GP TALK
July 30, 2007
Kevin Strijbos "Of course I am happy. This feels good and I don't know what it is that I have with this track," said Strijbos. "The place itself is quite easy but today there were a lot of bumps and almost one-line. The motos themselves were tough because of the rain but we had no problems with the bike. I just want to try and win some more now."
"I had some bad luck in the first moto," commented Ramon. "I did not start well and things were tough at the beginning but it was getting better and better. I made it to the front and it was quite exciting with so many riders close together. I was fourth or fifth and made a little mistake that let Barragan pass me. I was faster than him and attacked right away on the step-up but he got out of shape and had crashed before he landed. I could not miss him and crashed also. The bars were bent and the brake level in the wrong place. It was two laps before I could start racing again and I had lost a lot of time by then. In the second moto I came back once more from an average start and it was a pity I could do no better than sixth overall because Josh had a bad day. He is still quite far ahead in the points but today showed that anything can still happen."
Sylvain Geboers
"We are happy and it is nice to see Kevin riding to his full potential," said Team Principal Sylvain Geboers. "It is just his 'ups-and-downs' that he has to work on. We will see what he can do for the rest of the season now but we are pleased and really excited with this race. With all the rumours about Kevin's future we have showed that we try to do our best all the time."
Jean Jacques Luisetti
‘We have some troubles to be back with good results, for sure it’s desappointing but we must continue to work hard. The positive point is that Steven has always a good speed, even if he didn’t finished any race today. He has always some troubles in his hand after fifteen minutes, we call this sunday professor Olivier Dufour and he will have new exams this week to know if another minor surgery is necessary or not. Anthony got bad start but then struggled to come back, since a few weeks now his speed is not as good as it was earlier in the season. Thomas Allier got surgery ten days ago, the plan is to be back for the final round of the French championship in two weeks’
Tanel Leok
“I was happy with my riding today and got the fastest lap in the first moto,” said Leok. “The start was not great but I came back quickly. The track was difficult and got worse with the wet in the second moto. I had to throw away my goggles and that’s when Ramon got past and it was tricky to stay close to him after that. Namur is next and we will have to be careful there as it is quite dangerous.”
Gareth Swanepoel
“The first race was alright,” he recounted. “I started OK and had a good speed for most of the moto. I closed Leuret down but then he’d pull away and that pattern continued for quite a while. In the second one I went down at the start and had a lot of work to do then. I managed sixteenth by the end which was not very good. I rode as hard as I could, and there is not much more to say.”
Christophe Pourcel
‘I was sick this weekend. I don’t know what happened but before the first race I went twice to the toilets and had pain in my stomach. Thirty minutes prior to the start I wasn’t sure if I could race, but I tried and once I was on the bike it was better. My jumps from the line were not so bad but I twice missed a good opportunity. In the first race I came back to fourth but it was more difficult in the
second. I had more pain, and couldn’t focus on my riding. I’m happy that Nicolas Aubin beat Cairoli and won the GP, we raced together since our days with the 80cc and he is a good friend.’
Sébastien Pourcel
‘I think that it was difficult to do better than I did today, especially with the crash at the start of the opening race. I came back from last to sixth, but when I was behind Leok I couln’t found a
place to pass him and took a bad rhythm. The second race was more difficult as the track was slippery with the rain, and in some sections my lines were not so good. I knew that Strijbos was faster so I let him pass and checked his lines and took some of them but it wasn’t possible to overtake him as there’s mainly one line on this track. I’m happy; it’s another podium on a track that I don’t like so much. I didn’t feel comfortable here but now even in these conditions I can perform well and that’s important.’
Gregory Aranda
‘It was a bad weekend for me. I had a poor rhythm and was unable to go fast during the practice sessions. I qualified through the last chance and today was a little bit better but I crashed in both
races. I think that I will stop practicing and racing the National series with a 450, I need to train more with the 250 to get some good results in this class before the end of the GP season.’
Patrick Geladé
‘It was a tough weekend for Christophe who was sick. He probably got cold this week with this strange weather for July. Yesterday in qualification he didn’t feel so well but got a third place. Today
was worse as he vomited twice before the first heat and couldn’t eat between the races. He did his best in these conditions to secure twenty-seven points, and increased the gap over Rattray. Gregory Aranda had also a bad weekend. He went through the last chance and then didn’t obtain any good result on Sunday. Happily for the team Sébastien is in great shape and collected another podium with a great performance after his crash at the start of the first race. He was unhappy when he came back to the truck as third position was possible, but for me his race was fantastic. He confirmed his potential in the second race; he was clever and let Strijbos pass to secure his second place.’
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