Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1‰Ûªs 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‰Ûªs Ken Roczen was clearly the fastest competitor in the MX2 division on his RM-Z250 and swept the day with 1-1 scores.
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 KTM's 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.
‰Û÷It was a good day; three motos and across a rough track so it was hard work, but nice to win,‰Ûª the 2007 MX1 World Champion said. ‰Û÷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.‰Û
