Kevin Strijbos claimed his first double set of moto wins, and the third overall victory of his career, at a wet and cold Grand Prix of the Czech Republic as he repeated his 2005 debut success at the Loket facility.
Watched by 24,000 spectators, the eleventh round of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship turned into a benefit for the Team Suzuki rider, who wrapped up his second win of the season, while a double non-score for Josh Coppins opened the championship battle up a little.
The slippery and stony Loket surface meant that the riders had to take care during Saturday's practice and qualification sessions, particularly when frequent showers gave the fine mud a generous coating. The terrain continued to shift throughout the weekend and the layout, with few lines, made overtaking far from simple and the braking and accelerating bumps made for a rough track. The rain on Sunday carved the surface up further.
Starts were at a premium but the opening moto saw a frantic spell of action in the middle of the race as ten riders formed a leading group. Several of the protagonists, such as Mackenzie, Barragan and Seb Pourcel had crashed. Coppins had a technical problem that saw him stop and drop out of the points, while Barragan also retired. Strijbos, however, was able to come through the melee and take his first chequered flag since Portugal in April.
As the rain fell again to soak the entire second affair, the Belgian was again the rider most capable on the bumpy surface. He stalked Sebastien Pourcel for the first half of the moto before moving through and taking a comfortable win.
"Of course I am happy," Strijbos beamed, "I don't know what it is that I have with this track. 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."
Team principal Sylvain Geboers admitted that, while the victory had brought him pleasure, he would be even happier if the Belgian was more consistent.
"We are happy and it is nice to see Kevin riding to his full potential," Geboers said, "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."
Strijbos' double saw him rise to fifth in the championship standings, although he lies just 22 points from third. With points leader Josh Coppins leaving the Czech venue nursing an injured shoulder, however, bigger things remain a distant possibility.
