Humid and hot conditions made the bumpy sand of Lommel a hard place for man and machine today in practice and qualification for the Grand Prix of Belgium.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos rolled his works RM-Z450 to third position in the MXGP qualification heat sprint for this 15th round of 17 in the FIM Motocross World Championship.
A plethora of lumps and rippling sand faced the MXGP and MX2 riders complimented by three European Championship classes on the support card. Strijbos was flying solo in the factory awning with Clement Desalle taking time away from the championship to heal a broken left scaphoid.
The Belgian was in sharp form on a terrain he likes and set the fastest lap in Timed Practice, giving him first choice in the gate for the 20-minute and two-lap qualification dash. The soon-to-be 29 year old grabbed the holeshot and then fought with Tony Cairoli and Jeremy Van Horebeek for pole position. In an effort to decrease the risk of crashing and find some effective lines Strijbos varied his pace and conserved energy to cruise home to third place.
The stuffy air could give way to some forecast rain and thunderstorms this evening but the two 30-minute and two-lap motos will still be physical and tough prospects tomorrow.
Kevin Strijbos:
“Pretty difficult. After the first practice I had the feeling that the track was quite different to what we usually practice with here; much more loose. We changed the front fork and in the qualification race I had the holeshot – which was good. I had a small gap at the front and tried to slow the pace a little bit and concentrate on being smooth. My speed wasn’t great and when Tony passed me I tried to look at his lines but they did not work for me. I worked on getting a flow and by the end of the race it was getting a bit better. I think we’ll make a switch on the bike again but we’ll be good for the motos tomorrow.”
MXGP Qualification Heat Result:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 23:48.175;
2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:03.426;
3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki MXGP), +0:04.833;
4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:14.753;
5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.256;
6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.461;
7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:26.786;
8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:31.284;
9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), +0:39.285;
10. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +0:41.632;
via Suzuki
