Team Suzuki’s positive 2006 FIM MX1 World Championship campaign is entering its final phases as both Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon travel with their works RM-Z450s to Northern Ireland this weekend; the 13th round of 15 in the series that will be concluded in three weeks with trips to Holland and France also scheduled.
Strijbos holds second place in the standings just 16 points ahead of Ramon in third place who in turn enjoys a 37-point gap over Honda’s Ken de Dycker in fourth. There are only 150 points left to win this year and Stefan Everts has yet to be beaten, even though Strijbos is one of just two riders to have finished in front of the 10-times Champion this term.
The Grand Prix of Northern Ireland is being run for the first time on a Sunday (Monday is Bank Holiday) and represents the third consecutive visit to the Emerald Isle. The Porter’s Pit layout, less than an hour west of Belfast in the town of Desertmartin, will host the World Championship for the second time after an inaugural appearance on the calendar in 2005.
The narrow and twisty Desertmartin circuit is distinctive for its dark, red terrain that consists of fine and stony dirt. The surface cuts up very quickly, like sand, and becomes very rough and technical. The bumps and ruts make it a real rider’s track with emphasis on guile, courage, cunning and fitness rather than outright horsepower.
In a three-week break from the World Championship, Strijbos missed two rounds of the Belgian series that he had been leading. The recently turned 21 year old has been nursing a groin strain, picked up as a result of his practice crash last time out in Namur. Suspected fractured left ribs were given the all clear but the Belgian elected for more recovery time in place of national commitments so that his full energy goes into defence of his GP runner-up slot.
“My leg is much better and I went practicing for the first time yesterday,” he said. “I felt fine sitting down on the bike but the leg was still a bit sore when I took it off the pegs going around the corners. I had to rest for a few days after Namur and I was glad that my ribs were not broken. I have been doing some gym work and swimming and hope that things will be fine for this weekend.”
“I like Desertmartin a lot,” he continued, looking ahead. “It gets very rough and passing people can be a lot of fun. I want to ride in the sand this week to get some preparation done because the other guys have kept busy over these last couple of weeks while I have had to recover. Of course my goal will be to beat Steve. I want that second place in the Championship and this was one of my main reasons for sitting out the Belgian series. Steve is riding well at the moment though so it will be tough.”
Ramon now fronts the Belgian points table after two runner-up positions in as many weeks at Mol and Orp-le-Grand and can wrap up the title in three weeks time at Pierreux.
“We had a race at Mol in the deep sand and that went well for me. I had three good starts and could battle with Stefan in those races,” he recalled. “I came very close to beating him in that last moto and it was a lot of fun. The bike has been working really well and my riding has been at a high level. The track at Orp-le-Grand was a lot different, much harder and more slippery because of the rain but the results were still good.”
Ramon finished fourth at Desertmartin last year. “Desertmartin is a good track,” he remarked. “It is nice to ride and the sandy dirt means that it is a strong surface for me. There are only 16 points between Kevin and I and it is my goal to close that down and get the runner-up position in the Championship. He has been out for a couple of weeks so we will see how he runs in Ireland.”
MX1 World Championship Standings (after 12 of 15 rounds): 1 Stefan Everts (Bel), 592,
2 Kevin Strijbos (Bel), 424,
3 Steve Ramon (Bel), 408,
4 Ken De Dycker (Bel), 371,
5 Tanel Leok (Est), 365,
6 J.Barragan (Spa), 273,
7 Pascal Leuret (Fra), 230,
8 Cedric Melotte (Bel), 224,
9 Manuel Priem (Bel), 210,
10 Joshua Coppins (Nzl), 202.
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