DOUBLE IRISH PODIUM FOR TEKA SUZUKI
Source: Suzuki
Sep 2, 2008 - 8:37:08 AM
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Both of Team Teka Suzuki WMX1's racers Steve Ramon and Ken de Dycker proudly
stood on the podium at the Grand Prix of Ireland after they finished second and
third overall after two tough races at the Fairyhouse circuit that's situated to
the North West of Dublin.
After setting pole in the previous day's timed
qualifying session De Dycker was confident of scoring well in today's
points-paying races. And after working his way to the front from a third place
start in moto one De Dycker dominated the moto while entertaining the Irish race
fans with his stylish high flying antics. After forging a safe gap between
himself and the rest of the pack he finally cruised across the line two and a
half seconds ahead of his closest competition after almost 39 minutes of
gruelling on track action.
Not getting the best of starts in moto two De
Dycker soon found his way past David Philippaerts and into third but couldn't
find a rhythm or settle into a good pace. After slipping back to fifth he spent
the middle part of the moto regrouping before being able to come back strong in
the second half of the 35-minute plus two lap moto to secure third position in
the individual race and second overall on the day courtesy of his 1-3
scorecard.
"The first race was good even though I didn't have such a good
start," said De Dycker. "I found it easy to come through and when I was in the
lead I found it easy to control the race from there. I was so relaxed and my
lines were working well - it was a very enjoyable ride.
"I got a bad
start in the second moto and I struggled early on because the lines were so
different than in the first moto and I couldn't find a good pace so I started to
get angry with myself. This cost me some energy I think and I was also making a
lot of mistakes which cost me time. I was happy to finally finish third though
and second overall on the day is good too."
Ending the day one place
behind his team-mate - in third - was reigning MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon.
Ramon tried a different, stronger power setting on the engine of his factory
Suzuki during moto one in Ireland but didn't find it completely to his liking
but still finished a commendable fifth after losing time and energy as he got
stuck behind MacKenzie.
Struggling a little with arm-pump Ramon also lost a
position to fellow MX1 series title candidate Philippaerts late in the moto but
was content that he'd done the best he could.
After returning to his
favourite power curve for moto two Ramon looked like a different rider as he
found the best lines and attacked the track - as well as the opposition hard!
Starting sixth he scythed through to second in the space of 15 laps but
found the gap between himself and race leader Tanel Leok too large to overcome.
Content to finish second in the race and third overall on the day Ramon most
importantly took two points from Philippaerts' series lead and now sits just
five behind the Italian with two rounds in the championship left to
run.
"The start was not so good in the first race and I found it quite
difficult to pass," said Ramon. "I spent a long time sat behind Billy and it was
tiring me out as I had to try different lines and to push hard to try and get
past. I started to get a little bit of arm pump and Philippaerts was able to
close in on me and eventually pass me and I wasn't happy with that but I knew
that I had tried my hardest.
"Before the second race we changed some
settings on the bike and put it back to how I usually have it and things were
much better for me. The second moto start was good and my riding was also much
better than in the first moto. I found some good lines out there and I could put
pressure on Philippaerts - he used some different lines to try and hold me back
but I was able to pass him quite easily. Straight away I pulled a little gap on
him and that was good. In fact the whole second moto was good for me - okay
Tanel was fast in that race but I beat David and the gap between myself and him
is down to five points now. The last two GPs will be tough but I'll do the best
I can to recapture my world title!"
With only two rounds left the MX1
World Championship series continues next weekend in the deep and heavy sand of
Lierop for the Grand Prix of Benelux before moving to Faenza in Italy one week
later for the season finale.
MX1 Moto 1: 1 Ken
De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) 38:49.681, 2 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki - EST)
+0:02.572, 3 Billy MacKenzie (Honda - GB) +0:15.287, 4 David Philippaerts
(Yamaha - ITA) +0:17.305, 5 Steve Ramon (Suzuki - BEL)
+0:22.354, 6 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki - FRA) +0:23.658, 7 Max Nagl
(KTM - GER) +0:25.976, 8 Manuel Priem (Kawasaki - BEL) +1:03.541, 9 Josh Coppins
(Yamaha - NZL) +1:09.368, 10 Jonathan Barragan (KTM - ESP)
+1:18.293.
MX1 Moto 2: 1 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki -
EST) 39:36.398, 2 Steve Ramon (Suzuki - BEL) +0:15.918,
3 Ken De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) +0:23.160, 4 David Philippaerts
(Yamaha - ITA) +0:26.158, 5 Billy MacKenzie (Honda - GB) +0:29.898, 6 Max Nagl
(KTM - GER) +0:36.999, 7 Manuel Priem (Kawasaki - BEL) +0:45.319, 8 Clement
Desalle (Suzuki - BEL) +0:53.091, 9 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki - FRA)
+0:57.115, 10 Julien Bill (Honda - SUI) +1:00.277.
World
Championship standings (after 13 of 15 rounds): 1 David Philippaerts
(Yamaha - ITA) 441 points, 2 Steve Ramon (Suzuki - BEL) 436,
3 Ken De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) 369, 4 Jonathan Barragan (KTM -
ESP) 389, 5 Josh Coppins (Yamaha - NZL) 382, 6 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki -
FRA) 371, 7 Max Nagl (KTM - GER) 356, 8 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki - EST) 322, 9 Billy
MacKenzie (Honda - GB) 293, 10 Clement Desalle (Suzuki - BEL)
235.
Manufacturer World Championship standings (after 13
of 15 rounds): 1 Yamaha 507 points, 2 Suzuki 504, 3 KTM 481, 4
Kawasaki 467, 5 Honda 398, 6 TM 33, 7 Aprilia 12
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