RAMON 8TH IN FAENZA HEAT
 Steve
Ramon was Team Suzuki's best performer with eighth position
under blue skies and scorching 35 degree-plus temperatures
at the Monte Coralli circuit in Faenza today for the 10th
round of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship.
Ramon, who came through Timed Practice on an equally-hot
Saturday with the third quickest time on his RM-Z450, took
two eight positions in the motos as 29,000 spectators crowded
the steep hillside setting 15km east of Imola.
The Belgian started poorly in the first moto on a circuit
that was very hard, dusty and fairly simple in the technical
challenge it offered to the riders. The lap-times were similar
within the top ten and Ramon could make little difference
in the searing heat, eventually moving up just three positions
to eighth. He was more of a protagonist in the second race
and hassled Billy Mackenzie for fourth position at one stage
but then his motorcycle suffered a mysterious heating problem
that caused the machine to lose performance. He lost drive
up the hill sections and dropped back to eighth.
Kevin Strijbos was also lagging mid-pack at the start of
Moto1 and although he managed to close some ground on Mackenzie
for ninth at the end of the race, he could not pass the Scot
and collected tenth. The 21-year-old Belgian was again struggling
with the same engine gremlins that troubled his Saturday programme.
The team switched engines for the second race but the high
temperatures again played havoc and he experienced difficulties
akin to Ramon, eventually finishing 17th and 14th overall.
"We have a problem when the weather is hot like this
and we can't ignore it," said Team Principal Sylvain
Geboers. "We will now be looking into this although it
is hard to recreate this heat in Belgium. We know it is not
an issue with carburetion. This is the first time we have
had a set-back like this and we will be working now to find
out why."
"I had a bad start in the first moto and did not feel
so good, the heat made things hard," said Ramon. "Finishing
eighth was not great and I hoped for better in the second
race, although I had a better start we had some bike problems.
Pourcel won and got closer to me in the points so it was a
bad day and I'm disappointed."
"It was the same as yesterday and when the bike got
hot it would not rev out," said Strijbos. "The team
did everything to fix it between the races. We used a different
engine but the second moto wasn't any better."
Ramon has lost a little ground in the world championship
standings and the gap to leader Coppins now rests at 107 with
five rounds and 250 points still to be won. Strijbos has slipped
to eighth but is six points from sixth.
Team Suzuki now have a free weekend before travelling east
across Europe to the Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech
Republic.
MX1 Moto1: 1. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki),
38:56.573; 2. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:03.639; 3.
Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:07.226; 4. Mike Brown (USA,
Honda), +0:09.356; 5. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:14.101;
6. David Philippaerts (ITA, KTM), +0:16.277; 7. Julien Bill
(SUI, Honda), +0:19.546; 8. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:35.468;
9. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:38.093; 10. Kevin Strijbos
(BEL, Suzuki), +0:39.626.
MX1 Moto2: 1. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki),
39:38.053; 2. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:04.413; 3.
Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:06.376; 4. Mike Brown
(USA, Honda), +0:07.476; 5. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM),
+0:09.288; 6. Julien Bill (SUI, Honda), +0:10.745; 7. Tanel
Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +0:25.927; 8. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki),
+0:29.295; 9. Marvin van Daele (BEL, Honda), +0:35.660; 10.
Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:42.629; 17. Kevin Strijbos
(BEL, Suzuki), +1:17.080.
MX1 Overall Result: 1. Sebastien Pourcel
(FRA, Kawasaki), 50 points; 2. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha),
44 p.; 3. Mike Brown (USA, Honda), 36 p.; 4. Billy Mackenzie
(GBR, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 5. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 32
p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 31 p.; 7. Julien Bill (SUI,
Honda), 29 p.; 8. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 26 p.; 9. Tanel
Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 23 p.; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA,
KTM), 21 p.; 11. James Noble (GBR, Honda), 20 p.; 12. Marvin
van Daele (BEL, Honda), 16 p.; 13. Manuel Priem (BEL, TM),
16 p.; 14. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 15 p.
MX1 World Championship Standings (after 10 of 15
rounds): 1. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 445 points;
2. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 338 p.; 3. Sebastien Pourcel
(FRA, Kawasaki), 285 p.; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, KTM),
278 p.; 5. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 272 p.; 6. Ken de
Dycker (BEL, Honda), 256 p.; 7. Mike Brown (USA, Honda), 255
p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 250 p.; 9. Tanel Leok
(EST, Kawasaki), 240 p.; 10. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Kawasaki),
218 p.
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