today at a hot Mantova circuit for the Grand Prix of Italy as the Belgian rode to fourth place overall in the fourth round of 15 in the 2007 MX1 Motocross World Championship. The Belgian was fast, consistent and comfortable on the rough course on Saturday but could not repeat his form and speed in the two motos. He gained third place in the opening race but struggled with arm-pump and then crashed in the second before finishing eighth and leaving the packed venue severely disappointed.
Mantova provided a tough test for the MX1 protagonists as the sand carved into a bumpy and demanding terrain but the many jumps ensured plenty of air-time and kept the 29,000 crowd entertained. Temperatures in the high twenties meant that the 35 minute and 2 lap motos were physically draining.
Strijbos, who took his second career pole position yesterday, was part of the leading group that enacted an interesting and lively first race. David Philippaerts and Marc de Reuver crashed together, Ken de Dycker and Josh Coppins tangled for the lead until the latter escaped, Tanel Leok cut through to second and de Dycker suffered a DNF in the closing stages. In the midst of the position-swapping, Strijbos remained steady in third and his attempts to rise higher were only dented by arm-pump that saw the Belgian maintain his own rhythm to the flag.
Later in the afternoon he controversially clashed with Philippaerts that put both riders on the ground and out of contention for a top-five finish on the third lap. Strijbos remounted but was unsatisfied with his riding for eighth.
"It has been a really bad day and I cannot explain it," he said. "I had arm-pump in the first moto. I could not find my lines or a rhythm and it was terrible. Third place was not a disaster of a result but I knew I could do much better so I was disappointed. In the second race my start was awful and then I crashed with Philippaerts. He was taking the outside line and cut across and I was going too fast to be able to brake in time. After that, the moto did not get any better."
Ramon had another difficult day. The 27 year old started poorly and took the first half of Moto1 to find his pace before beginning to shift through the leaderboard. He moved up to seventh by the end of proceedings. In the second moto he was not completely happy with his set-up but nevertheless reeled off a string of decent laps to find fifth place and the same ranking overall
"The first moto was ruined by a bad start and again I had to come from far behind," he offered. "I found it difficult to pass and I was not riding well. My start was better in the second race but it was hard to go full gas and I think we need to make some more tests so we can get things moving in the right direction."
The World Championship standings show that Strijbos has conceded 17 points to Josh Coppins at the top of the table and he now needs to close a margin of 36 to head the series. He does enjoy a 42 point gap, however, over Ramon in third.
The team will now head directly to the Talkessel circuit in Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany this coming weekend. A long journey to Sugo in Japan in three weeks time then closes the month.
MX1 Moto1:1. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 40:20.318;
2. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +0:10.494;
3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:16.085;
4. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.880;
5. James Noble (GBR, Honda), +0:34.911;
6. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:38.195;
7. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:42.294;
8. Gordon Crockard (IRL, Honda), +0:46.664;
9. David Philippaerts (ITA, KTM), +0:49.336;
10. Kornel Nemeth (HUN, Suzuki), +0:55.145.
MX1 Moto2: 1. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 40:56.507;
2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:05.757;
3. Marc de Reuver (NED, Yamaha), +0:10.669;
4. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:13.407;
5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:15.793;
6. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +0:19.242;
7. James Noble (GBR, Honda), +0:28.599;
8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:39.096;
9. Mike Brown (USA, Honda), +0:49.588;
10. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:59.306;
MX1 Overall: 1 Coppins 50,
2 Leok 37,
3 Pourcel 36,
4 Strijbos 33,
5 Ramon 30,
6 Noble 30,
7 De Dycker 22,
8 Crockard 22,
9 De Reuver 20,
10 Brown 19.
Mx1 World Championship Standings (After 4 Of 15 Rounds):
1 Coppins 194,
2 Strijbos 158,
3 Ramon 116,
4 De Dycker 106,
5 Pourcel 103,
6 Barragan 100,
7 Leok 98,
8 Noble 91,
9 Brown 81,
10 De Reuver 80.
Related News
