“I got a good start in moto one but De Reuver and Philippaerts came together right in front of me and I couldn’t avoid De Reuver’s bike and I crashed with them. I got going with Philippaerts and we both made good progress through the pack. We were second and third and closing down on Ramon and then he crashed and I was able to catch Ramon on the last lap. I knew there was one corner where I’d be able to pass him and I lined him up and passed him around the outside.
“I didn’t get such a good start in moto two and I found it difficult to find good lines to pass people early on. Desalle crashed in front of me and I got tangled with him so I lost some time there too. I wasn’t riding as well in the second moto - I think I was a little tense because I wanted to do good again - but I was able to come through to sixth.”
Ramon was very unfortunate not to join his team-mate on the podium as although he tied on points with Philippaerts - who took the third and final podium position - he lost out on the better-second-moto tie-breaker rule. Disappointed not to pull back Philippaerts’ points lead, Ramon realises that he did the best he could on the day under the circumstances and has to be satisfied with that.
“I should have taken points back on Philippaerts today but it was just not possible,” said Ramon. “In moto one I started second but in the third turn Billy MacKenzie made a move and blocked me a little bit so I was third in the early laps but riding was going good for me, the track was rough and I was able to use some good lines to get to the front of the pack.
“Ken caught me on the last lap and I had to defend myself and take the inside lines but Ken was able to go wide and carry more speed to pass me. It was a no win situation because I know that if I’d gone wide he’d have passed me on the inside. It’s always frustrating when someone passes you on the last lap but I was still satisfied with second place. “
“In the second race I started well and I was running a good pace behind Barragan but after 15 minutes I was getting tired and I started getting cramps all through my body and it was just not possible to ride at 100 per cent. It was frustrating to have those riders pass me but it’s also important not to push too hard and crash so I know I did the right thing.”
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