Team Suzuki will shortly arrive at the Montevarchi circuit set in the scenic landscapes of the countryside 40km south of Florence for the UFO Grand Prix of Italy and the seventh round of action in the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. Stefan Everts has been dominating the series so far and has owned all six races until this point. The Belgian RM-Z450 mounted duo of Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon have taken six podium results between them and both lie with the top five of the Championship standings. The pair gave Suzuki a very healthy presence on the rostrum last week as Strijbos finished runner-up and Ramon was third after a muddy meeting in Bulgaria.
With precious little time to rest the team headed directly from Sevlievo to Italy. This weekend represents the 38th incarnation of the Italian GP - running through the old 250cc class and MXGP into MX1 - and the fourth time Montevarchi has played host. The last visit came in 2003 where Everts not only owned the MXGP class but also entered and won the old 125 category, now MX2. With the World Champion currently throttling the MX1 Championship the clamour for a fresh winner and for someone to beat the 33 year old grows. The Italian Grand Prix will be a home event for at least five major teams in the paddock. The circuit itself is tucked away on a wooded hillside and is a narrow, hard-pack technical test with many jumps.
On his last visit in 2003, Kevin Strijbos – who was steering the RM250 in his first full term for the Belgian squad - had to recover from an early crash and was 16th after fighting back from last position.
“Montevarchi is a cool track,” the 20 year old offers. ‘I have been there only once. It is pretty hard so I hope they have worked on the ground. The weather was really bad in the second moto at Bulgaria so I am expecting to find something better in Italy! To finish second twice and to take another podium was good for my confidence after the dip in Japan. I have to maintain these results now and I have a fresh chance to string some top three results together.”
Steve Ramon has now notched two podiums in a row and has taken a trophy in half of the GPs run this season. The 26 year old visited Montevarchi in his 125cc title winning year and was second on the day. “I did a good job in terms of the Championship last week in difficult conditions,” he said regarding his third place in Bulgaria. “I only lost a few points to Kevin but it was good to get back on the podium. I like Montevarchi, it is a nice track. There are a lot of jumps and the dirt is good. Last time there I was riding a 125 and had a pretty good race so I am looking forward to going back.”
The weather forecast for the weekend predicts sunshine and high temperatures touching 30 degrees on Saturday but there is a chance of storms and showers on Sunday.
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