Team Suzuki's reigning world motocross champion Steve Ramon and his team mate Ken De Dycker both made their presence felt at the Hawkstone Park pre-season international with a pair of stunning displays on their electronically fuel injected RM-Z450s.
In almost perfect track and weather conditions Ken De Dycker romped to victory in moto one after closing down and pressurising early leader Billy MacKenzie into making a mistake in the second half of the race. While Ken claimed the win Steve Ramon held off a charging Marc De Reuver to finish second behind his teammate making it a Suzuki 1-2 in a field that included factory riders from all four Japanese manufacturers.
Starting fifth and eighth in moto two Ken and Steve had their work cut out to battle through to the head of the pack. While Ramon was able to reach third position to secure second overall on the day, increasing amounts of pain in Ken's still injured from Mantova back kept the tall Belgian back in sixth spot and fourth overall - just one point shy of a podium position.
While pain from Ken's injury stopped him from starting the mixed capacity Grand Final Steve did the team proud by finishing as first MX1 pilot after battling through the pack to finish second behind MX2 rider Tommy Searle who made the most of the five second head start the 250F pilots are gifted.
“It was a really good day for me,” said Steve. “Okay, I didn't win a moto but I'm happy with my riding especially after having to come through the pack in all three races from the start. I was feeling really good with the bike and we tested a few things and made some improvements so overall it's been a very positive day.”
“The doctor recommended I took 10 days rest because of my back injury I sustained in Mantova but the team and I had a few things to test and I really wanted to race here as it's such a good track,” claimed Ken. “In moto one I got a good start and settled into second place staying behind Billy MacKenzie and I was able to watch his lines and see what he was up to then he tangled with a backmarker and handed me the win. In the closing stages of the race I could feel the muscles in my back tightening up but I was able to slow down a little and hold on to the win.
“In moto two I didn't get such a good start and the pain was there all the time and with the track getting rougher and rougher I finished sixth. I decided to sit out of the last race because it didn't figure for the overall. I'm very happy that my speed is so good so early in the season.”
