An absolutely packed Estillac circuit in France enjoyed a great display of superb, tough and respectful racing at the opening round of the 2016 SX Tour (championship of France).
After an exciting weekend for SR75 Molson Suzuki, Thomas Ramette sits a solid third in the SX Tour.
Unfortunately, team-mate Cyrille ‘CC5’ Coulon could not be at the event for personal reasons with the imminent birth of his new ‘Mini CC’.
Despite flooding, the track was amazing – a real credit to the hardworking crew who battled horrendous conditions during the build.
Ramette has had a tough build-up to the championship so everything was geared towards making a solid start to the 10 rounds of intense SX racing.
During the free and qualifying training Ramette worked the track well to dial in some combinations and worked on loosening up and trying to relax. Third in qualifying was fair and the crew could look forward to the night show which consists of two semi-finals. Six qualify from each to the Main Event and an LCQ makes up the remaining gates.
Thomas had a great start in his semi and ran behind Fabien Izoird for a couple of laps before taking the lead and moving away slightly. Ramette was held up in the whoops by a lapper and Valentin Teillet – who was the fastest qualifier – made a good move to take the lead with two laps to go.
Ramette proved once again how good the SR75 FMF-powered RMZ450 is out of the gate, taking a superb holey. He rode the Main with a great level of control to keep his momentum smooth.
Xavier Boog made a great pass for the lead as Ramette worked on some new lines on the developing track. Teillet followed with a solid pass and Ramette used his head to run equal pace to ride for the podium result.
“I wanted to make a winning start to this championship but I rode a little tight all day,” Ramette explained. “I know what I have to do to make a good championship and I know my SR75 Molson Suzuki bike is perfect so I chose to make this a solid night with cool riding to make our platform for the SX Tour. Thanks as always to all who support me and of course my team.”
Team boss, Geoff Walker, commented: “This is not our usual style but some days you have to work to your strengths and on this day TR worked perfectly to produce yet another controlled and fully professional racing performance to get this championship rolling.
“We’ve come into this SX Tour with a fantastic podium under some difficult personal situations for my guys, so I genuinely couldn’t be happier. Thomas showed his class and determination once again and I am incredibly proud of him for his manner and professionalism.
“This is a new phase of our team’s development and we have a great atmosphere in the team. Our Suzuki bikes and team partners are an absolute pleasure to work, I personally thank everyone who gets into what we do.
“The smiles are definitely back for SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki when we get back into our racing.”
