Kevin Strijbos Suzuki RMZ450K - Photo Courtesy of Beursfoon Suzuki
Race Report - Beursfoon Suzuki round 11 in Lommel, Belgium
Kevin Strijbos scores a top ten moto finish at the Grand Prix of Belgium
Amsterdam - Kevin Strijbos from the Beursfoon Suzuki Team finished twelfth overall at the Grand Prix of Belgium. In both motos the Belgian rider had some arm pump so he couldn’t ride the pace he wanted to ride. He still managed to finish in tenth position and in twelfth position in the motos. Marc de Reuver collided with another ride in the first lap of the first moto and crashed. From 37th position he charged back trough the field and still managed to finish the race in 16th position. In the second moto he was charging back trough the field as well but a crash ruined his changes of scoring points. He finally finished the race in a disappointing 27th position. In the MX2 class Jose Butron managed to score two points in the second moto. In the first moto he crashed in the opening lap and was to far behind to score points.
The Beursfoon Suzuki Team had prepared themselves well for this race. The Grand Prix in Lommel is always one of the toughest on the calendar. The weekend started out really well for Kevin Strijbos on Saturday. In the free practice session he set the third fastest time and in the pre qualifying session he was tenth fastest. Marc de Reuver took it easy in the free practice session and was just looking for lines. In the pre qualifying session he went out several times to put a fast lap together and finally ended the session in sixteenth position.
In the qualifying heat it was Kevin Strijbos who took the holeshot. Kevin was riding inside of the top three for several laps but because he made some small mistakes he dropped back to fifth position. Just before the middle of the race he got arm pump so he had to lower the pace. He dropped back several positions and finally finished the race in tenth position. Marc de Reuver started the race in eight position. In the beginning he was riding inside of the top ten but in the middle of the race he lost several positions and dropped back to 14th position. Marc was following the rider in front of him but on a nasty double jump things went wrong for Marc. He made a big crash and was forced to retire from the race.
In the first moto Kevin took a decent start and came trough the first few corners in around tenth position. Because a rider crashed just in front of him he lost four positions and dropped back to 14th position. Kevin stayed calm and was riding his own race. During the race he worked himself up to tenth position in which he finished. Marc had a collision with another rider in the first lap and crashed. He restarted in 37th position and charged back trough the field. Marc passed a lot of riders and finished the race in 16th position.
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Marc de Reuver Suzuki RMZ450K - Photo Courtesy of Beursfoon Suzuki
In the second moto Kevin took a poor start and went into the first corner in 15th position. He found his rhythm straight away and worked himself up to fourth position. Some laps later he had to lower the pace because of arm pump. He lost a lot of positions and finally finished the race in twelfth position. Marc took a good start in the second moto but was forced to go wide in the first corner. At the end of the first lap he came by start/finish in 18th position. Marc worked himself up to 15th position but soon after he crashed and it took him a long time to get going again. After the crash he couldn’t find his rhythm anymore and finished the race in 27th position.
Kevin finished twelfth overall and Marc had to be satisfied with 19th position overall. After eleven rounds Kevin sits in eleventh position and Marc is in 22nd position after the Grand Prix of Belgium.
The Spaniard Jose Butron started his weekend strong on Saturday. In the pre qualifying session he set the 13th fastest time. In the qualifying heat he started inside of the top fifteen and in the beginning of the race he was able to held on to this position. Because of the fact that Jose couldn’t find a good rhythm he lost several positions. He also made a small crash and finally finished the race in 25th position.
The first moto started with bad luck for Jose. He crashed in the first lap and it took him a long to restart. Jose tried to come back but this was almost impossible because he was a long way down. He gave everything he had and finished the race in 26th position.
In the second moto he took a good start and came out of the first lap in 15th position. The pace was a little bit to high for Jose and because of this he lost a few positions. Butron never gave up and finished the race in 19th position. Jose finished 22nd overall and sits in 27th position in the World Championship Standings.
Guestrider Marco de Blaey did well in the fifth round of the World Championship Series for veterans. Marco finished ninth overall with an 8-10 moto score!
Next weekend (August 7th) the World Championship Series continues at Loket in the Czech Republic.
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Jose Butron Suzuki RMZ450K - Photo Courtesy of Beursfoon Suzuki
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