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SUZUKI MEN TOP SWEDISH MX1 QUALIFYING 5/7/2008
Team Suzuki Press Office - July 5.
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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