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Strijbos immense at home Grand Prix

The Grand Prix of Belgium at the new and well-received Sans Souci circuit in Bastogne will go down as one of HM Plant KTM UK’s more memorable events of the 2012 FIM Motocross World Championship campaign thanks to sterling performances by Kevin Strijbos to earn fourth position overall in the premier MX1 class.

Strijbos fully utilised the nimbleness of his KTM 350SX-F to make two bright starts and wriggle into leading positions around the opening laps of both motos. The former double world championship runner-up then set about attacking the track and keeping pace with the leaders. ‘The Kid’ hassled Clement Desalle in the final stages of the first race and narrowly missed a podium slot. In the second moto a similar story unfolded and Strijbos kept Desalle and Christophe Pourcel close company but eventually settled for another fourth spot and maintain’s sixth place in the championship standings.

Kevin Strijbos: “The first race was OK. I got a good start and I was riding second following Tony (Cairoli) for the first three laps. Then I got a little bit of arm-pump and I got a little bit stressed and that is why Paulin and Desalle passed me. It was actually a pity because I felt that I had the speed. In the second race I again had a good start, I focused on the riders in front of me and then I tried not to think about arm-pump. I could push really hard and I passed Bobryshev and then I closed the gap again with Desalle and Pourcel. At that moment Pourcel was a bit faster, so it was difficult to catch him. On the last lap I tried to pass Desalle again but it was too difficult. Overall I’m really happy because this result is good for the points. I want to thank the team for everything the do for me, I’m really happy with them.”