All-terrain – Steve Ramon gives the 2011 Touquet to Suzuki! –

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Steve Ramon gives the 2011 Touquet to Suzuki !

All-terrain - Steve Ramon gives the 2011 Touquet to Suzuki! -

Belgian rider Steve Ramon will long remember his first participation in the Enduropale du Touquet: not only did the two-time world champion clinch victory after a fierce struggle, but he became the first Suzuki rider to shine in Le Touquet. !

Belgian rider Steve Ramon will long remember his first participation in the Enduropale du Touquet: not only did the two-time world champion clinch victory after a fierce struggle, but he became the first Suzuki rider to shine in Le Touquet. !

Steve Ramon’s trajectory

  • 2010: 5th in the MX1 World Championship
  • 2009: 10th in the MX1 World Championship
  • 2008: 2nd in the MX1 world championship
  • 2007: MX1 World Champion
  • 2006: 3rd in the MX1 World Championship
  • 2005: 4th in the world championship
  • 2004: 4th in the MX1 world championship, 1st in the Motocross des Nations
  • 2003: 125 cc world champion, 1st in the Motocross des Nations
  • 2002: 2nd in the 125 cc world championship
  • 2001: 2nd in the 125 cc world championship
  • 2000: 11th in the 125 cc world championship
  • 1999: 6th in the 125 cc world championship
  • 1998: 26th in the 125 cc world championship
  • 1997: 29th in the 125 cc world championship

This weekend on the Opal Coast was the sixth edition of the Enduropale du Touquet, the modern version of the famous "Enduro du Touquet" launched in 1975 by the late Thierry Sabine.

With more than 250,000 spectators and 1,028 motorcycles at the start, Le Touquet was once again full and confirmed its status as the most important "motorcycle" event in France (read .

A victory on the beaches of northern France therefore has a unique flavor, which Belgian rider Steve Ramon (Suzuki) was able to taste this year by winning ahead of Jean-Claude Mousse (Yamaha) and Milko Potisek (Honda)..

World champion in 2003 then in 2007 and seven-time Belgian MX champion (see box opposite), the 32-year-old Suzuki rider thus takes victory in Le Touquettois after an epic battle between the two 450 Japanese: penalized by the length of refueling rather long, Steve "The Bomb" Ramon had to give everything during the three hours of the race to win under a bright sun.

"This victory makes me super happy!"

20 minutes from the checkered flag, Jean-Claude Mousse will even temporarily take the lead in the race, but the Yamaha n ° 3 will finally have to give way to the Suzuki n ° 411 after two neck to neck laps..

At the finish line, Steve Ramon dedicated his victory to Timoteï Potisek, who tragically died in 2009 (read): "He told me you’ll see, the Enduropale is a brilliant race," said Steve Ramon. "I got closer to his family. They helped me to be there. I thank them".

"I felt very fast from the start," continues the first driver to win at Le Touquet riding a Suzuki. "But after the first half of the race I was a little tired. I wanted to do this legendary race for a long time … and this victory makes me super happy!"

Logically disappointed, Jean-Claude Mousse finished less than fifty seconds behind the winner but can be proud of having played on equal terms with such a talented driver.

"I have nothing to regret because I fought well"

"It’s true that it was an extreme end to the race and it was amazing to be able to end up in the last laps with Steve," he said. "Riding with a guy like him is great. It’s clear that I’m disappointed that I didn’t win, but here we are giving our maximum and I have nothing to regret because I fought well".

"In the end it was a nice second place. The start of the race was difficult because the circuit was frozen in a lot of places and I lost a lot of time," continued the Yamaha rider. "Then at the pitstops, we were very good and that allowed me to stay in touch. Unfortunately I made a small mistake on the last lap and everything took off at that time. I was less disappointed than the last lap. ‘last year anyway ".

Behind the leading duel, Milko Potisek (Honda) and Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) also ensured the spectacle by fighting without counting to finish respectively 3rd and 4th. Victim of gasoline failure, Adrien Van Beveren even owes his position to a competitor who agreed to supply him on the track: fair play !

Arnaud Demeester (Yamaha) completes the top of the table: the "retiree" held his rank of outsider until the end and allows Yamaha to place three machines in the top 5.

An edition to forget for Kawasaki

On the other hand, if the Enduropale smiled at Suzuki and to a lesser extent at Honda and Yamaha, this 2011 edition proved catastrophic for Kawasaki: diminished by his injury contracted this winter in training, Yves Deudon had to throw the ‘sponge before the first refueling out of gasoline, while his teammates Damien Prevot and Nico Deparrois were also forced to retire.

Finally, the only electric motorcycle entered on this Enduropale du Touquet 2011, the Zero Motorcycles MX driven by Thibault Veuillet (read), appears in 995th position in the official classification, despite a change of machine due to a collision from the first turn.

"I felt the bike very well when I started, but very quickly the other competitors caught up with me", says his rider.

"I could not avoid contact with one of the thermal motorcycles. Heavier, it damaged the Zero a lot. The shock was brutal, but I did not want to believe it and give up the race. The assistance has me brought back to the Stella, very quickly my mechanics prepared the other bike while I reorganized the refueling points. At 3:00 pm, I left. I really appreciated the behavior of the bike although the autonomy is not adapted to this kind of race. I am happy to have achieved this challenge and to be the first rider to complete the Enduropale du Touquet on an electric motorcycle! ".

Ranking of the Enduropale du Touquet 2011 (motorcycle)

  • 1. Ramon Steve (Suzuki)
  • 2. Jean-Claude foam (Yamaha)
  • 3. Poitisek Milko (Honda)
  • 4. Van Beveren Arnauld (Yamaha)
  • 5. Demeester Arnaud (Yamaha)
  • 6. Tournessi Julien (Honda)
  • 7. Maurez Romain (Honda)
  • 8. Morel Alexandre (Yamaha)
  • 9. Dulot Sebastien (Yamaha)
  • 10. Boonen Johan (KTM)
  • 11. Potisek Sergei (Honda)
  • 12. Van Grinsven Ton (KTM)
  • 13. Cremer Cedric (KTM)
  • 14. Staufer Michael (KTM)
  • 15. Blanchard Florent (Honda)

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