Team Suzukis Steve Ramon was only 800ths-of-a-second away from pole position at a warm Sun City circuit for the Grand Prix of South Africa today and the 10th round of 15 in the MX1 Motocross World Championship as team mate Kevin Strijbos took fourth. The Belgian, who narrowly missed out on a podium at the 2005 edition of the event at the same venue, came through a small carburation problem in the two free practice sessions and held the top spot for the second half of the Timed Practice before being nudged down to second by World Champion Stefan Everts.
The Sun City circuit was, as usual, well organised and excellently presented. The track had also been improved with the clay-like mud deeper and softer with more traction, creating more lines and various passing opportunities.
Ramon raised the front end of his RM-Z450 slightly to help with the steering of the bike through the sticky mud and felt at home for the 30 minute Chrono. Strijbos also made some tweaks to the suspension but was happy with the set-up of the 450 that has gained 11 podium results from a possible 18 so far this season.
Strijbos visited a specialist before flying to Johannesburg to see if anything could be done about the cramps in his right thigh. The condition still remains a mystery and the young Belgian hopes the pain won’t strike too profoundly tomorrow. Strijbos was fourth fastest in both free practices but found the Sun City curves and leaps tricky to conquer.
Steve Ramon:“Timed Practice went very well. We had some carburation problems earlier in the day but we changed the unit before the qualification and the bike was perfect. My riding was pretty good and I made some fast laps at the beginning before going for another final attempt near the end. I went quicker again but Stefan was behind me and he did a better lap also! Second is good enough for tomorrow and a decent place on the start gate. The track is good with many ruts and there are places to pass.”
Kevin Strijbos:“Not so bad, not so good today. It was hard to make one good lap because a small mistake would leave you way off a decent time. The bike is working great but I haven’t ridden all week. It will be tough tomorrow but I hope for a good start and that the cramps won’t bother me again. I believe that I can be on the podium for sure; single fast laps have never been my speciality.”
Timed Practice: 1 Stefan Everts, (Bel) Yamaha 1:50.400,
2 Steve Ramon, (Bel) Suzuki 1:50.481,
3 Joshua Coppins, (Nzl) Honda 1:51.103,
4 Kevin Strijbos, (Bel) Suzuki 1:51.874,
5 Jonathan Barragan, (Spa) KTM 1:51.898,
6 Ken De Dycker, (Bel) Honda 1:52.038,
7 Antti Pyrhonen, (Fin) TM 1:53.222,
8 Gordon Crockard, (Gbr) Honda 1:53.881,
9 Julien Bill, (Sui) Yamaha 1:53.884,
10 Cedric Melotte, (Bel) Yamaha 1:53.916.
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