RAMON TAKES 2ND SEASON PODIUM
 Team
Suzuki's Steve Ramon came back to form in impressive style
at a crowded Teutschenthal today for the Grand Prix of Germany
and the fifth round of 15 in the 2007 FIM MX1 World Championship.
The Belgian took second position overall for his best result
of the season so far and his second podium of the year on
his RM-Z450 after a three-race barren spell as team mate Kevin
Strijbos finished in fifth.
The Talkessel course, crowded by 33,000 spectators, offered
more variation in terms of lines and thanks to a new sandy
section that demanded the full concentration of the riders
as they hammered through the deep and very rough thirty metre
stretch. The terrain had been modified to offer a softer prospect
and generally the alterations seemed to work with a longer
lap-time. The high-speed and low technical demands of the
course however meant that the riders were either spilt by
intervals and running the same pace or packed together. The
MX1 motos offered examples of both forms of racing.
Ramon was the most proactive MX1 participant in the first
moto of 35 minutes and 2 laps duration. The 27 year old took
nine laps to work through from sixth position to third place
with some inventive lines and determined riding. He then tried
to shut down the advantage forged by Josh Coppins and Marc
de Reuver but came across the finish line more than 10 seconds
behind the pair.
The second moto was a completely different affair as crashes
by leaders Coppins and de Reuver at different stages meant
a five rider squabble for first place. Ramon and later Strijbos
were in the thick of the action and the former was pushing
hard behind eventual winner David Philippaerts for the top
step of the overall podium. The ex World Champion did not
quite have the pace to relegate the Italian and then had to
deal with a charging Sebastien Pourcel not to mention his
own team-mate.
"This is my second podium so far and I hoped to do better
this season but I have had some bad luck in the first GPs
and I haven't started well either which is so important,"
the 2006 Belgian Champion said after he passed the chequered
flag in third for the second time. "The starts were better
today and my riding was also ok. It was an exciting second
race with guys crashing and the group being so tight. We were
so close together that I could not read my pit-board and had
to concentrate on the track and the others. I did not know
that I could have had the overall win with second position,
it was that hectic.
"In the first moto I pushed to close the gap to Marc
and Josh but it was not possible so I was content with third
in the circumstances. I was almost there for the overall win
but second place means that we are on the right path again."
Strijbos, who qualified fourth, was caught in the bustle
of the pack around the first corners of the first moto and
could not close down David Philippaerts to break into the
top five. He then was frustrated trying to overtake Ramon
in Moto2 and felt that if he could have made the pass then
he would have followed and challenged Pourcel.
"Fifth place is not good but when you see my starts
I felt that I came back ok," he said. "The first
race was like Mantova; I could push the first 10 minutes but
then I had to slow down. I tried hard in the second moto and
had some good lines. If only I could have got by Steve when
I was behind him; that lap and a half allowed Pourcel to get
a break and go for Philippaerts and I'm sure I could have
gone also because we were that close. It was a nice race to
be a part of but I missed the podium again and Coppins took
some more points."
The MX1 World Championship standings showed no change in positions,
with Strijbos remaining second and Ramon in third, but Josh
Coppins, who ended up third overall, now has a margin of 43
points with ten rounds remaining.
The team now enjoy a free weekend after a hectic run of four
events in a five week spell. Preparations will begin immediately
however for the long trip east and the Grand Prix of Japan
at the impressive Sugo circuit. It will be the third year
in a row the World Championship travels to the venue near
the city of Sendai and Team Suzuki will be looking for their
first victory after taking second position in the last two
editions.
MX1 Moto1: 1. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha),
41:33.823; 2. Marc de Reuver (NED, Yamaha), +0:06.946; 3.
Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:11.243; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL,
Honda), +0:13.949; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, KTM), +0:14.865;
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:17.440; 7. Gordon Crockard
(IRL, Honda), +0:26.508; 8. James Noble (GBR, Honda), +0:29.096;
9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:34.254; 10. Manuel Priem
(BEL, TM), +0:45.676
MX1 Moto2: 1. David Philippaerts (ITA, KTM),
39:49.343; 2. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:02.008;
3. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.729; 4. Kevin Strijbos
(BEL, Suzuki), +0:04.221; 5. Gordon Crockard (IRL, Honda),
+0:07.718; 6. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:11.974; 7.
Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:24.821; 8. Marc de Reuver
(NED, Yamaha), +0:29.354; 9. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Kawasaki),
+0:31.323; 10. Aigar Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:34.459
MX1 Overall result: 1 David PHILIPPAERTS
(ITA) KTM 41, 2 Steve RAMON (BEL) SUZUKI 40, 3 Joshua COPPINS
(NZL) YAMAHA 40, 4 Marc DE REUVER (NED) YAMAHA 35, 5 Kevin
STRIJBOS (BEL) SUZUKI 33, 6 Gordon CROCKARD (IRL) HONDA 30,
7 Sebastien POURCEL (FRA) KAWASAKI 27, 8 Ken DE DYCKER (BEL)
HONDA 25, 9 Jonathan BARRAGAN (ESP) KTM 21, 10 Mike BROWN
(USA) HONDA 19.
MX1 World Championship Standings (after 5 of 15 rounds):
1 Joshua COPPINS (NZL) 234, 2 Kevin STRIJBOS (BEL) 191, 3
Steve RAMON (BEL) 156, 4 Ken DE DYCKER (BEL) 131, 5 Sebastien
POURCEL (FRA) 130, 6 Jonathan BARRAGAN (ESP) 121, 7 David
PHILIPPAERTS (ITA) 115, 8 Marc DE REUVER (NED) 115, 9 Tanel
LEOK (EST) 112, 10 James NOBLE (GBR) 104.
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