The Grand Prix of Spain and round nine of 18 in the 2016 MXGP FIM Motocross 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 would 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 gingerly 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 and the 10th appointment for MXGP. Hopefully Ben Townley will have recovered from his sore wrist to again take a place in the gate of the premier class, while Strijbos will also be searching for optimum fitness for a circuit he knows well.
Kevin Strijbos:
“I cannot remember having a weekend like this for a very long time and I usually don't crash so much…so it’s frustrating. I made a good start in the first moto but it was my mistake to land on a piece of track that had been watered so much. The front tucked and I went down and was trapped under the bike. In the second moto I was hit from behind and knocked my head. I felt dizzy and the bike was all bent. I’m feeling the cost of this weekend slightly now through my chest and wrist and I want to get checked-out tomorrow. There is really not much more to say.”
MXGP Moto1: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:19.713; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:07.344; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:11.598; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:13.207; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:15.021; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:16.983; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:18.001; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:18.012; 9. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:38.268; 10. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:40.756. 22. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki World MXGP), +1:48.601.
MXGP Moto2: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:15.981; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:03.607; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:06.614; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.734; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:18.755; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:32.631; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:39.036; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:45.513; 9. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:51.895; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:53.494; 30. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki World MXGP), -17 lap(s).
MXGP Overall result: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 38 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 35 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 31 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 27 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 27 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 21 p.; 31. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki World MXGP), 0 p.
MXGP World Championship Standings (after 9 of 18 rounds): 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 385 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 361 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 338 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 317 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 295 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 274 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 210 p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki World MXGP), 204 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 180 p.; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 156 p.; 11. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 150 p.; 12. Christophe Charlier (FRA, HUS), 142 p.; 13. Ben Townley (BEL, Suzuki World MXGP), 119 p.
