Steve Ramon enters the British Grand Prix at Donington Park and the penultimate round of the 2007 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship with a real chance of taking the lead in the series for the first time.
The Belgian has finished fifth in the last two meetings and now lies only 12 points behind Josh Coppins with 100 left to win.
Ramon rallied from first lap incidents in both motos last Sunday to take a decent top-five finish on the works RM-Z450 and slice the absent New Zealander's advantage from 43 to 12 points. Coppins is expected to return to action this weekend but his race fitness is unlikely to be 100% and Ramon is poised to seize the initiative ahead of the final Grand Prix at Lierop in Holland.
"It was a pity that I could not make the podium in Ireland but the gap is only down to 12 points now," he remarked. "With the way I could come back to those positions, especially fourth in the second moto, I feel very confident for this weekend. Hopefully I can have the red plate after Sunday."
Kevin Strijbos won his third Grand Prix of the season last week at Moneyglass Demesne and helped Suzuki move 29 points into the lead of the manufacturer's standings. The 22 year old will also be pushing for at least third place in the championship. He is currently eight points from David Philippaerts in fourth and 19 from Sebastien Pourcel.
"It is satisfying to be back going for a good championship position but when I think about the year I am quite sad because I could have been on top now with Josh being out," he says. "I had the knee operation though and that meant I could not ride for a few weeks. I was down after Japan but things improved and the win in the Czech Republic was a big step forward. For the last few months I have been taking each week as it comes. When I felt like I wanted or needed to train or ride then I went out and did it and I believe this has worked well for me.
"I'm looking forward to Donington because it will be our second new track in a week and if it is anything as sweet as Ireland then it'll be fun," he added.
For the fourth time in four years the British Grand Prix moves home. The new circuit constructed in the infield of the MotoGP venue of Donington Park means that the series heads to the first and only permanent Motorsport facility this season. The track has been in construction phases for almost two months but the 'reliable' British weather had not assisted progress during one of the wettest summers on UK record.
Nevertheless the new layout is ready and according to reports consists of many jumps and is fairly technical in nature. Weather forecasts for the weekend predict sunny conditions and temperatures in the low 20s for Saturday.
MX1 World Championship Standings (after 13 of 15 rounds)
- Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 445 points
- Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 433 points
- Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 400 points
- David Philippaerts (ITA, KTM), 389 points
- Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 381 points
- Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 345 points
- Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 324 points
- Mike Brown (USA, Honda), 311 points
- Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 309 points
- Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Kawasaki), 301 points
Manufacturer's Standings (after 13 of 15 rounds)
- Suzuki 524 points
- Yamaha 495 points
- Kawasaki 493 points
- KTM 489 points
- Honda 463 points
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