Kevin Strijbos took his factory RM-Z450 to an encouraging 10th position overall today at the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and the 13th round of 18 in the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship.
The Belgian defied some race ‘rustiness’ after recovering from a left wrist injury that had forced him to the sidelines, to capture two 11th positions in the motos around the hard-pack Loket circuit.
Changeable conditions with stormy showers affected the first fixture for MXGP after a three-week summer break, and the fast and hilly Czech terrain mixed slippery sections with several technical corners where large braking bumps and ruts had started to peak through. Strijbos was competing at the scene of his first ever GP victory 11 years ago (and that of the RM-Z450) and where he also finished runner-up in 2014.
After sealing second spot in a damp Qualification Heat yesterday Strijbos made a mediocre launch in front of the 25,000 attendance (weekend figure) for the first 30-minute and two-lap dash. He fought to regain ground and eventually pushed up to 11th on a track that was not generous with overtaking places and opportunities. The 30-year-old again had a tough start for the second moto with some hustle and bustle among the pack leaving ‘22’ needing to adapt his style to operate a bent rear brake lever. Again, he reached the edge of the top-10, but his arms began to feel the extent of the race-pace in the closing stages.
Strijbos was joined in the Suzuki awning by Grand Prix rookie and substitute for the recuperating Ben Townley, Arminas Jasikonis. The young Lithuanian showed top-15 speed on his very first outing on the RM-Z450 on Saturday. Loket was a jump into the deep end for the 18-year-old as he was not only mastering the Suzuki for the first time, and in the wake of test rides during the week, but was also trying to learn the intricacies of the pebbly Loket course. In the first moto he grabbed his first MXGP points with 17th place but two crashes in the second race – one of which he was blameless – nudged him out of the top 20 and he classified 19th overall.
