De Dycker Fastest At German MX1

Team Suzuki Press Office - June 28 — The timed qualifying session for the eighth round of the FIM World Motocross Championship held at Teutschental in Germany saw team Teka Suzuki WMX1 rider Ken De Dycker take pole for tomorrow's points-paying races.

The twisty Teutschental circuit was in prime condition for the qualification session and it just got faster and faster as the period progressed. De Dycker waited until the very last lap to put in his fastest time after sitting at the sidelines for the first 10 minutes. Crossing the line with a time of 2:05:014 De Dycker leapfrogged Frenchman Sebastien Pourcel to take his second pole position of the year.

"They watered the track so much that it wasn't worth going out at the start of the session," said Ken. "We had seen all day that the lap times were getting better in the last few laps so I waited until the track dried for a while and then went for it. I had a couple of laps where I made a few mistakes or got caught up with slower riders and then the last lap was just better. I didn't make any mistakes and I tried some different lines - I think they made all the difference.

"Getting pole means I can start from the inside and from there even if I don't get the best start I can stay tight and make some places up as they drift wide in the first corner. I hope I can do well tomorrow. I want to be on the podium and I want to make up some points in the championship."

Reigning MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon ended the session ninth, just over one second slower than his team-mate. Fifth until the last lap of the session, four riders including De Dycker went even faster while Steve's last chance of a fast lap was ruined by a crashed rider blocking his lines.

"I was fifth until the last lap and I wanted to try one more but Barragan crashed in front of me and I lost that lap," said Ramon. "Four riders went faster than me and I ended up ninth but that's not so bad because the times are all quite close. The track is not so easy and I found it difficult to ride smooth today, it's fast and I didn't really like it. It's a different day tomorrow, I'll do the best I can and hopefully I can come out on top."

The weather forecast for tomorrow's races is for strong sunshine with the temperature expected to be around 26 degrees Celsius.

MX1 Timed Practice: 1 Ken De Dycker (Suzuki - BEL) 2:05:014, 2 Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki - France) 2:05:043, 3 Billy MacKenzie (Honda - GB) 2:05:166, 4 Josh Coppins (Yamaha - NZL) 2:05:273, 5 Julien Bill (Honda - SUI) 2:05:632, 6 Tanel Leok (Kawasaki - EST) 2:05:733, 7 David Philippaerts (Yamaha - ITA) 2:05:751, 8 Marc De Reuver (Honda - NED) 2:05:965, 9 Steve Ramon (Suzuki - BEL) 2:06:211, 10 Max Nagl (KTM - GER) 2:06:298.