Something Old and Something New in Sweden - On Sunday, July 1, 2007 at the Uddevalla circuit, Ken De Dycker further lengthened an astonishingly long lineage of Belgian 500cc (A.K.A. “MX1”) Grand Prix winners by claiming the Grand Prix of Sweden. By leading all 21 laps of the opening moto in Sweden, the CAS Honda rider certainly proved he was the man to beat on Sunday. In the second MX1 moto, De Dycker once again cleared out with the lead, a lead that he held up to lap number 12, whereupon Steve Ramon went whizzing by. Keeping his cool, De Dycker held station in position number two for the next nine laps, crossing the finish line in the same spot, his first GP win of his career in his gearbag.

“You know, it feels great to win,” beamed De Dycker in the post-race press conference. “In fact, I hardly believe that I did it. I will need to sit down and relax and think about what has happened. I have a late flight home tonight, so I won't be able to celebrate. My races went good today. In the first moto, I had a good start and just rode my own lines. In the second moto, it was much rougher and really difficult and I had to let Steve [Ramon] pass me. Once he passed me, I felt a little better and knew I could finish in second place and take the Grand Prix victory.”

Second overall in Sweden was Steve Ramon, who garnered 5-1 moto scores for his overall result. Third on the day went to Tanel Leok, who rode to 2-5 moto scores. World Championship dominator Josh Coppins had something off an off day on Sunday, racing to 4-6 finishes. Nonetheless, Coppins holds onto a commanding lead in the points chase, with 401 ticks to his name. Second is Steve Ramon with 312 points. Italian David Philippaerts is third with 257 points.

In the MX2 class in Sweden, it was the same old song and dance as Italy’s Antonio Cairoli won yet another Grand Prix. Truth be told, things looked a little shaky in the opening stage of the opening moto as Cairoli crashed in the first turn. Nonetheless, he pulled his Yamaha up and out of the dirt, and by the end of the first lap, was all the way up to 15th! By the time the checkered flag was waved, the Italian had found his way into second place, just behind KTM’s Tommy Searle. For the teenager Searle, it was the first Grand Prix moto win of his very young career. And while Cairoli would win the second moto and the GP overall, Searle would place fifth in the second go-around, good enough for second overall. Third in Sweden was Marcus Schiffer.

In the 2007 MX World Championship points race, Antonio Cairoli is making a whitewash of it all, leading the way with an amazing 439 point total. Way back in second with 337 points is Cristophe Pourcel. Tyla Rattray stands third with 318 points, while Searle is now fourth with 285 points.