Team Suzuki rider Joel Smets captured his fourth podium result of the season today after a fantastic race at an overcast Sugo circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix, round six of 17 in the FIM 2005 Motocross World Championship.Smets was part of a frantic five-rider tussle in the second MX1 moto and the group were separated by little more than three seconds for the duration of the 35 minute and two lap sprint. The squabble involved four different manufacturers and saw three riders lead the race.
The Belgian was caught up in a physically-intense dice with KTM's Ben Townley and finally passed Mickael Pichon for second place on the last lap to earn third overall and his fourth champagne celebration of the 2005 campaign.
Almost 25,000 people packed into Sugo over the weekend to witness the first Japanese Motocross Grand Prix in 10 years and although the sunshine of Saturday had been replaced by lower temperatures and cloudy skies on race day, the MX1 action kept everyone in a sweat. The track was in excellent condition and provided many lines, allowing the riders to apply a healthy degree of strategy that kept the racing fluid and hotly contested.
Earlier in the day, the opening heat had been more processional. Smets started within the top five and was pushing Josh Coppins for fourth position for the first half of the first moto. KTM's Steve Ramon was able to close in the final stages and relegated the Belgian to sixth as he struggled to find his speed and extra refinements in bike set-up that arrived during the lunch break.
Motovision Suzuki Racing's Yoshitaka Atsuta persevered with a sore shoulder after a practice prang and lost positions from just outside the top 10 due to another slip starting the first moto. He was able to rally towards the end and enjoyed a close scrap with Britain's Mark Hucklebridge before crossing the line 16th. He was lucky to survive some bumping and barging on the initial bend at the beginning of the second race but was well placed for a top-10 finish and finally delivered a creditable ninth place to his many home fans.
Japan was also aptly represented by Suzuki rider Shinichi Kaga who scored points with 19th and 17th positions. Kaga was using prototype parts and testing for the 2006 production machines.
Team Suzuki will leave Japan tomorrow morning and fly back to Europe with precious little time to pack and prepare for round seven, the British Grand Prix, which takes place next weekend at Matchams Park.
Joel Smets:
"The second moto was much better for me than the first. Since coming back from injury last year I have been struggling to keep my confidence up throughout the various weekends. I missed a lot of testing time last season and used the same set-up throughout the winter to get my condition back so we are still in a period of exploration in terms of getting the best out of the bike.
"We are trying to improve and our experiments don't always work and this plays with my confidence sometimes. Things weren't so good yesterday and we made some changes. The bike felt better in warm-up but I was still riding too tense during the first 10 minutes of the first moto. I got sore arms and couldn't hold the bike properly. I rode using my experience and did not want to make mistakes.
"My speed is better than what I showed in the first heat. I am happy that I recovered between the two motos and stayed calm, improved my form and got a great result in the second race. The track was awesome. It was rough but in perfect condition and I think that showed in the racing."
Yoshitaka Atsuta:
"The second moto was a hard race but it was also fun! I had a good start but Smets attacked me on the first corner and I almost went into the fence. My hand was nearly swallowed by his rear wheel and it was a dangerous situatio n. I tried to follow Ramon but the track was difficult. Everybody was cheering for me and that was nice to see! In the first moto I slipped off once and could not get a good feeling on the bike for the rest of the race. I have enjoyed being back in Japan and I hope we can come back again next season."
MX1 Moto1: 1 Mickael Pichon, FRA (Honda) 40:13.957. 2 Stefan Everts, BEL (Yamaha) 40:17.330. 3 Ben Townley, NZL (KTM) 40:20.172. 4 Joshua Coppins, NZL (Honda) 40:52.240. 5 Steve Ramon, BEL (KTM) 40:56.760. 6 Joel Smets, BEL (Suzuki) 40:58.419. 7 Brian Jorgensen, DEN (Yamaha) 41:09.109. 8 Danny Theybers, BEL (Suzuki) 41:10.142. 9 James Noble, GBR (Honda) 41:11.067. 10 Ken de Dijcker, BEL (Honda) 41:16.425. 16 Yoshitaka Atsuta, JPN (Suzuki) 41:39.516. 19 Shinichi Kaga, JPN (Suzuki) 42:07.155.
MX1 Moto2: 1 Stefan Everts, BEL (Yamaha) 39:12.092. 2 Joel Smets, BEL (Suzuki) 39:13.713. 3 Mickael Pichon, FRA (Honda) 39:14.592. 4 Joshua Coppins, NZL (Honda) 39:36.188. 5 James Noble, GBR (Honda) 39:42.491. 6 Tanel Leok, EST (Kawasaki) 39:54.141. 7 Ken de Dijcker, BEL (Honda) 40:07.079. 8 Steve Ramon, BEL (KTM) 40:10.937. 9 Yoshitaka Atsuta, JPN (Suzuki) 40:18.274. 10 Danny Theybers, BEL (Suzuki) 40:19.226. 17 Shinichi Kaga, JPN (Suzuki) 41:05.927.
MX1 Overall result: 1 Stefan Everts 47. 2 Mickael Pichon 45. 3 Joel Smets 37. 4 Joshua Coppins 36. 5 Steve Ramon 29. 6 James Noble 28. 7 Ken de Dijcker 25. 8 Danny Theybers 24. 9 Tanel Leok 23. 10 Ben Townley 20. 11 Yoshitaka Atsuta 17.
MX1 World Championship Standings (after six rounds): 1 Stefan Everts 251. 2 Mickael Pichon 240. 3 Joel Smets 204. 4 Joshua Coppins 203. 5 Ben Townley 168. 6 Steve Ramon 149. 7 James Noble 132. 8 B.Jorgensen 121. 9 Ken de Dijcker 112. 10 Paul Cooper 98. 17 Yoshitaka Atsuta 62.
Source: Team Suzuki Press Office