MIXED FORTUNES FOR SUZUKI MEN IN ITALY
 It
was Team Teka Suzuki WMX1 rider Ken De Dycker's turn to narrowly
miss out on a podium place this weekend as the former MX1
championship leader emulated his team-mate Steve Ramon's luck
of last week - in Sevlievo - by losing out on a top-three
overall finish by next to no points.
Ramon, meanwhile, had a "weekend to forget" and
could only muster a ninth place overall finish after two gruelling
motos at the Mantova circuit during the Grand Prix of Italy
- the fifth round of the 15 round FIM Motocross World Championship.
Overnight rain left the Mantova circuit super slippery, as
underneath the few inches of slop that lay on top was a hard
base that was soon polished up by the spinning wheels of the
racers. But regardless of the tricky conditions, expectations
were high for good results from the two Team Teka Suzuki WMX1
team riders in today's two motos.
The start of moto one saw both riders get off the start line
in the latter half of the pack although De Dycker was able
to square off turn one to elevate himself to fifth by turn
two. From there he easily charged to second place - the position
he'd hold to the finish - after showing the kind of form he
produced in the early season.
Ramon also had a great first lap and by the time the pack
had settled was seventh but from there struggled to find a
quick way around Leok and also Coppins who he was much faster
than. Unable to pass Coppins, Ramon finally finished sixth
after his championship rival David Philippaerts caught and
passed him with four laps remaining.
The start of moto two was equally as testing for the pair
as De Dycker started ninth while Ramon was even further back
in 11th. With conditions so bad and line choice limited both
Suzuki riders took their time to fight forward. It took De
Dycker until mid-race to fight to his final position of sixth
while Ramon had his hands full as he battled with Tanel Leok
over eighth - a position the Estonian rider would finally
secure ahead of Ramon four laps from the finish.
De Dycker's haul of 37 points from his 2-5 scorecard meant
the Belgian rider missed out on third overall by one point
and the win on the day by a measly three! As well as finishing
fourth on the day Ken rises to fourth in the championship
making it a great day for De Dycker.
"Today has been a very good day for me," reckoned
De Dycker. "I got away pretty well at the start of race
one and passed some guys who crashed so I was soon in second.
I got really bad arm-pump early on in the moto but luckily
I was able to hold my pace and I finished in second place.
"In the second race I didn't get such a good start and
I had to work my way forward through the pack. The track was
very slippery and the surface was shiny so it was difficult
to see some of the ruts and bumps. I was very happy to come
back to sixth although I was a bit disappointed I couldn't
catch Coppins. Still, today has been a real improvement for
me, I'm happy and I can look forward to the next round."
Ramon ended the day ninth overall on his factory RM-Z450
and still holds second in the series although Philippaerts
extended his lead in the series by a further 11 points.
Obviously disappointed with his day's work Ramon explained
that he'd done the best he could even though his best was
not as good as he'd have liked it to be.
"Overall it was just a bad day for me, I knew it would
be a difficult GP for me but I expected to do a little bit
better and I didn't score anywhere near enough points today.
"I didn't get a great start in moto one and I found
it hard to pass as there were not so many lines. I got caught
behind Josh for too long which allowed Philippaerts to catch
and pass me and so I finished sixth. It was the best I could
do but my riding was just not good - I wasn't happy with that
or where I finished.
"The second moto also was just a bad race for me. The
track was just so slippery, it was hard underneath and that
made it very difficult for me to ride fast."
With a one-week gap in the schedule the next round of the
MX1 World Championship will be held at Mallory Park - a brand-new
venue for Grand Prix motocross - in Great Britain on June
1.
MX1 Moto 1: 1 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki
- FRA) 41:10:667, 2 Ken De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) +0:06:173,
3 Marc De Reuver (Honda - NED) +0:08:384, 4 Josh Coppins (Yamaha
- NZL) +0:10:939, 5 David Philippaerts (Yamaha - ITA) + 0:20:259,
6 Steve Ramon (Suzuki - BEL) +0:24:802, 7 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki
- EST) +0:26:078, 8 Aigar Leok (Yamaha - EST) +0:39:106, 9
Billy MacKenzie (Honda - GBR) +0:41:799, 10 Jonathan Barragan
(KTM - ESP) +0:45:875.
MX1 Moto 2: 1 Max Nagl (KTM - GER) 40:35:621,
2 David Philippaerts (Yamaha - ITA) +0:05:258, 3 Marc De Reuver
(Honda - NED) +0:29:696, 4 Billy MacKenzie (Honda - GBR)+0:36:498,
5 Josh Coppins (Yamaha - NZL) +0:40:720, 6 Ken De Dycker (Suzuki
- BEL) +0:43:055, 7 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki - FRA) +0:43:392,
8 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki - EST) +1:03:004, 9 Steve Ramon (Suzuki
- BEL) +1:05:679, 10 Manuel Priem (Kawasaki - Belgium) +1:25:490.
World Championship standings (after 5 of 15 rounds):
1 David Philippaerts (Yamaha - ITA) 187 points, 2 Steve Ramon
(Suzuki - BEL) 159, 3 Josh Coppins (Yamaha - NZL) 149, 4 Ken
De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) 135, 5 Billy MacKenzie (Honda - GBR)
130, 6 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki - FRA) 129, 7 Marc De Reuver
(Honda - NED) 116, 8 Max Nagl (KTM - GER) 114, 9 Jonathan
Barragan (KTM - ESP) 105, 10 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki - EST) 98.
Manufacturer World Championship standings (after
5 of 15 rounds): 1 Yamaha 189, 2 Suzuki 181 points,
3 Kawasaki 170, 4 KTM 161, 5 Honda 158, 6 TM 26.
WOMEN'S WORLD MX CHAMPIONSHIP:
Team Suzuki Inotec's feisty female racer Larissa Papenmeier
took her RM-Z250 to third overall in the second round of the
inaugural Women's Motocross World Championship at Mantova
in Italy just one week after injuring her ankle at round one
of the series in Bulgaria.
Before suffering the injury in the second moto two at Sevlievo,
pint-sized Papenmeier had taken pole position in qualifying
and also won the first race of the championship after battling
hard with and beating current championship leader Livia Lancelot.
Despite feeling the pain from her injured ankle, she was
able to hang tough for 3-5 finishes in difficult conditions
at Mantova to secure fourth place in the series with just
three rounds remaining. Happy in her surroundings with the
German team, Papenmeier will be looking to improve her championship
standing as the series continues.
"I'm very happy with the Inotec team and the support
they are giving me," explained Larissa. "They're
a very friendly team and I'm very happy there. The RM-Z250
is also very good - it's light, the motor is strong and it's
the best turning bike I have ever ridden.
"Today I was pretty happy to finish third in the first
race and by finishing fifth in the second race I was able
to take third overall. I had a lot of pain with my ankle during
the first moto so I took plenty of painkillers and had my
ankle taped up before moto two and it was a little better.
"I have chance to rest my ankle before the next round
of the championship so I hope to come back at full fitness
so I can challenge for more wins!"
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