Ramon, meanwhile, had a "weekend to forget" and could only muster a ninth place overall finish after two gruelling motos at the Mantova circuit during the Grand Prix of Italy - the fifth round of the 15 round FIM Motocross World Championship.

Overnight rain left the Mantova circuit super slippery, as underneath the few inches of slop that lay on top was a hard base that was soon polished up by the spinning wheels of the racers. But regardless of the tricky conditions, expectations were high for good results from the two Team Teka Suzuki WMX1 team riders in today's two motos.

The start of moto one saw both riders get off the start line in the latter half of the pack although De Dycker was able to square off turn one to elevate himself to fifth by turn two. From there he easily charged to second place - the position he'd hold to the finish - after showing the kind of form he produced in the early season.

Ramon also had a great first lap and by the time the pack had settled was seventh but from there struggled to find a quick way around Leok and also Coppins who he was much faster than.

Unable to pass Coppins, Ramon finally finished sixth after his championship rival David Philippaerts caught and passed him with four laps remaining. The start of moto two was equally as testing for the pair as De Dycker started ninth while Ramon was even further back in 11th.

With conditions so bad and line choice limited both Suzuki riders took their time to fight forward. It took De Dycker until mid-race to fight to his final position of sixth while Ramon had his hands full as he battled with Tanel Leok over eighth - a position the Estonian rider would finally secure ahead of Ramon four laps from the finish.

De Dycker's haul of 37 points from his 2-5 scorecard meant the Belgian rider missed out on third overall by one point and the win on the day by a measly three! As well as finishing fourth on the day Ken rises to fourth in the championship making it a great day for De Dycker.

"Today has been a very good day for me," reckoned De Dycker. "I got away pretty well at the start of race one and passed some guys who crashed so I was soon in second. I got really bad arm-pump early on in the moto but luckily I was able to hold my pace and I finished in second place.

"In the second race I didn't get such a good start and I had to work my way forward through the pack. The track was very slippery and the surface was shiny so it was difficult to see some of the ruts and bumps. I was very happy to come back to sixth although I was a bit disappointed I couldn't catch Coppins.

"Still, today has been a real improvement for me, I'm happy and I can look forward to the next round."

Ramon ended the day ninth overall on his factory RM-Z450 and still holds second in the series although Philippaerts extended his lead in the series by a further 11 points. Obviously disappointed with his day's work Ramon explained that he'd done the best he could even though his best was not as good as he'd have liked it to be.

"Overall it was just a bad day for me, I knew it would be a difficult GP for me but I expected to do a little bit better and I didn't score anywhere near enough points today.

"I didn't get a great start in moto one and I found it hard to pass as there were not so many lines. I got caught behind Josh for too long which allowed Philippaerts to catch and pass me and so I finished sixth. It was the best I could do but my riding was just not good - I wasn't happy with that or where I finished.

"The second moto also was just a bad race for me. The track was just so slippery, it was hard underneath and that made it very difficult for me to ride fast."

With a one-week gap in the schedule the next round of the MX1 World Championship will be held at Mallory Park - a brand-new venue for Grand Prix motocross - in Great Britain on June 1.