Strijbos Wins MXGP Of Belgium
By TMX Archives on 1st Aug 16
Team Suzuki World MXGP threw the covers off a special 1992 retro design for their home Grand Prix at Lommel in Belgium and Kevin Strijbos took a first overall victory of the season.
Strijbos emotionally grasped his first win since 2007 with a 3-3 scorecard and also the maiden success for Stefan Everts' crew since the change of management late last year. The deep, devouring and rough sand was surrounded by 25,000 fans and covered by cloudy skies but warm temperatures.
Suzuki also toasted a memorable weekend with Jeremy Seewer finishing second in the MX2 Championship.
Strijbos made a good show on Saturday, finding an effective rhythm to finish third in Qualifying. It was the second top-three qualifying classification for the Belgian in a week and in his second outing since recovering from an injured left wrist.
In the first dash, Strijbos gated brightly and was close to the top five. While Max Nagl and Shaun Simpson broke free, Strijbos took part in an entertaining tussle with Romain Febvre, Clement Desalle and Tony Cairoli.
Series leader Tim Gajser was also part of the pack until crashing down to 15th. Strijbos had a strong pace in the closing laps and timed his push well to grab third and consolidate the position until the chequered flag for his first top-three result of the season.
The second race again saw Strijbos proactive, The former world championship runner-up made another beneficial start and he lapped comfortably behind Tony Cairoli and ahead of Jeremy Van Horebeek to manage another third place and earn the top-step of the final podium by just one point. It was his first triumph since 2007, at Lierop in the Netherlands. Strijbos now holds 10th in the championship standings.
