A crisp and sunny afternoon in Shropshire, England, saw
Suzuki take a double victory at the annual Hawkstone Park International; the third and final major pre-season meeting in Europe. Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1’s Steve Ramon guided his works
RM-Z450 to his first win of 2010 by going 3rd and 1st in the MX1 class while Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2’s Ken Roczen was clearly the fastest competitor in the MX2 division on his
RM-Z250 and swept the day with 1-1 scores.
Teka Suzuki's Ken Rockzen finished 3-1 in the Hawkstone pre-season races and won the day.
The dark sand of Hawkstone Park - long a traditional and favoured venue in motocross circles, thanks to the technical nature of the terrain - proved once more to be a tough test for a select set of GP regulars. A surface partly frozen in places thawed to become rough, bumpy and demanding throughout the racing programme.
Ramon initially fought to cope with the grinds of the layout in the first moto and arm-pump caused him to slow his speed and take 3rd position. The 30-year-old Belgian altered the setting of his machine in-between the races and was suitably dialled into the track to improve his pace for the next outing. As in Valence two weeks ago, Ramon was a more reactive force, and after overtaking Max Nagl escaped to win and clinch the overall. He was 3rd in Superfinal that saw the MX2 and MX1 riders mixed together, but the result did not count towards the final classification.
‘It was a good day; three motos and across a rough track so it was hard work, but nice to win,’ the 2007 MX1 World Champion said. ‘I struggled again in the first race and had to slow down with arm-pump but we changed the set-up a little for the second moto and I could find a rhythm quite easily. I passed Nagl and rode to the win. I still need a bit of time to find some speed and also sharpen my physical condition but we have some weeks before the first GP.”
Team-mate Clement Desalle was 4th overall with finishes of 5th and 3rd.
He said: “I am a bit disappointed with today but this is part of preparation for the first Grand Prix and we will keep looking to be ready for Sevlievo.”
Ken Roczen was untouchable in the MX2 class, two weeks after his win at Valence that was followed by test-sessions in France and further mileage in the Belgian sand of Lommel. The 15 year old set the second fastest time in practice and then overtook Shaun Simpson to ease to a win of over 30 seconds in Moto1. The German took the holeshot and left the field again in his wake for Moto2, only easing his speed in the final 10 minutes in anticipation of the Superfinal in which he finished 2nd against a slew of 450s.
KTM's Max Nagl finished second-overall in the MX1 class.
“I think three days of riding at Lommel this week helped towards this result. My starts were good and I felt OK on the sand,’ the 2009 German Grand Prix winner said. ‘Our goal is to be ready for Bulgaria and while results like these are enjoyable we are still working towards being in the best shape possible.”
Team-mate Arnaud Tonus was able to put the memory of an unhappy meeting in Valence behind him with two strong showings from the three. The Swiss was error-prone in the first moto, which he failed to finish, but was a decent 4th in the next race and was the second-best MX2 rider in the last foray. “I was pushing too much in the first moto and was making too many mistakes and really not enjoying myself,” he remarked. “We had a talk after that race and the second was much better. I am pleased to be out racing again after Valence did not end so well; and I will keep learning and riding in the coming weeks.”
Rockstar Teka Suzuki WMX1 will now cease competitive activity until the first Grand Prix of 15 in the 2010 world championship in Bulgaria on Easter weekend. The team will move to Italy two weeks before the trip to Eastern Europe to prepare for the hard-pack track that awaits them at Sevlievo. Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 will open their national motocross commitments with the International at Frankenbach in Germany next weekend and the will return to the UK for the second round of the Maxxis British Championship at Mallory Park on March 21st.
MX 1 Results Hawkstone Park:
1. Steve Ramon (Suzuki) 15-20 - 35
2. Max Nagl (
KTM) 13-17-30
3. Tanel Leok (
Honda) 20-10-30
4. Clement Desaille (Suzuki) 11-15-25
5. Gareth Swanepoel (Honda) 10-13-23
MX2 Results Hawkstone Park:
1. Ken Roczen (Suzuki) 20-20-40
2. Dennis Verbruggen (KTM) 15-17-32
3. Jake Nicholls (KTM) 11-15-26
4. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (
Yamaha) 10-9-19
5. Nick Triest (Honda) 7-10-17
6. Joel Roelants (KTM)
