Motocross World Championship, Valkenswaard, Netherlands

[Andy]

CAS Honda rider Ken de Dycker was a protagonist at the Grand Prix of

Benelux that took place at a warm and sunny Eurocircuit in

Valkenswaard today. The weather encouraged 25,000 fans to watch the

opening event of the15 round FIM World Championship.

The venue located less than ten kilometres from the city of Eindhoven

presented the riders of the MX1 (450cc four-strokes) and MX2 (250cc

four-strokes) series' with a fresh test as the course had been

significantly altered since the last World Championship visit in

2004. Several new corner sections, a repositioned start-straight and

a reversal of the track direction itself meant a novel opening Grand

Prix test for the title aspirants.

De Dycker was on form through Saturday's initial sessions and then

grabbed his first ever pole position by more than half a second after

Timed Practice. He positively leapt out of the gate for the opening

moto of the year and led Josh Coppins for six laps until the New

Zealander's slightly superior speed relegated the Belgian to second

whereby he was then caught by Steve Ramon before the flag.

The second race saw the CAS Honda man slightly more subdued, and he

weathered further problems with arm-pump to take 7th and be the first

Honda rider home again. De Dyker's sixth place overall gives the

British Champion the same status in the series ranking.

Team-mate Mike Brown had a tough introduction to the MX1 class. The

veteran held a top five position on the first lap of his debut in the

category but swiftly dropped back through the pack, struggling with

stiff arms. He eventually rescued seven points for 14th. A steadier

approach in Moto2 saw a finish five positions higher and his ninth

place slotted Brown into 10th overall.

Martin Honda's Antoine Meo was not fully fit after recovering

recently from a knee injury but nevertheless managed to obtain 10

points with 15th and 17th place finishes and 16th spot overall at the

end of the day for the same early ranking in the World Championship table.

Credit must go to Multitek Honda's James Noble. The Briton collected

8th by the close of play with two solid top ten finishes. Noble

grabbed 10th and then 8th after an entertaining scrap with Mike Brown

in the second outing and despite a slow speed tumble.

Coppins claimed the top step of the MX1 rostrum from Jonathan

Barragan and Ramon.

The MX2 category suffered for the loss of Ryan Mills. The rated

American and new Martin Honda representative felt the affects from a

practice crash last week and had to withdraw from the Grand Prix

after feeling groggy during Saturday's free session.

He will return to the USA for medical consultation this week but is

optimistic of competing at Bellpuig in a fortnight's time.

Former World Champion Antonio Cairoli owned overall honours by

running away with both motos while Tyla Rattray took second place and

Gareth Swanepoel secured his maiden podium result with third.

The World Championship now pauses over Easter weekend but proceedings

resume in two weeks time as the paddock heads to the Iberian

Peninsula. The Grand Prix of Spain at Bellpuig in Catalunya is

followed directly by the Portuguese round at the Agueda circuit south of Porto.

Ken de Dycker, CAS Honda:"I had a good start in the first one and I

am not really used to riding up front so my arms started to pump up.

In the second race my start was not as good but I came through

quickly and had the same problem; it was like I could not hold the

bike anymore and every bump I hit I almost lost it. The result

overall is OK, I took some points and picked up some confidence for

the next one.'

Mike Brown, CAS Honda: 'It wasn't bad for my first Grand Prix; I did

not really know where I was looking to be. The first moto was not the

best, I got arm-pump and was a bit nervous. Both of my starts were

really good but in the second race I decided to let the guys around

me go instead of struggle and get arm-pump again. Overall it was not

too bad. It's good to be back in the World Championship paddock and

it seems to have changed a lot.'

Antoine Meo, Martin Honda: 'I am happy because I have a painful knee.

I elected to ride this weekend and came away with some points. I am

pleased because I achieved what I wanted at this first race as I had

three weeks without any riding and my bike fitness had dropped. I

will go training now with Jacky Vimond and the next two tracks are

better for me so we will look for better.'

Ryan Mills, Martin Honda: 'After my Mantova injury we were working

hard and testing for this race but I had a pretty big crash last week

and gave myself a concussion. Yesterday in practice I wasn't feeling

that great and my vision kept getting blurry. I checked with three

different doctors and they said I was not fit so I could not get

cleared to ride. I will fly to America now for another check-up and

then be ready for Spain.'

James Noble, Multitek Honda: 'I was pretty happy with today. The bike

is set-up differently; it handles that bit better and there is more

power so I could just lift it over the bumps, overall it is easier to

ride. I had two good starts which was another positive. I was only

frustrated with that small crash in the second moto because I could

have been a few positions higher. I also had a bit of a flat patch in

the middle of the first race that was frustrating. Mike never gives

up! He made me push and I nearly caught Ken towards the end. However

eighth overall was good though.'

Results Motocross

MX1 Race 1 ( )

Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time

1 / Coppins, Joshua / NZL / Yamaha / 41:01.884

2 / Ramon, Steve / BEL / Suzuki / 41:18.837

3 / de Dycker, Ken / BEL / Honda / 41:27.106

4 / Strijbos, Kevin / BEL / Suzuki / 41:37.589

5 / Barragan, Jonathan / ESP / KTM / 42:00.153

6 / de Reuver, Marc / NED / Yamaha / 42:04.953

7 / Nagl, Maximilian / GER / KTM / 42:06.563

8 / Nemeth, Kornel / HUN / Suzuki / 42:08.376

9 / Mackenzie, Billy / GBR / Kawasaki / 42:11.239

10 / Noble, James / GBR / Honda / 42:13.223

11 / Leok, Tanel / EST / Kawasaki / 42:36.301

12 / Leok, Aigar / EST / Yamaha / 42:45.199

13 / Pourcel, Sebastien / FRA / Kawasaki / 42:51.812

14 / Brown, Mike / USA / Honda / 42:54.503

15 / Meo, Antoine / FRA / Honda / 43:05.511

MX1 Race 2 ( )

Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time

1 / Barragan, Jonathan / ESP / KTM / 41:44.389

2 / Coppins, Joshua / NZL / Yamaha / 41:54.775

3 / de Reuver, Marc / NED / Yamaha / 42:05.831

4 / Strijbos, Kevin / BEL / Suzuki / 42:12.829

5 / Priem, Manuel / BEL / TM / 42:22.963

6 / Ramon, Steve / BEL / Suzuki / 42:36.973

7 / de Dycker, Ken / BEL / Honda / 42:41.739

8 / Noble, James / GBR / Honda / 42:45.845

9 / Brown, Mike / USA / Honda / 42:48.222

10 / Nagl, Maximilian / GER / KTM / 43:22.691

11 / Crockard, Gordon / IRL / Honda / 43:29.311

12 / van Daele, Marvin / BEL / Honda / 43:49.211

13 / Renet, Pierre A. / FRA / Honda / 44:10.530

14 / Leok, Tanel / EST / Kawasaki / 40:57.097

15 / Vanni, Julien / FRA / Honda / 42:00.860

MX1 World Motocross Championship Standings

Pos Rider Total

1 Coppins, J. 47, 2 Barragan, J. 41, 3 Ramon, Steve 37, 4 Strijbos,

K. 36, 5 de Reuver, M. 35,

6 de Dycker, Ken 34, 7 Nagl, M. 25, 8 Noble, James 24, 9 Priem,

Manuel 19, 10 Brown, Mike 19,

11 Leok, Tanel 17, 12 Renet, P. 13, 13 Nemeth, Kornel 13, 14

Mackenzie, B. 12, 15 Crockard, G. 10.

MX2 Race 1 ()

Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time

1 / Cairoli, Antonio / ITA / Yamaha / 41:41.618

2 / Rattray, Tyla / RSA / KTM / 41:49.155

3 / Swanepoel, Garreth / RSA / Kawasaki / 41:52.537

4 / Gundersen, Kenneth / NOR / Yamaha / 41:57.733

5 / Eggens, Erik / NED / Suzuki / 42:01.829

6 / Aubin, Nicolas / FRA / KTM / 42:13.054

7 / Pourcel, Christophe / FRA / Kawasaki / 42:28.062

8 / Schiffer, Marcus / GER / KTM / 42:40.387

9 / Leuret, Pascal / FRA / Honda / 42:47.511

10 / Searle, Tommy / GBR / KTM / 42:51.476

11 / Boissiere, Anthony / FRA / Kawasaki / 42:54.857

12 / Seistola, Matti / FIN / Honda / 42:59.678

13 / Boog, Xavier / FRA / Yamaha / 43:04.005

14 / Verbruggen, Dennis / BEL / Yamaha / 43:07.564

15 / Tarroux, Jeremy / FRA / Yamaha / 43:27.579

MX2 Race 2 ()

Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time

1 / Cairoli, Antonio / ITA / Yamaha / 39:58.304

2 / Rattray, Tyla / RSA / KTM / 40:06.658

3 / Pourcel, Christophe / FRA / Kawasaki / 40:26.176

4 / Eggens, Erik / NED / Suzuki / 40:32.780

5 / Gundersen, Kenneth / NOR / Yamaha / 40:37.657

6 / Swanepoel, Garreth / RSA / Kawasaki / 40:42.059

7 / Schiffer, Marcus / GER / KTM / 40:56.603

8 / Aubin, Nicolas / FRA / KTM / 41:07.944

9 / Boissiere, Anthony / FRA / Kawasaki / 41:11.808

10 / Verbruggen, Dennis / BEL / Yamaha / 41:28.976

11 / Leuret, Pascal / FRA / Honda / 41:33.459

12 / Hamblin, Sean / USA / Suzuki / 41:41.936

13 / Seistola, Matti / FIN / Honda / 41:42.982

14 / Monni, Manuel / ITA / Yamaha / 41:47.076

15 / Frossard, Steven / FRA / Kawasaki / 41:50.306

MX2 World Motocross Championship Standings

Pos Rider Total

1 Cairoli, A. 50, 2 Rattray, Tyla 44, 3 Swanepoel, G. 35, 4 Pourcel,

C. 34, 5 Eggens, Erik 34,

6 Gundersen, K. 34, 7 Aubin, Nicolas 28, 8 Schiffer, M. 27, 9

Boissiere, A. 22,

10 Leuret, Pascal 22, 11 Verbruggen, D. 18, 12 Seistola, M. 17, 13

Searle, Tommy 11, 14 Hamblin, Sean 9, 15 van ,Horebeek, J. 9