Steve Ramon was runner-up overall and earned his fifth podium of the season on the RM-Z450 this afternoon in hot temperatures at the Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden and the ninth race of 15 in the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. The dry and hard track was difficult as away from the main racing line the levels of grip varied and the terrain became very rough. Combined with the heat the 35 minute and 2 lap motos provided another fearsome challenge for the riders of the MX1 and MX2 classes in front of 19,000 fans.
Ramon should have taken a podium in the opening race. The former World Champion had moved into fourth and was hassling Tanel Leok for third when he had a small crash and had to repeat all of his hard work. Leok faded and allowed Josh Coppins to claim the lower step of the podium while Ramon charged through on the last two laps to pass the Estonian for fourth just one corner before the chequered flag. Kevin Strijbos fought back well to sixth after being last on the opening lap due to a crash on the first corner.
The two Belgians flew in formation for the half of the second moto as Ramon overtook Strijbos and the two RM-Z450s led the world for 11 of the 22 laps. Race one winner Stefan Everts had crashed but was rallying through the top five and eventually relegated Ramon to second spot on the penultimate circulation after the leader had made a few mistakes in the sweltering conditions. Strijbos was third despite some leg cramps and his combined score meant that he missed the podium by just one point behind Josh Coppins.
In the World Championship standings Strijbos is second and holds a 34 point advantage over Tanel Leok although he trailed Everts by a large 114. Ramon is now fourth but with a total equal to Leok’s.
Both riders will be in action next week at Nismes for the fifth round of the Belgian Championship and then a few days afterwards will make the long flight to Johannesburg and to the Sun City complex for the Grand Prix of South Africa on July 15th/ 16th.
Kevin Strijbos:“I turned too short at the start of the first moto and Noble was cutting tight so I had to brake and lost the front wheel. I came back pretty good but I felt tired on the last few laps. I lowered my speed to save some energy for the next race. I made a good start later into third. Everts made a mistake and then I passed Josh. Steve came past but then I started to have some cramp in my leg and it was difficult to sit on the bike. I had to stand everywhere and when I jumped I had to stick my leg out to try and relax the muscle. I was happy with third. It would have been good to be on the podium but I guess you can’t be there every week.”
Steve Ramon:“I feel tired now! It was a good GP. In the first moto I made a mistake and the leaders got away so then I pushed hard to catch and pass Leok before the flag. My start was better for the second race. I lost a few positions on the first lap but then I tried really hard to get to the front. I was leading the whole race but getting tired towards the end and making little mistakes. I almost went down and lost a bit of concentration when Stefan came past. Second overall was good enough.”
Sylvain Geboers -Team Owner and Co-ordinator:“It was a good result for Steve but we like to win and we just missed it today. It is getting closer and closer and we can say that the new frame seems to have definitely helped Steve. We want to beat Stefan before he finishes racing so I will ask our riders to step it up a notch in terms of their preparation and I hope it might happen in one of the next few GPs.”
MX1 Moto1:1 Stefan Everts, (Bel) Yamaha 38:45.263,
2 Jonathan Barragan, (Spa) Ktm 38:49.587,
3 Joshua Coppins, (NZL) Honda 38:59.374,
4 Steve Ramon, (BEL) Suzuki 39:08.633,
5 Tanel Leok, (EST) Kawasaki 39:10.204,
6 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 39:39.494,
7 Gordon Crockard, (GBR) Honda 39:44.866,
8 Ken De Dycker, (BEL) Honda 39:53.874,
9 Javier Garcia Vico, (SPA) Honda 39:58.823,
10 James Noble, (GBR) Honda 40:03.704
MX1 Moto2: 1 Stefan Everts (BEL) Yamaha 39:54.109,
2 Steve Ramon (BEL) Suzuki 39:57.990,
3 Kevin Strijbos (BEL) Suzuki 40:11.519,
4 Gordon Crockard (GBR) Honda 40:17.076,
5 Joshua Coppins (NZL) Honda 40:24.811,
6 Kornel Nemeth (HUN) Suzuki 40:42.143,
7 Javier Garcia Vico (SPA) Honda 40:53.847,
8 James Noble (GBR) Honda 41:01.907,
9 Ken De Dycker (BEL) Honda 41:09.960,
10 Julien Bill (SUI) Yamaha 41:12.756
MX1 Overall Classification: 1 Stefan Everts (BEL) Yamaha 50,
2 Steve Ramon (BEL) Suzuki 40,
3 Joshua Coppins (NZL) Honda 36,
4 Kevin Strijbos (BEL) Suzuki 35,
5 Gordon Crockard (GBR) Honda 32,
6 Javier Garcia Vico (SPA) Honda 26,
7 Ken De Dycker (BEL) Honda 25,
8 James Noble (GBR) Honda 24,
9 Jonathan Barragan (SPA) KTM 22,
10 Kornel Nemeth (HUN) Suzuki 19
MX1 World Championship Points (after 9 of 15 rounds):1 Stefan Everts (BEL) 442,
2 Kevin Strijbos (BEL) 328,
3 Tanel Leok (EST) 294,
4 Steve ramon (BEL) 294,
5 Ken De Dycker (BEL) 292,
6 J.Barragan (SPA) 212,
7 J.Garcia Vico (SPA) 165,
8 Pascal Leuret (FRA) 159,
9 Cedric Melotte (BEL) 157,
10 Manuel Priem (BEL) 146.
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