Strijbos positive for '15 after preparation in the US
Suzuki factory rider Kevin Strijbos returned to Europe this week after almost a month of training and riding in Southern California. The 28-year-old Strijbos has had one of the best preparation periods of his career, in order to attempt to improve on his third place in the 2014 World Championship in the MXGP class. Around this time last year he was still recovering from a broken pelvis, but this year he stayed in the USA for almost a month and was able to complete a perfect preparation for the new season.
“It was great and ideal to drive there,” he says. “I only started riding the bike last year two weeks before the first GP and I didn't know the speed yet. Now I feel a lot better and have ridden a lot. I hope it will also bear fruit in Qatar.”
Strijbos was therefore accompanied by the Suzuki team together with MXGP teammates Clement Desalle and Glenn Coldenhoff. This happened under the supervision of former world champion and Suzuki Sport Manager Joel Smets. The entire group toured the circuits in the Temecula region. “The circuits may have been fun, but they were flat and hard,” Strijbos explains. “Many riders there ride in the morning and then leave again in the afternoon. So we drove later in the day so that the circuit was a bit rougher. But all in all it was still good to work on speed. As soon as we come to Europe we will dive back into the sand.”
Suzuki therefore decided to immediately ship the factory RM-Z450s in a crate, so that the riders could properly train and test. “We shipped our engines from Europe, which was of course quite a package, but it is more useful to work this way than just using standard engines there in the US,” says Strijbos. “We did some testing at the Glen Helen circuit where the GP will be held in September and that was also positive.”
There are rumors going around that main sponsor Rockstar is looking to reconsider their presence in the factory team for 2015. But we will only get confirmation when the official photoshoot images are released or when Suzuki appears at the start for the first time in the pre-season. Devolleging competitions are currently planned for Desalle and Strijbos at Hawkstone Park (GB), Valence (France) and Mantova (Italy). “Just to get some racing rhythm for the first GPs,” Strijbos added.
Text: Adam Wheeler / OTOR
Photo: CDS/Bavo Swijgers
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