Ramon makes home GP comeback at Lommel
By TMX Archives on 30th Jul 09
The 12th round of 15 in the 2009 FIM MX1 World Championship and the first of four races left in the final six weeks of the current campaign will take place this weekend through the relentless and draining sand of Lommel in Belgium.
The Grand Prix of Limburg will be a home event for Teka Suzuki World MX1 that is based a stone's throw away from the flat and accessible course, deep in the centre of the country.
The factory crew, with their works RM-Z450s, will be back to full strength for the first time since the fourth event of the season with Steve Ramon set to rejoin Ken De Dycker after recovering from a fractured neck and negotiating two races in Belgium and Germany in the last two weeks.
De Dycker is presently sixth in the World Championship standings with a 25-point deficit to the top three. Ramon is 15th and looking to rescue some silverware before the culmination of his fourth year with team. The RM-Z450 has appeared on the podium six times in 2009 with De Dycker earning five of the trophies so far. Both Belgians will naturally count on strong support this weekend as Lommel - the circuit and town that acts as a central and unofficial training 'headquarters' for many of the top European riders in the World Championship - prepares to host its second GP after its international inauguration as a modern venue in 2008.
The circuit has undergone a revision in terms of the layout and jump locations with a wholesale degree of effort applied to the spectator areas and importance to viewing potential. The meeting enjoys decent local backing and is vying to be one of the most impressive stops on the '09 calendar. The riders themselves will be well acquainted with the notorious demands of the terrain as the sandy bumps and ruts will provide one of the hardest physical, mental and technical tests this season.
"I am really looking forward to this weekend," says De Dycker." I have been thinking about Lommel for a good few weeks now and I feel strong for this GP. Practice has been going well in the sand and the bike is working great, so I am optimistic. Racing at home is always a bit special.
"I heard that something like three or four corners will be the same compared to 2008 otherwise the rest is new, so it will be a discovery for all of us," he added. "It also means new bumps and some tricky parts. Lommel is always a physical race but this is no surprise."
For Ramon, Lommel will represent a daunting but familiar return to Grand Prix duties: "I know I have picked a hard one but things have been going well and I am looking ahead to Lommel," said the former World Champion. "They say that something like 15% of the track is the same as last year. I think it is good to make a change. I like new tracks but this is Lommel, so it is still going to be deep, bumpy and all about surviving!
"It is difficult to say what kind of result I can expect. Ken was fast last week in Germany, so that was a guide; I know he can win in Lommel, so to stay with him was encouraging. I would like to win but I have been out for a long time so to get on the podium and to get through those two tough 40-minute motos would make me really happy."
The weather forecast for Lommel at the weekend predicts cloudy skies with the chance of showers.