SUZUKI MEN TOP SWEDISH MX1 QUALIFYING
Teka Suzuki WMX1 riders Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker dominated
the timed qualifying session for the Grand Prix of Sweden
ending the session 1-2 on their factory RM-Z450s in hot and
humid conditions.
The short - by current GP standards - circuit in Uddevalla
was more technical than in past years due to the addition
of sand on several sections of the usually hardpack circuit.
As well as deep ruts forming and the surface roughing up,
the freshly laid sand shifted to one side leaving slick hard
spots on the racing line.
Reigning MX1 World Champion Ramon had no problems with the
circuit but did struggle with slower riders blocking him during
his attempted fast laps early in the session. But given a
clear run, he was able to set a time fast enough to place
him at the front of the pack. "Some places on the track
are really slippery so it's pretty technical," said Ramon.
"The surface underneath is really hard and it's hard
to turn on so you have to go to the berms rather than take
the inside lines.
"My riding was going good all day but in the timed session
I had problems with traffic and quite often I'd be on a good
lap then I'd have to stop my lap. At the end of the session
I put in another good one and I had a clear lap this time
and I was able to take pole position. I wouldn't say it was
a perfect lap because I was riding more aggressive which made
it hard for me to ride as smoothly as I'd like. I'm very happy
with today and I'm very motivated for tomorrow. I like this
track and hopefully I can go for victory tomorrow if I have
some good starts."
Setting a time just 0.040 seconds slower, De Dycker will
take second pick at the start gate for tomorrow's points-paying
races. Doing his usual trick of waiting until the end of the
session to set a scorcher, the tall Belgian rider was content
to finish second behind Steve.
"I'm happy with second place knowing the gap between
myself and Steve was so close and to have Suzukis first and
second is good too of course," said Ramon. "I would
have liked to have been on pole because last year I started
right on the inside and that worked well for me but second
pick is also good and of course Steve may not start on the
inside gate. Tomorrow I'm hoping for two good starts and then
to ride two good motos also."
While conditions were hot and sunny for today's qualifying
session it's expected that the weather will break overnight
meaning it will be much cooler with a good chance of rain,
which could make things very interesting on this slick circuit.
MX1 Timed Practice: 1 Steve Ramon (Suzuki - BEL) 1:40:169,
2 Ken De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) 1:40:209, 3 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki
- EST) 1:40:254, 4 Jon Barragan (KTM - ESP) 1:40:604, 5 Sebastien
Pourcel (Kawasaki - FRA) 1:40:634, 6 Clement Desalle (Suzuki
- BEL) 1:40:865, 7 David Philippaerts (Yamaha - ITA) 1:40:983,
8 Max Nagl (KTM - GER) 1:41:150, 9 Josh Coppins (Yamaha -
NZL) 1:41:256, 10 Billy MacKenzie (Honda - GB) 1:41:318.
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