Tough Spanish GP for Suzuki's Strijbos
By TMX Archives on 30th May 16
Round nine in the MXGP World Championship will not live long in the memory for Team Suzuki World MXGP as Kevin Strijbos emerged from a troubled weekend at Talavera de la Reina without any points and counting the cost of three crashes around a circuit that did not forgive mistakes.
Finally some sunshine arrived to bake Talavera after rain softened the hard Spanish soil on Saturday and through qualification and practice.
The changeable conditions ensured that the ground was not as hard-packed and dusty as in previous editions of the event.
Some 17,000 spectators watched Strijbos enter the gate in 20th place after a tangle on the start straight in the qualification heat meant the 30-year-old had to plot a route back from last place obscurity.
The sole competitor on the RM-Z450 after a mid-week spill for Ben Townley left the New Zealander nursing a painful wrist, Strijbos made life extremely difficult for himself in the first moto on Sunday after another first lap fall left him adrift of the field by over half a lap.
The Belgian picked-up the RM-Z450 and tried to get back into the race. Despite his efforts he couldn't break into the points and classified 22nd.
He went to the line for the second moto determined to end the weekend on a positive note, but his race did not even last a lap after he was knocked off the bike on a steep downhill section and suffered a blow to the head that forced him to pull into the pits.
More hard-pack lies in store next weekend with the hillside venue of St Jean D'Angely staging the Grand Prix of France.
