Steve Ramon scored his eighth podium from 14 rounds today at a cloudy and rainy Lierop circuit for the last-but-one meeting in the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. The Grand Prix of the Netherlands was won by Stefan Everts ahead of Josh Coppins and then Ramon on the RM-Z450. Kevin Strijbos was fourth overall and just three points away from his team-mate.
The deep sand of Lierop was again a formidable test for the participants of the MX1 class. Practice and qualification on Saturday had left the terrain bumpy and rough for the motos on Sunday. Using sandy settings and specially-cut Pirellis the RM-Z450s weaved and cut their way through a continually shifting surface that was as technical as it was physically draining. The persistent rain did not help matters and coated the 33,153 attendance.
Strijbos and Ramon, at the venue where both were members of the Belgian team that won the 2004 Motocross of Nations, started the first moto circulating in the top five. Ramon gave chase to his main rival for third place in the Championship, Ken de Dycker, and eventually got the better of his fellow Belgian for a final position of third. Strijbos dropped back to sixth in a dispersed field when he had a small crash and ended up needing to retrieve the Suzuki from the taping at the side of the track.
In the second moto Ramon was shadowing Coppins - again in second - until he made an error of judgement in the section of the track that cuts through the woodland and fell. Jonathan Barragan moved through to confirm third position but Ramon hung unto fifth for a decent podium finish considering his sore hip. Strijbos felt the effects of fatigue but was able to complete the 35 minutes and two laps ahead of his team-mate for a steadier ride to fourth.
Strijbos, who hopes to be practicing and testing with the new 250 four-stroke this week, has a 37 point advantage in the World Championship standings over Ramon. The latter now cannot afford to concede more than 20 points to Ken De Dycker at the final race to make sure of third.
A two week break now precedes the last round of the 2006 campaign which will occur at the Ernee circuit near the city of Rennes for the Grand Prix of France on September 16th. The Suzuki team will then prepare for the 60th Motocross of Nations immediately afterwards in which Ramon and Strijbos are representing Belgium and Ricky Carmichael will also be there on behalf of reigning Champions USA.
Steve Ramon:“I knew it was going to be difficult to make a good result here. This is such a heavy track and you need to be in good shape so I don’t think third place is a bad result today, but I did not ride how I normally would in the sand. In the second moto I was not too far behind Josh and I wanted to stay with him. I was riding better than in the first moto but then made a mistake around the back of the track and fell off the bike. It was then hard to get back in a rhythm and I had to slow down to read all the bumps again; so the race was over for second place. I was keeping an eye on Ken’s position but I was worried mostly about my own performance. I want to finish third in the Championship now and it is definitely possible.”
Kevin Strijbos:“It was so hard today. I started well in the first race and pushed hard at the beginning but then I made a mistake in the whoops and went down. From that moment everything went wrong and I tried to find my rhythm again. In the last few laps I picked things up and my times were better but I was getting tired. I rode at my own speed in the second moto and tried not to go too crazy. I made some good results for the Championship today. It has been a long season and I am ready to finish the year. After a rest I want to confirm second at the next GP and then think about working on the 250 for the Nations.”
MX1 Moto1: 1 Stefan Everts (Bel), Yamaha 40:57.876,
2 Joshua Coppins (Nzl), Honda 41:41.028,
3 Steve Ramon (Bel), Suzuki 42:29.908,
4 Tanel Leok (Est), Kawasaki 42:35.587,
5 Ken De Dycker (Bel), Honda 42:38.138,
6 Kevin Strijbos (Bel), Suzuki 42:39.827,
7 Bas Verhoeven (Ned), Kawasaki 42:45.443,
8 Manuel Priem (Bel), Yamaha 40:59.042,
9 Jonathan Barragan (Spa), Ktm 41:01.410,
10 Marcus Norlen (Swe), Suzuki 41:25.406
MX1 Moto2: 1 Stefan Everts (Bel), Yamaha 40:20.984,
2 Joshua Coppins (Nzl), Honda 40:57.712,
3 Jonathan Barragan (Spa), Ktm 41:16.422,
4 Kevin Strijbos (Bel), Suzuki 42:28.382,
5 Steve Ramon (Bel), Suzuki 42:57.884,
6 Manuel Priem (Bel), Yamaha 40:25.340,
7 Wyatt Avis (Rsa), Ktm 40:34.295,
8 Lauris Freibergs (Lat), Suzuki 40:38.255,
9 Kornel Nemeth (Hun), Suzuki 40:46.308,
10 Bas Verhoeven (Ned), Kawasaki 41:02.853
MX1 Overall Result:1 Stefan Everts (Bel), Yamaha 50,
2 Joshua Coppins (Nzl), Honda 44,
3 Steve Ramon (Bel), Suzuki 36,
4 Kevin Strijbos (Bel), Suzuki 33,
5 Jonathan Barragan (Spa), Ktm 32,
6 Manuel Priem (Bel), Yamaha 28,
7 Bas Verhoeven (Ned), Kawasaki 25,
8 Ken De Dycker (Bel), Honda 25,
9 Lauris Freibergs (Lat), Suzuki 19,
10 Kornel Nemeth (Hun), Suzuki 19
MX1 World Championship Standings (After 14 Of 15 Rounds): 1 Stefan Everts (Bel), 689,
2 Kevin Strijbos (Bel), 491,
3 Steve Ramon (Bel), 454,
4 Ken De Dycker (Bel), 434,
5 Tanel Leok (Est), 405,
6 J.Barragan (Spa), 338,
7 Joshua Coppins (Nzl), 293,
8 Manuel Priem (Bel), 267,
9 Pascal Leuret (Fra), 247,
10 Cedric Melotte (Bel), 224
Manufacturer’s Standings:1 Yamaha 689,
2 Suzuki 561,
3 Honda 538,
4 Kawasaki 420,
5 Ktm 416.
Related Linkswww.suzuki-racing.com
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