Steve Ramon Back on the Podium

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Returning from a broken neck that has seen him sidelined for almost 3 months, Steve Ramon made his return outing today at the 3rd Round of the Belgian Championship. Happy to be back on board his number 11 Suzuki RMZ450, the 2 x World Champion was looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of racing and getting some smooth laps under his belt.

Fitting straight back in among a top line up of GP riders,  it was business as usual as ‘The Bomb’ powered his way into the first corner in the opening moto. Coming into view for the first time Ramon was sitting in 3rd place and looking very steady on the bike as he held onto the back of Desalle and De Dycker. Towards the end of the race Ramon was suffering with cramp in his arms which allowed Coppins to catch and pass him. Quickly re-attacking, Ramon re-passed Coppins and then held onto 3rd until the end of the race.

Moto 2 was a disastrous start for Ramon as he struggled to find grip on the start straight, entering the first turn at the back of the pack. Within the opening laps the Belgian wasted no time in getting past the competition and was soon into 5th place and pushing hard behind Coppins. For most of the race Ramon and Coppins battled wheel to wheel, but the race fitness of Coppins prevailed as Ramon eventually crossed the finish line in 5th place.

The 3rd and final race would see a superb performance by Ramon. Getting a decent start and sitting comfortably in 3rd position behind team mate de Dycker, Ramon would eventually take advantage of a mistake by De Dycker moving himself forward into 2nd place. Racing hard throughout ‘The Bomb’ was looking very smooth and held on to cross the line in 2nd place behind Desalle, giving a 3rd overall for the day and putting him on the podium.

At the end of the successful day, Steve had this to say: “I am really happy to be back racing again, it was the strangest feeling for me not being able to jump on the bike and race on the weekends. In the first race today I was just too tight on the bike and ended up getting arm pump. Then as the day progressed I started to relax, which showed in the last race. I look forward to racing at the GP in Lommel, it will be tough for sure, but hopefully I can come back into the World Championships with a good result.”

Race Results:

Moto 1
1. Desalle
2. De Dycker
3. Ramon
4. Coppins
5. Verbruggen

Moto 2
1. Desalle
2. De Dycker
3. Coppins
4. Verbruggen
5. Ramon

Moto 3
1. Desalle
2. Ramon
3. De Dycker
4. Priem
5. Coppins

Overall
1. Desalle
2. De Dycker
3. Ramon
4. Coppins
5. Verbruggen