Team Teka Suzuki WMX1 riders Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker - who currently sit in second and third place in the FIM MX1 World Motocross Championship - will enter the seventh round of the series at Saint Jean d'Angely in France this weekend looking to close the points gap on series leader David Philippaerts.
Ramon - who is the reigning MX1 World Champion and currently sits in second place in the 2008 series - has already proved he can ride the exciting hillside circuit well by scoring a solid 3-1 scorecard on his factory RM-Z450 at last year's French GP. Looking to do equally well if not even better at this weekend's race, Steve's fired up to perform at his best and will be a force to be reckoned with.
"The track in France is very good and it's one I know I can do well at," enthused Ramon. "It's pretty fast but has some technical sections in it too, I like to ride there and I'm really looking forward to going there. My factory Suzuki is performing really well and so things are looking good for the weekend."
After an outstanding performance in the last round of the series at Mallory Park, De Dycker managed to leapfrog Josh Coppins in the series standings to move from fourth up to third.
He will be looking to continue that kind of form in Saint Jean d'Angely even though he didn't score too well there at the French GP in 2007 - leaving with just four points after picking up a minor injury in the qualifying session. More than ready to put last year's result behind him the 23-year-old Belgian - who celebrates his 24th birthday next week - is looking to continue his upward march in the championship.
"Of course I'll be looking for more good results like at the last GP and to climb the championship standings some more," he said. "It's important to get a good start this weekend and that's something I'll be concentrating on because it's a fast, hardpack track that can be difficult to pass on. I'm feeling fit and strong so I hope to get a good result."
Weather conditions for this weekend's race in the West of France should be mostly sunny with overcast spells with temperatures in the region of 21 degrees Celsius.
