Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126425
World Championship sOOec MX Series; Round 11 Noyce clinches title in Belgium By Chris Myers Photos by Jack Burnicle NAMUR, BELGIUM. AUG. 5 "Graham Noyce is the motocross champion of the world"; the message boomed out loud and clear in English over the fearsome Belgian Citadel Sunday packed Briton (Above) A third place finish in the first moto clinched the SOOcc World MX Championship for England's Graham Noyce.IAbove right) Roger DeCoster closes on overall winner Andre Malherbe (5).IBelowl Brad Lackey suffered poor starts, finished 9-7. 18 Circuit at Namur on to announce to the 30,000 crowd that a now holds the most coveted title in world motocross: the 500cc crown. Noyc<; brought to an end the 14 years' lean spell since a BrilOn held any molO cross World Championship title on Sunday and even half·a'1-hour after he'd l>een officially crowned on the viclOry rostrum. - even 1I1ou/{h he didn't finish in th(' top three at Namur - it still hadn't really dawnl'd on hjm that he was the champ, "Of course I'm really pleased," he said, "this is whal I have worked so hard for, it's just incredible." Noyce and his works Honda team came to Namur - the last but one round in this year's championship with a 40 points advantage over Dutchman Gerrit Wolsink (Suzuki) Ihe only oLh..r man with a chance of the World Championship. oyce knew that if h.. could grab 2 I points at Namur he would be champion. In th....nd h.. didn't have 10; Wolsink crasbed at th.. sLart of rac.. one and r..tirro soon aft..rwards with a r<'Sultant fud problem. That meant that all Noyce had 10 do was n,lI..n six points - 5th place - and he was home and dry. Noyce rod.. a masterly first ran'; h.. wasn't going out 10 win, h.. knew he didn't hav.. to, and as h.. ('fos,,,,d the line in fourth (officially third as B..lgium's Harry Ev..rts (Suzuki) who finished in front of Noyn' was exduded from the results as a 125cc GP rid..r). Noyce kn..w h.. was th(' champion. Noyce didn't finish ran' two beeause his rear tire punnun'd towards the end of 1be ran'. It was his first retir..me'll this year and thaI speaks volumes for all the metil'ulous pn'paralion put in rnaehint, throu/{hout the season by mechanic Bill Buchka. Overall winner at Namur was Noyce's Honda team-mate Belgian Andre Malherbe. Desperate [or a home win, Malherbe, the fastest man in practice. threw caution 10 the wind and chased victory madly in both races. H.. just missed it in race one; winner Ihere was five limes World Champion Belgian Roger DeCoster (Suzuki) making his farewell appearance at the famous venue before he relires allhe end of Ihis season. BUI in raCe IWO Malherbe found Ihe victory he so badly wanted; taking Inc lead IwO laps from Ihe end as DeCosler - who'd led from Ihe start - flaggro with a rear flat Lire. Malherbe's victory gives him a tolal of 149 points and boosts him up to third in the tille stakes. But it was sad that DeCoster just failed to tie up the overall result at Namur - it would have been his fourth viclOry there - because he was easily the fastest man on Sunday. In race one he led from start to finish to win by a comfortable 24 seconds and h.. built up a comfortable lead of 40 seconds in rac.. two befor.. his rear tin- punctur..d. Next-bl'St Briton at Namur was Cotton-EMX rid..r Pet<' second G.rand Prix this year and on his first visit to th.. uniqu.. Bdgian circuit, took t..nth and ..ighth plac<'S and was p1l'ased with his w..lI-dcservro four points. Irishman Lawr..ne.. Spence, also on a Colton, S('ored anoth..r GP point at Namur; he (·am.. hom.. tenth in rae.. two aflt'r problems first time oul. CCM rid..r Rob Wright made a fruitless visit to Narnur. Ill' retired in race one with a front whed pUnClU'fI' whilst hold in/{ 21st plan' and ('fashed Oul at the start of race two when another rider fell in front of him. Roth last year's World Champion Finn lleikki Mikkola (Yamaha) and, runner-up Am('ricar.l lirad I.ackey (Kawasaki) had a disappointin/{ llel/{ian (;rand Prix. Mikkola ('fashed off the courS(' on Ihe first lap of race