RAMON ON POLE IN SOUTH AFRICA
Team Teka Suzuki WMX1 rider Steve Ramon took pole position
in difficult conditions during timed qualification for the
Grand Prix of South Africa at Nelspruit while his team-mate
Ken De Dycker finished the session a fighting fifth.
The low winter sun made visibility particularly difficult
on the already-technical 1.6 km Nelspruit circuit as many
of the ruts and bumps were hidden by long dark shadows.
Despite this, reigning MX1 World Champion Ramon was able
to power his way to first place in the timed session on his
aluminium-framed, fuel-injected RM-Z450 after setting a scorching
lap near to the end of the timed period.
"The light was terrible and that made riding dangerous
- it really wasn't very good," explained Ramon. "There
are quite a few jumps with ruts and lips on and it made the
bad light made it really dangerous because we were hitting
them blind because the sun was so low - I had to be very careful.
I was riding well though; the bike was working well too; and
I was able to push hard because I knew the lines I had were
safe.
"Tomorrow's races will be difficult also because we'll
be racing at the same time as qualification was today. It's
not going to be fun but it's the same for everyone. I'm confident
I can do well in tomorrow's races and if I get a good start
I know I can go for the win or at least be on the podium."
De Dycker tried to combat the blinding sun by constructing
an extra visor on his helmet during the qualifying period.
Not working as well as he'd hoped, he was still happy to qualify
in fifth spot as it will give him a good pick at the gate
for tomorrow's points-paying races - something that's vital
due to the layout of the 180-degree first turn at the Nelspruit
circuit.
"The sun was really bad and on most jumps you can't
see any of the lines so I tried to make an extra visor with
tape on the side of my helmet so the sun didn't come in and
that maybe helped a bit but it's still pretty dangerous out
there.
"The track itself is actually okay though and there
are more ruts and bumps coming all the time. It's going to
be a tough race tomorrow but I'm ready for it.
"There are quite a lot of slow riders here and that
made putting in a fast lap quite difficult during the timed
session. I'm quite happy with fifth and I know that if I get
a good start tomorrow I can do well because the track is going
to be quite technical. I'm going to give it everything I have
and try to get on the podium - if I can do that I'll be happy."
As part of the Teka Suzuki WMX1 team's mission to win races,
championships and improve the RM-Z450 even further, the team
are now utilising a data-logging system that collects information
from various sensors fitted around the factory machine while
Ramon and De Dycker ride them in anger.
By using the freshly-collected data from practice, qualifying
and race sessions, and then comparing it with information
compiled over seasons past, the Teka Suzuki WMX1 team are
able to fine tune the race-bikes to make them even more potent
as Team Manager Eric Geboers explained.
"By using data we've collected over the years from overseas
races - especially in South Africa - and from data we've collected
this year by using the data-logging system, we were able to
make pre-race changes to the bike for this race. But the difference
between here and Europe in regard to elevation, heat and humidity
proved not to be as big as we thought they would be so we
had to go back towards our normal settings a little bit.
"This is the first year we've used fuel injection and
an engine management system and so we're learning from it
constantly. This weekend proved that we don't need to change
so much ahead of time because the engine management system
is very good and it is very capable of doing the job itself."
The weather for tomorrow's races at Nelspruit is forecast
to be similar to today's with strong sunshine and an ambient
air temperature of around 24 degrees Celsius.
Timed Qualification: 1 Steve Ramon (Suzuki
- BEL) 1:57:112, 2 Max Nagl (KTM - GER) 1:57:348, 3 Jon Barragan
(KTM - ESP) 1:57:948, 4 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki - FRA)
1:58:429, 5 Ken De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) 1:58:560, 6 Josh
Coppins (Yamaha - NZ) 1:58:594, 7 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki - EST)
1:58:615, 8 Manuel Priem (Kawasaki - BEL) 1:58:881, 9 David
Philippaerts (Yamaha - ITA) 1:59:873, 10 Billy MacKenzie (Honda
- GBR) 1:59:873.
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