RAMON 3RD AT VALENCE INTERNATIONAL
 Team
Suzuki riders Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker continued their
preparation for the 2008 MX1 World motocross championship
by competing in the International of Valence held under sunny
skies on the spectacular hillside circuit near Lyon in the
south of France.
Although track conditions stayed dry throughout the day plenty
of punishing ruts and bumps formed making it a challenging
circuit for the 40 invited racers.
After a steady start to the season with sixth overall in
the Mantova Starcross, reigning MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon
improved vastly throughout the day to post a 4-3-2 scorecard
to finish third overall on the all-new electronically fuel
injected RM-Z450 after battling with Josh Coppins, Sebastien
Pourcel and Julien Bill during the three 20 minute plus two
lap motos.
"I had a good day here even though it's not my favourite
track," said Ramon after the third epic battle. "It's
always one of the first races of the year and I sometimes
find it difficult on this track but today I was riding good
and in every race I made some progress. The last race was
really good and I had a little battle with Josh after fighting
my way through the pack.
"My riding is good and the bike is also good. We did
some testing after Mantova for a couple of weeks in the south
of France and the bike is really good now. We still have a
few weeks to go before the first GP and I'm happy and my confidence
is high."
Fresh from an easy win in at the Belgian international race
in Grobbendonk one week earlier, Ramon's team mate De Dycker
also showed great promise during the day in only his third
race appearance on the RM-Z. Showing no ill effects form the
minor injury he sustained in Mantova Ken's 5-4-11 scorecard
was plenty good enough for fifth overall on the day.
"I had a bad race in Mantova with a small injury but
this race started well and got better and better," claimed
Ken. "For so early in the season my speed is good and
there are still a few races before the first GP and also plenty
of opportunities to go practice before then so I can be the
best I can at Valkenswaard.
"The team and I are still improving things on the bike
and trying different parts and settings but what we have already
is very good. We've been testing for two weeks since Mantova
and I've been riding and riding to get used to the new bike
and this race also helped with that too."
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