VICTORY FOR STRIJBOS AND NEW RM-Z450
 Team
Suzuki's Kevin Strijbos aced the two MX1 motos at a soaking,
windy and cold Hawkstone Park in Great Britain yesterday to
give the Belgian crew their first victory of the pre-season
period and christen the 2007 RM-Z450 in the best way possible.
The 21-year-old Belgian followed World Championship rivals
Josh Coppins and Ken de Dycker in the first moto around the
chilly and blustery midlands venue before moving past both
of his rivals to seal his maiden moto victory of the year.
Persistent rainfall meant that the Hawkstone sand became
rough and boggy and provided a hard and physical test for
the riders. Lap-times were easily over two and a half minutes.
Strijbos coped with the conditions admirably and dealt lively
Honda rider De Dycker a hard blow in the second moto when
the 2006 MX1 World Championship sliced his countryman's lead
and went on to score win number two to own the MX1 category
on overall points.
Strijbos, who gave the RM-Z 450 its first Grand Prix win
in the Czech Republic during the 2005 season, was looking
for a hat-trick of triumphs in the Superfinal until a serious
crash and injured rider coupled with a torrential shower forced
the red-flags to prematurely close the British International
that boasted an entry list with works riders from virtually
every manufacturer.
"I felt good and it was a pretty easy win actually,"
Strijbos said. "I was not too good off the start in the
first race and I was third for quite a while but worked on
catching the guys in front of me and things went to plan.
In the second heat my start was better but the first few laps
were shaky and I let Ken get away a little bit. When I started
to find my rhythm again then my pace was better and it was
quite straight forward for the win once I had the lead. The
track was tough especially with some of the deep ruts. The
bike worked well today. We made some changes last week and
will also do some tests over the next two weeks until the
first round of the Dutch Championship as well as the Belgian
series."
Steve Ramon returned to the fold after missing the French
International meeting in Valence last week through illness.
The Belgian took two steady seventh positions after failing
to get out of the gate as well as his team-mate.
"I was sick all last week and missed Valence so I needed
a few days to recover and I felt that a little bit today,"
he offered. "My starts were not good and with the rain
and track conditions it was important to get up with the leaders.
It was not easy to pass and my riding was quite average; I
am used to riding the sand here so it should have been better.
I could feel things were becoming easier in the third heat
but someone went down and there was no restart. I still have
a few more races and we have some testing planned so I am
positive. I had not practiced with the new bike so it was
a strange out there for me, especially off the line and there
is work to be done."
For Team Principal Sylvain Geboers the Hawkstone success
marks a promising first appearance for the 2007 race machinery
that arrived at the crew's Belgian base this week. The squad
will now continue to test and enjoy a free weekend after a
solid month of race commitments. Strijbos and Ramon will then
contest the opening rounds of the Dutch and Belgian Championships
prior to making the short trip to Valkenswaard in the Netherlands
for the opening round of the 2007 World Championship on April
1st.
"That was the best race I have seen Kevin make this
year and it came after some good progress this week,"
Geboers remarked. "The track was not so easy but he has
found his set-up with the 2007 motorcycle and I hope this
will be the start of a run into the World Championship now.
Steve has been ill and his riding was not that good today
but we should not panic because he is working well and will
be ready for Valkenswaard.
"This was our first race with the 2007 bikes and of
course we still have some technical options to explore. We
have a weekend free now and will test a lot as we have some
Japanese staff here and I am sure we can still find some improvement."
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