STRIJBOS RACES TO SECOND PODIUM
 Kevin
Strijbos guided the RM-Z450 Suzuki to a second consecutive
runner-up position this afternoon in front of 31,000 spectators
at a hot and sunny Teutschenthal circuit for the Karcher Grand
Prix of Germany.
The fourth round of 15 in the 2006 FIM World Championships
saw a bustling MX1 field full of young riders produce a rapid
set of motos. The wickedly-fast German terrain was hard and
dusty after some excellent weather over the weekend.
Strijbos was quick off the line and his fifth position start
in the first moto allowed him to follow eventual winner Stefan
Everts on the first lap. The Belgian pressurised the World
Champion and ran within a second of the Yamaha rider for the
first half of the 35 minutes and two lap distance. Despite
coming tantalisingly close on several occasions he wasn’t
able to break Everts’ control. In the second sprint
a slightly worse start meant that the 20 year old was continually
following Ken De Dycker through the mid-top ten for most of
the race. He passed his team-mate Steve Ramon for fourth spot
four laps before the chequered flag and the 18 points scored
was enough for another second position overall.
Ramon set off from his first pole position for the team in
Moto1 but his hopes of victory were dashed with a crash on
the first corner. The former World Champion had to restart
and spent 16 of the 19 laps coming back to a worthy ninth
spot. He fared better in the second race but a lack of strength
in his left arm meant that his pace slowed and he slipped
from third to fifth.
Strijbos has not finished outside of the top four from the
last four motos and stands a career best third in the World
Championship points table. Ramon is sixth.
The World Championship now pauses for a weekend before resuming
with a long trip to Sugo and the Japanese Grand Prix on May
20th/ 21st.
Kevin Strijbos:
“The track was fast today but I had a good feeling
on the bike. In the first heat I could push a lot and there
was maybe two occasions when I could pass Everts but he was
tough to overtake. I think I exerted myself too much in the
first 15 minutes because I had to back off a little towards
the end. In the second moto I had to pick another gate because
Leok took mine. It was full of mud and I did not get a good
jump. I was far back along the straight but could turn tight
and gained a lot of positions by heading up the inside. After
Ken passed me I started to find better lines and rhythm. It
was just a shame that I could not catch him in the last couple
of laps. However I am really pleased with the podium and I
feel like I am getting better and more confident every week.”
Steve Ramon:
“After yesterday the races today were of course disappointing.
In the first moto I went down on the first corner after Everts
boxed me in slightly on the inside. He was ahead but came
across me and I lost the front wheel. He was in front so there
was nothing I could do. The rest of the race was pretty good
because I pushed really hard to come to the front. In the
second moto I had a better start but I had to slow down towards
the end because I had hurt my arm from the earlier crash and
didn’t have much strength. It was another bad weekend
and I am not having much luck.”
MX1 Moto1: 1 Stefan Everts, (BEL) Yamaha
40:04.435, 2 Kevin Strijbos, (BEL) Suzuki 40:07.732, 3 Jonathan
Barragan, (SPA) KTM 40:09.882, 4 Cedric Melotte, (BEL) Yamaha
40:12.700, 5 Ken De Dycker, (BEL) Honda 40:34.392, 6 Tanel
Leok, (EST) Kawasaki 40:49.189, 7 Julien Bill, (SUI) Yamaha
40:59.115, 8 Pascal Leuret, (FRA) Honda 41:02.693, 9 Steve
Ramon, (BEL) Suzuki 41:05.712, 10 Marvin Van Daele, (BEL)
Honda 41:07.502.
MX1 Moto2: 1 Stefan Everts (BEL) Yamaha
40:35.718, 2 Tanel Leok (EST) Kawasaki 40:39.695, 3 Ken De
Dycker (BEL) Honda 40:41.640, 4 Kevin Strijbos (BEL) Suzuki
40:42.383, 5 Steve Ramon (BEL) Suzuki 41:05.248, 6 Brian Jorgensen
(DEN) Honda 41:14.780, 7 Pascal Leuret (FRA) Honda 41:38.802,
8 Julien Bill (SUI) Yamaha 41:43.322, 9 Javier Garcia Vico
(SPA) Honda 41:46.820, 10 Manuel Priem (BEL) Yamaha 41:49.778.
MX1 Overall Classification: 1 Stefan Everts
50, 2 Kevin Strijbos 40, 3 Tanel Leok 37, 4 Ken De Dycker
36, 5 Steve Ramon 28, 6 Pascal Leuret 27, 7 Julien Bill 27,
8 Brian Jorgensen 25, 9 Jonathan Barragan 20, 10 Manuel Priem
19.
MX1 World Championship Standings (after 4 of 15 rounds):
1 Stefan Everts 192, 2 Tanel Leok 152, 3 Kevin Strijbos
138, 4 Ken De Dycker 133, 5 Jonathan Barragan 117, 6 Steve
Ramon 111, 7 Sebastien Tortelli 99, 8 Pascal Leuret 93, 9
Cedric Melotte 84, 10 Manuel Priem 72.
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