A happy hunting ground beckons for Team Suzuki this weekend as the Belgian squad heads to the Loket circuit in the depths of western Czech Republic for the 11th round of 15 in the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. Twelve months ago Kevin Strijbos gave the RM-Z450 its maiden Grand Prix victory at the hillside venue. The triumph also represented a career first for the young Belgian. After an impressive run of podium results in the previous nine rounds, the team will arrive to the circuit located just outside the scenic town of Karlovy Vary with their riders holding second and third in the World Championship standings behind runaway leader Stefan Everts.
The World Champion has owned every MX1 Grand Prix this season but could face his toughest test yet with Strijbos - a fan of the Czech dirt and plunging drops of the layout.
“Yes, it is fair to say that Loket has been a good track for us!” the 20 year old commented. “I hope with two good starts I might be able to get closer to Stefan. I am a good second in the Championship now and I need another podium result to get the momentum back after some back luck in South Africa.”
The Belgian is currently 22 points ahead of his team mate.
Steve Ramon has not registered a result inside the overall top five in the last two years at Loket, but after claiming silverware at four from the last five races, is confident of being a part of another rostrum ceremony. The former World Champion will also be keen to put more distance between himself and Tanel Leok who is fourth in the standings and trails by only four points.
“The Championship has closed up a little behind Stefan and I want to aim for the second spot,” he said. “I had a free weekend but kept on practicing and also have a race scheduled for the middle of this week. Loket is not one of my favourite tracks and I have not had much luck there in the last two years. The track feels a bit fast and has jumps that aren’t that difficult but I’m not sure if they have made changes for this year. I am feeling good on the Suzuki at the moment and another podium result would be good.”
Loket has entertained the World Championship every year since 2001 and been witness to three title-winning celebrations in the past, two of which were for Everts. The circuit does not have a great deal of room to accommodate multitudes of fans but its off-cambered turns and steep inclines make it a flowing and natural test. The grip levels tend to vary and the race conditions have alternated between dry and wet over the past few years.
The weather forecast predicts cloudy and cooler temperatures but with the chance of a thunderstorm on Saturday.
MX1 World Championship Points (after 10 of 15 rounds): 1 Stefan Everts (Bel) 492,
2 Kevin Strijbos (Bel) 356,
3 Steve Ramon (Bel) 334,
4 Tanel Leok (Est) 330,
5 Ken De Dycker (Bel) 322,
6 Jonathan Barragan (Spa) 235,
7 Pascal Leuret (Fra) 186,
8 Cedric Melotte (Bel) 172,
9 Francisco Garcia Vico (Spa) 172,
10 Manuel Priem (Bel) 168.
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