Double MX1 Podium For RM-Z450

The potency of the RM-Z450s in contrasting weather conditions was aptly demonstrated when Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon both finished on the podium today in front of 25,000 spectators at an overcast and very wet Sevlievo circuit for the sixth round of the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship.

The Grand Prix of Bulgaria was a success for the Belgian team and the works RM-Z450s - carrying minor modifications in the wake of the Japanese round a fortnight ago - that had to negotiate dry and fast conditions in the first moto of 35 minutes and two laps race distance before torrential downpours flooded the track and created a slippery messy test for the riders in the second outing.

Kevin Strijbos walked away with his third set of silverware this season by finishing runner-up twice behind double victor and currently untouchable World Champion Stefan Everts. The 20-year-old Belgian was confident on the long hills and steep drops in both sets of track conditions and pulled through from mid-top 10 starts to secure the second step on the podium. Strijbos, now in his fourth season with the team, was particularly impressive in cutting through a four-rider tussle for second spot early in the first moto and was only really threatened in the closing stages of Moto two when Steve Ramon decided to make his presence felt from third place.

Ramon had earlier beaten Tanel Leok and Brian Jorgensen to follow his team-mate to the chequered flag and wanted a closer bite of the cherry in the second race despite having to ditch his mud-splattered goggles and traverse the slime with limited vision. The puddles and gunk meant that the smallest error could prove costly while also pushing the limits of the machines to the maximum.

The Suzuki-dominated podium represents the best overall result of the season for the Belgian crew and now brings the total of top three appearances to six from six Grands Prix. Strijbos is third in the World Championship standings and only two points from a now-familiar second place. Ramon is fifth and just six points from further elevation.

The seventh round of the series now follows hard upon in the most intense period of the campaign. Team Suzuki will head to the Montevarchi circuit near Florence for the Grand Prix of Italy next week before then making their way to Great Britain seven days later.

Kevin Strijbos:"In the first race my start was not so bad; I was around 10th but I could make up some places easily on the first few laps. When I reached second, Stefan had gone. I tried to close the gap but it was not easy and I had to be content with second place. In the second heat I messed up my start and was almost last. I pushed hard and when the rain arrived the track became even more rutted with large puddles everywhere. I was still able to overtake and again arrived to second. On the last few laps, Steve came pretty close and I had to pick my speed up to make sure of the result."

Steve Ramon:"Yesterday I was struggling to get a good lap in Timed Practice but already in the warm-up I felt better and that made me confident for the races. I started well in the first heat and was around fifth or something. I got into second and could follow Stefan but in the middle of the race Kevin passed me; third wasn’t too bad. In the second moto the rain came and I had to ditch my goggles. I almost had to stop a few times and clear my eyes because following people was very difficult. There was so much water but I was able to get into third and challenge Kevin. I almost got him. Kevin took four points on me but overall for the Championship I did a good job today."

Sylvain Geboers - Team Owner:"This is the kind of result we expect from these guys. They have the potential to do this race after race. Finally they are both settled with the bikes and with the dry and wet conditions in both heats those kinds of positions are very difficult. They were getting close to Stefan in both races and that was very encouraging. It seems like the small improvements have helped, especially mentally. We expect to continue this way. The Suzuki worked very well in those wet conditions which can really test the engine as well as the chassis."

Business as usual for Everts in Bulgaria

Career win number 93, six Grand Prix in succession, the third double on the trot and nine consecutive moto victories fell to Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team's Stefan Everts at the fast Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the sixth round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the 33 year old Belgian and absolute series leader own another two motos in vastly different weather conditions in which the YZ450FM excelled once more.

The wide expanse of the Sevlievo track, situated in the modern and impressive infrastructure of the circuit, was quick and dry for the first moto but then the heavens opened and dropped a plethora of rain onto the venue creating a difficult and technical test, as well as constituting the first wet race of the season.
Despite insisting that a repeat of his Japanese domination would be unlikely Saturday afternoon, Everts faced little opposition in both races after taking the lead within the first two laps of both sprints. He controlled the distance assimilated both times over Kevin Strijbos and his superiority has now translated into an 81 point advantage from Kawasaki's Tanel Leok in the World Championship standings meaning that he can afford not to finish three motos and still be in front.

Cedric Melotte completed only three laps today during the first outing. The Belgian fell heavily on Saturday and hit his head. Feeling dazed and unable to concentrate he elected to retire frustrated instead of risking further mishap. The 27 year old did not take to the line for the second race. Melotte has also been suffering from reduced energy and stamina possibly brought on by over-training. He had several tests after arriving back from Japan and his body was found to be lacking certain minerals. "Cedric had been training quite hard, as normal but has been feeling bad after the races, which is unusual for the condition he should have," said Team Manager Carlo Rinaldi. "The season has been up and down for him. Portugal was bad but then Teutschenthal was better after he had some rest. Japan was again not so good, so we rested him before this GP. The blood tests said he was low on iron and some B12 among other things in line with the symptoms of over-training. Cedric needs to rest and renew his levels and we should see an improvement."
The trip to Bulgaria represented the first of three consecutive meetings. The teams now travel directly to Italy and the Montevarchi circuit before then heading to Matterley Basin and the British Grand Prix.

Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Any race is a new race so anything can still happen but I have managed to keep the pace up and not make any mistakes. The second moto was difficult because of the conditions and I had to lose my goggles after a few laps. I had to slow down because of all the mud in my eyes but overall I am happy with the day. Coming here I was unsure because this is not the best track for me to try and win like Japan but I was consistent with my speed. The bike has been great on the starts and being able to push hard in the first ten to fifteen minutes really makes a difference."

Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I had a big crash on Saturday and I found that I could not concentrate on my riding today. I tried to make some fast laps but it was getting dangerous so I decided to stop. I am having very little luck at the moment."

Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It was two different races today because of the track conditions and Stefan proved that it doesn't matter what weather or demands he faces. He made two very consistent and error-free races. The rhythm was strong at first but he could deal with it. The bike came through very well because there was a lot of water and you can sometimes have a strange problem like with the electrics. We made some changes between the motos to cope with the changing terrain and they worked out fine."

Suzuki MX1 Men Head To Bulgaria

A trip to Bulgaria and the Sevlievo circuit awaits Team Suzuki and their works RM-Z450s this weekend in what will be the sixth round of the 2006 FIM MX1 World Championship.

The Belgian crew have seen one of their two riders finish on the podium at the last four Grand Prix including a runner-up position for Kevin Strijbos in Germany and then for Steve Ramon two weeks ago in Japan.

Suzuki are the only manufacturer with two riders in the top six of the series standings as Strijbos currently lies fourth and Ramon fifth. The Belgian pair banished the effects of jetlag returning from Sugo 10 days ago by claiming podium results at Kester for the fourth round of the Belgian Championship last weekend behind current World Champion and MX1 standings leader Stefan Everts.

Strijbos was second overall and Ramon was third.The impressive Sevlievo circuit has all the facilities and infrastructure required by a modern motocross venue. The fast and hilly course with 100% views for spectators has apparently been adjusted to comply with FIM rules and to lower the speed ahead of its third World Championship event this weekend.The inaugural Bulgarian Grand Prix took place in 2002 and was run again in 2003 before vanishing off the calendar for more than two years.

Prior to the ’02 edition at the regenerated Sevlievo location, the FIM competition had not visited the country for almost two decades. The course was popular with the riders but perhaps is notoriously remembered for being the track on which the career of 250cc Grand Prix winner Pit Beirer ended 36 months ago.

If the MX1 class can be counted as an evolution of the blue ribbon 250cc category then Suzuki have enjoyed past success in Sevlievo as Mickael Pichon owned proceedings in 2002 upon the potent RM250."The track is fast, maybe a little too fast," said Ramon who last competed at Sevlievo in his 125cc title-winning campaign of 2003 and scored sixth position after a first lap crash had left him down in 26th. "I have had some decent rides there on the 125 in the past and it will be different for sure this time around with the Suzuki. I am looking forward to it though. I enjoyed the track in 2003 although I am sure there will be a few changes for this weekend."I really need to start being consistent and close the gap in the standings.

The podium in Japan was good but I need to be there regularly," he added.Also concerned about the standings is Strijbos. "I don’t know what happened in that first moto in Japan but things were not working right for me," the 20 year old said. "I need to get back on the podium and take third position again in the Championship. I have to start chipping away at second and I can’t afford many more races like Japan."Sevlievo is not a bad track it is just an easy one," Strijbos, who claimed 12th position on the RM 250 in 2003 as a fresh-faced 17 year old, continued. "There are many up and downhill straights and some nice jumps.

It is fast but not that technical. The important thing is that in the past there have been quite a few passing opportunities." Warm but wet and stormy weather is predicted in the region for the weekend.MX1 World Championship Standings (after 5 of 15 rounds): 1 Stefan Everts 242, 2 Tanel Leok 181, 3 Ken De Dycker 168, 4 Kevin Strijbos 165, 5 Steve Ramon 151, 6 Jonathan Barragan 150, 7 Cedric Melotte 105, 8 Sebastien Tortelli 99, 9 Manuel Priem 99, 10 Pascal Leuret 93.

Double Win For De Dyker - Landrake 28th May 06

CAS Honda’s Ken De Dycker confidently increased his British Championship lead by 33 points at the half way stage of the Championship at Landrake on Sunday. With the unpredictable British weather no-one was sure of track conditions prior to this event however the rain stayed away on race day and the circuit had been well prepared for this event.

Ken took his time in qualification, getting familiar with one of the many British tracks that he has not previously seen. By the end of the session his fastest lap time put him in 4th position.

As the gate dropped for the first race Ken took the holeshot closely followed by Noble, Bill, Jones and Bradshaw. By the 6th lap he had pulled away from the rest of the pack with a comfortable 9.7 second lead which later increased to 10.6 seconds. Ken cruised to the chequered flag under no pressure whatsoever giving the crowd some excitement with a little freestyle over the table top by the finish to end the race.


Race 1 – Results
Ken De Dycker
James Noble
Julian Bill

Race two started out very differently when Ken found himself back in 9th position around the first corner. The CAS Honda rider pushed hard to take 4th place by the second lap, 2nd place by the third lap and into the lead by the 4th lap. Second place Julian Bill tried to keep up with the Belgian but Ken continued to increase his race lead lap by lap and after 22 minutes had a 9 second advantage.

Race 2 – Results
Ken De Dycker
James Noble
Mark Hucklebridge

On the podium at the end of the day Ken said that he had been working very hard every day to help with his speed and stamina and that he would be looking for more podiums both at the British and World Championships. He is also looking forward to team mate Josh Coppins getting back on his bike and going practising together where the Belgian can hopefully learn from the World number 2. The CAS Team are starting the long trip to Bulgaria for this weekends GP.

Overall Results on the day
Ken De Dycker
James Noble
Mark Jones

Championship Standings after 4 Rounds (4 Rounds to go)
1. Ken De Dycker 231 points
2. James Noble 198 points
3. Mark Jones 158 points