SR75 Molson Suzuki’s Thomas Ramette misses out on the SX Tour championship crown on a countback at the final round. But the riders and the crew are still delighted with what they have achieved in their first season on the continent.
With temperatures soaring to almost 40 degrees it was about survival for most of the day programme and then into the night show.
Both Cyrille Coulon and team-mate Ramette got into the track, making controlled laps on the superb La Tremblade circuit. They were ready for the night show, which brought in 12-15,000 French fans – the place was buzzing.
Coulon got an amazing start in the Semi-final but getting caught up in a first-turn pile-up left the Frenchman to fight back from dead last to sixth, which was enough to transfer to the Main.
Ramette took control of the second Semi-final from championship rival Xavier Boog and showed his strength by taking a big lead before backing it down for the last couple of laps for a great win from Fabien Izoird and Boog.
The Main was always going to be tense – a five point lead in any supercross championship is tight. On lap one Boog was leading Ramette with Coulon running strong in the top five.
In true TR SR75 style, Thomas had one thing on his mind and that was racing the track and getting on with it. He took the lead from Boog and smoothly pulled away showing the speed and style he has shown all through 2016. Unfortunately, TR went down on the landing from the big triple when he caught something with the front wheel on landing.
Battered, he got up and got on the bent up bike and pushed as hard as possible. To take the championship Thomas had to fight back to second place. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make up the ground on Pelligrini to take second, which left TR tied on points with deserved winner, Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Xavier Boog.
With the countback, Thomas had to settle for the second step on the championship podium. Cyrille again had an amazing race for the team, finishing fifth in the Main and 11th for the championship having only raced in three of the five rounds due to the arrival of a new baby.
“To say I am disappointed is an understatement but I have so many positives,” said Thomas. “I make progress every time I race and my confidence is growing.
“I have never raced with freedom during this tour and tonight I felt great on the bike and on the track, it is a beautiful thing to feel so good in any race and I am happy I can show my speed to the fantastic fans here at La Tremblade.
“To make this crash is racing and I cannot change this now. If you ask me before the championship if I will fight for the title and tie on points for the SX Tour for sure I would be happy with this. My bike, my team, our sponsors and all of my friends and supporters are amazing. I will continue to work hard and look forward to the other three championships this year in Hexis Pro Supercross, European Supercross Championships, and the SX Tour Indoor.
“Thanks again to everyone involved and congratulations to Xavier on the championship.”
Cyrille said: “I wanted to have a great race here in La Tremblade after my disappointment last week in St Thibery. I pushed hard after the crash in the Semi-final and I made another fantastic start on my Suzuki in the final. I am disappointed I could not make all the races in the SX Tour but I know my speed is good. I am leading Hexis Pro Supercross Cup so I will try to take victory in this championship and thank my team, my family, and all the sponsors.”
“A tie on points and losing the championship on countback is, of course, disappointing as we operate on a winning mentality within this team,” reflected SR75 team boss, Geoff Walker. “That being said we also simply love to race and our racers race…It’s what we do.
“Mixed emotions are of course going to be the order after tonight’s epic action. I can’t say how proud I am right now.
“It’s our first year on the continent and it’s been a learning experience. Every race we have gained valuable lessons and we’ll carry these forward.
“Thomas has grown and will continue to grow as a professional racer and athlete within this team. To say I am proud of the balls he showed tonight in the Main to clear his mind and go after the win shows just how far he has developed. We have a winning mentality and Thomas has ridden well within himself during the tour so it was fantastic to see him stretch his wings and ‘let her rip tater chip’. When this mentality is a part of this team we do not let it go, there are too many ‘thinkers’ out there, we prefer to be ‘doers’ at SR75.
“Sh*t happens and the crash will be in our history but we never give up. Bent bike, beat up rider but still maximum effort to the chequers. Thomas shares the podium in this championship with two great professionals in Xavier Boog and Fabien Izoird and the positives for the future are endless.
“I personally want to thank Cyrille and Thomas for this first instalment of racing and of course, all involved in making SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki what it is, and I would like to extend my thanks to the SX Tour for the welcome we have had to the series.”
