STRIJBOS 3RD IN ‘NATIONS MXGP CLASS

2016-09-26 08:09
The 2016 FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship may have ended for Team Suzuki but racing continued this weekend with three of the factory crew in action at the Motocross of Nations and Kevin Strijbos rode superbly to finish third overall in the MXGP category and assist Team Belgium to fourth place; just missing the podium by three points.

Maggiora Park – stage of the Grand Prix of Italy for the last three years – unveiled an altered layout and expanded infrastructure to cope with the 85,000 crowd and large industry presence attracted to the biggest off-road motorcycle race of the year. The Italian hard-pack was both fast, rough and bumpy in sections and characterised by some of the vast hill climbs and drops that make Maggiora so distinctive.

Three riders per team (in MXGP, MX2 and MX Open categories) and three races in one day; the Motocross of Nations is the ‘World Cup’ of the sport and 38 countries pitched-up in the paddock at Maggiora to do battle. Each nation counted their five best results from the six accrued across the board and with the lowest score forming the final classification. With points awarded in accordance with position Strijbos went 3-3 with gusto.

The 31-year-old enjoyed a decent run in the Qualification race on Saturday to take third place in the MXGP class. Strijbos celebrated a moto victory at Maggiora in the wet 2015 Grand Prix and brought positive previous form to the meeting. In the first race he was again excellent and surged from ninth place to pass former team-mate Glenn Coldenhoff and score third. In the third moto (MXGP grouped together with MX Open) ‘#22’ started in seventh and again attacked and gained ground to enter the top three.

Jeremy Seewer starred in MX2 and with his RM-Z250 for Switzerland. The 2016 Championship runner-up was always facing an uphill task against the bigger 450s and his 11-8 scorecard meant he was the third-best MX2 athlete in the ranking. The Swiss trio struggled slightly with Valentin Guillod riding injured and a potential podium slipped away to what would be a sixth position overall.

Competing for Lithuania was Arminas Jasikonis. The youngster rode his RM-Z450 to a best ranking of 24th but struggled in the last outing of the day by falling in the formative stages of the moto. Special mention for Australia’s Todd Waters who rode to an eye-catching seventh place in the first MXGP/ MX2 moto on his RM-Z450.

Winners of the Chamberlain trophy were France for the third year in a row after an extremely close contest with the Netherlands and the USA.

Suzuki’s competitive calendar rolls with the Supermotocross Rider’s Cup at the Veltins Arena in Germany next in the diary. Jake Weimer, Arminas Jasikonis and Jeremy Seewer will be representing the brand at the inaugural meeting on October 8th.

Kevin Strijbos:

“It was good today and I did two decent motos. I messed up my start in the second moto but I had been riding well all weekend. I think that was one of my best races in a long time; even Lommel doesn't come close. It felt really good. I had a nice flow and could push all moto. It was a shame that Belgium missed the podium but we all did our best: Jeremy won in MX2 and we knew it would be hard for Brent. It has been a difficult season with just one highlight. Lommel was about finding a rhythm but here was about going full-gas. We now have two weeks of testing ahead now. I’m happy.”

Jeremy Seewer:

“It was a fun race as always and I enjoyed racing with such a big crowd. It didn't end-up the way we wanted with the team but yesterday Guillod had a really bad crash and he was lucky he could even ride today. We finished sixth and Arnaud and I did some good motos and my riding was good. Third overall in MX2; I will be trying to change that next year! We have one more race to come and I will try to stay fit and prepare myself well for it. SMX will be something new for everyone.”

2016 Motocross of Nations classification: 1. France: 29 points. 2. The Netherlands: 30 points. 3. USA: 33 points. 4. Belgium: 36 points. 5. Italy: 44 points. 6. Switzerland: 44 points. 7. Great Britain: 73 points. 8. Australia: 76 points. 9. Estonia: 93 points. 10. Canada: 95 points.

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

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