Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eMOTOCROSS e World Championship 500(( MX Series:Round·7 W Belgian Dirk Geukens scored the overall win at the British GP via a 1-3 moto tally. British GP falls to Geukens By Alex H o dg ki nso n HAWKSTONE PARK ENGLAND, JULY 7 , su n-drenched crowd of nearly 30,000 witnessed Dirk Ge ukens prevail in o ne of th e closest 500cc G Ps of the year on th e tortuous Hawkstone Park tra ck. Geukens regi stered hi s first moto win o f the season in th e opening 40minute pl us two-lap moto a nd a gutsy ride to snatch third at th e finish line in moto two ensured him of th e overall victory. Georges Jobe won th e second moto after a he su ffered a big cra sh in the opening race, while tit le rival Jacky Martens suffe red stomach problems in the second rnoto, The two riva ls each scored 26 ch ampionship points a nd remain. separa ted by 15 points in the sta ndings, 179-164. T he severi ty of the track and blazingho t wea ther tested th e rid ers' p hysica l co ndit io n, yet eac h mot o saw th ree di fferen t riders leading the pack. Moto one kept the ma ssive crowd o n its feet for th e entire 45 mi n utes, a nd th ey had plenty to cheer abou t at th e sta rt as Englishman Jeremy Whatley shot into the lead. How ever , h is reign ca me to a n abrupt end on lap two. " It was my o wn fault , 1 fell ," said Wh atl ey. " Bu t the bi ke was runn in g mu ch to o r ic h a n d that m ade i t impossibl e to ho ld off Martens a nd (Billy) Liles. I go t back u p to th ird, but I fell again la te in th e race." Wh atley wo u ld fin ish the mo to eig h th, a nd when he went do wn th e first tim e Den mark's Sore n Mort ensen too k command. " T here aren 't m any people wh o have to wait until they are 3 I before they lead a GP I" said Mortensen . " I was still leading o n th e fourth lap when I made a mistak e over th e jump just before th e chica ne in th e woods and landed in the fen ce. By the tim e 1 go t out of there, I was downfield. " Mortensen ended up ninth behind Whatley a t the fin ish , and his crash A 14 handed the lead to Geukens . Soo n after gai n ing the lead , th e Belgi an relaxed his pace slig h tly a nd paid th e penalty as firs t Paul Malin and th en Mar tens mov ed in. Before Ma lin could get too close, he suffered for hi s enth usiasm. " I tried to go too fast too early and paid the pen alty," said th e exhausted English teenager aft er th e race. "B y 20 minutes I had used up all o f my energy, a nd when Marten s ca me pas t me on th e big hill, that was it, I just slipped further and further back." Martens had timed h is efforts better a nd said, " I kn ew my best cha nce was to catch Geukens by surprise. After I had passed Malin, I tr ied to cat ch Ge uke ns qu ickl y, but he saw m e co m ing a nd in creased his pa ce to eq ua l m ine. 1 tri ed to get h im again in the last two laps, but Dirk always had just enough in hand. Bu t th e 17 points takes me closer to the cham pionship lead." . Geukens confirmed that he'd al most been caug ht by surprise. " I slac kened m y pace a little wh en I was so far in front a nd almost paid th e penalty. Fortu na tely I saw J acky. just in tim e and was able to reac t to the th reat." Geuken s finished th e moto th ree seconds a hea d of Martens for the wi n, but Marten s closed to within fou r points of th e cha m p ionship lead at th e end o f the moto, helped by J obe's cras h. J ob e had been sixth after th e first la p, adv anced to fifth on the next circu it before crashing hard. " All 1 saw were hi s legs," sai d Bill y Liles, who was clo sely foll owing J obe wh en he cra shed. J ob e didn 't wa nt to tal k a bo ut the in cid ent, bu t hi s wife Fab ien ne said, " Georges got up quickly, bu t he had to kick th e bike man y tim es to restart th e moto r." T ha t dropped him to 27th , a nd it was a long, hard ride back to 10th as he passe d the tired Malin o n th e last lap. Li les maintained third to th e checkered flag wh ere he fin ish ed seven seco nds behind Martens . " I was still feeling so re from a cras h yesterday wh en I ca me o ff big time o n the tab letop jump," said L iles. " I didn 't want to exert m yself too m uch because th ere are going to be two hard races today, so 1 was happy with th ird. I had to in crease my pace late in th e race whe n Kees Va n der Ven sta rted to close in ." Va n der Ven was three seco nds behind Li les wh en th e chec kered flag fell. " I just rode m y own pace all of th e race," said Van der Ven . " I always had Liles i n sig h t and 1 got very close to h im at the end whe n J oha n Boonen ca me up on me." Bo o n en e n de d up five seco n ds behind Van der Ven for fifth, wh ile so me d ista nce behind ca me three-time World Champion Dav id Thorpe in sixth p lace, the' first rider o f hom e cont ingent to reach the chec kered flag. " I couldn' t fin d a go od rhythm early in the race," said T horpe. " I felt good a t th e end but 1 was too fa r back to do anyth ing by th en." Jo Martens finished sevent h ahead o f Wha tley, Mortensen a nd J ob e. J oel Sme ts, who had gone out of th e o pening race on th e firs t la p when he cras hed whil e ru n n i n g se ve n t h, sp rinted away from th e field a t the start o f the second moto. Whatley was on h im after four laps a nd m oved th e Belgian aside th en pull ed o u t a sixsecond lead. Mark Ba n ks passed j obe . for th ird on lap two, but two laps la ter he picked u p a rear flat and retired aft er a hair-rais ing descent o n th e downhill. Wh atl ey was sti ll hol d ing hi s lead aft er 25 m inutes of ra cing when he went do wn . Li les became th e th ird lead er of th e race as he a nd J ob e passed th e downed Whatley, who rem ounted th ird a nd was pressed by Smets. A sho rt tim e af ter assum ing th e lead, L iles was forced to retire fro m the moto. "I was th e fastes t rider ou t th ere ear ly on as I ca me th rough to second ," said Liles. " Bu t th e mo tor was alrea dy sta rti ng to run tig h t a nd I eased my pace in the hope of finish ing. Wh en Whatley went dow n I in herited th e lead, the n suddenly th e mo tor just stop ped a lap la ter." That handed th e lead to J obe a nd he was never to give it up desp ite th e effort s o f Wh atley to close th e narrow advantage. Wh atl ey ended up finishin g five seconds behind Jobe. Geukens was rea lly on th e m ove, desp ite the fact that hi s fourth p lace wa s alre ady enough to clinch th e overa ll victory . With a lap remainin g Geu kens had Sm ets in h is sig hts and mad e a charge for third. The two riders crossed the line to geth er , and after a five-mi n ute wait for th e final decision of th e judge the posi tio n went to Geu kens. " I tried to catc h J oel , but I thought I had no chance as we a p proached the final jump ," said S eukens . " Bu t he jumped so wildl y, he wa s almost tot a lly ou t o f control and th at was m y cha nce. I go t him by a wh eel. " Smets saw it diffe rentl y and said, " It was eyes closed and 'give it gas off th e fin al jump. I thoug h t I still had it." Crossing the line more than 20 seco nds behind in fifth was J o Martens, while Van der Ven rod e a smooth race to finish sixth. J acky Mart ens was in tro ubl e after 15 m inutes and saw the adva n tage he gai ned in the point sta nd ings after th e first moto wiped out as he str uggled to fihi sh seventh. "I sta rted to get sto mach cra mps," said Mar ten s. " T he re was nothing I co uld do to stop J o Martens, Ge ukens a nd Van der Ven from passing me." Ca r lo Hulsen fin ished eigh th , more th an 30 seco nds ahead of Jared Smith. But Sm ith had sta lled o n th e first la p a nd rejoined th e race next to last before his ro usi ng ride carr ied him to ninth, six seco nds ahead of Boonen , Malin pulled out after two la ps wh en a pos t broke hi s sh ifter a nd he was stuc k in fir st gear , while Thorpe sta rted a t th e back and charged up to 10th a t one point. H e event ua lly tired near th e end, allo wing Boonen a nd Mortensen to pass him befor e the finish. fli Results TIMED PRACTICE: I. Georges j obe (2 min utes. 14.6 1 seco n ds); 2. Pau l Malin (2: 16.71): 3. Ro nn y w eusr eneaed (2:17.94 ); 4. j oe l Sm e ts (2: 18. 13); 5. J eremy Whall ey (2:18.34); 6. Jo Mart en, (2: 18.38); 7. J oh an Boonen (2:18,45); 8. Dirk Geuke ns (2:18 .59); 9. David Thorpe (2: 18.67); 10. Ma rk Banks (2: 19.06); I I. Carlo Hu lsen (2: 19. 17); 12. J acky Marten s (2: 19.60); 13. Soren Mort ensen (2: 19.68); 14. Arto Pantilla (2: 19.96); 15. David Wynan ts (2:20.09 ); 16. Kurt Lj ung')vist (2:20.31) ; 17. Billy Liles (2:20.75); 18. jared Sm ith (2:20.98); 19. Brian w heeler (2:2l.34); 20. Kee Van der Yen (2:21.48); 21. Christer Olsen (2:2 1.62); 22. Mervyn Ansti e (2:21.86); 23. Bjorn j o n sso n -Boneck (2:22.49 ); 24. Mark East wood (2:22.61); 25. Stuart Coyle (2:23.07); 26. L udo Van der Veken (2:23.3 1); 27. Hans Koen en (2:23.39); 28. Magnus Pen ersson (2:23.64); 29. Stefa n Larsson (2:24.23); 30. Pa ul-P hifip pe Vand esompele (2 :24.28); 3 1. Fred Van Loo n (2:24.33); 32. j on as Ni lsson (2:24.59); U H ans Mer tens (2:24.87); 34. Ash ley Kane (2:25.3 1); 35. Russ jarma n (2:25.87); 36. Gerard Van den Brin k (2:.2 19 ); 37. Giovanni Cavatorta (2:26.56 ); 6. 38. Pter Reinh oldsson (2:26.68); 39. Per Bengtsson (2:26.73); 40. Willie Simpson (2:27.4 1). MOTO 1: I. Di rk G ueke ns (H a n ); 2. J acky Martens (IH M ); 3. Billy Li les (Kaw); 4. Kees Va n der Ven (Han ); 5. Johan Boo ne n (KT M); 6. David Thorpe (Kaw); 7. J o Marten, (Hen]: 8. Jerem y Whatley (Kaw); 9. Soren Mort ensen (Kaw); 10. Geor ges J obe (H e n ): II. Pau l Ma lin (Kaw); 12. Car lo H ul sen (H on ); 13. Mark Banks (KT M); 14. Arto Pan tilla (H on ); 15. Stua rt Coyle (Hon) ; 16. Fred Van Loo n (KT M); 17. Christer Ol sen {Hon ]: 18. A'h ley Kane (Han) ; 19 . Gi ova n ni Cav atona (H a n) ; 20. Per Bengtsson (Ka w ); 21. H an s Mer tens (KT M); 22Mauro Mor en o (Han ); 23. Willie Simpson ( Han ); 24. J onas Nilsson (Ka w ): 25. Gerard Van den Brink (H en ). MO T O 2: l. Oeorges Jobe; 2. J erc:my Wha tley; 3. Dir k O euk en s: 4. Joel Sme ts (Hon); 5. Jo Marten s; 6. Kees Va n der Ven ; 7. J acky Mar ten s; 8. Ca rlo Hulsen; 9. J ared Sm it h; 10. J ohan Boone n ; 11. So ren Mor ten sen ; 12. David Tho rpe; 13. Mervyn An stie (ES); 14. Ana Pantifla: 15. Pa u l-Phil ip pe Va n deso m peJe; 16. Mar k- Eastwood (H a n); 17. Willie Si mpso n; 18. R uss J a rm a n (KT M ); 19. Bj o rn J o n sso n -Bo n eck ( Ka w ); 20. H an s Mertens; 2l. Gi ova n ni Ca vatorta: 22. Per Bengtsso n: 23. Magnus Pettersson (Ka w); 24. H a ns Koen en (H a n ); 25. Ma u ro Mo retto (Han); 26. Ludo Va n der Veken (KTM); 27. Gerard Van den Brink; 28. J onas Nil sson; 29. Chri srer Olsen. 0 / A: I. Dirk Oeu kens (H on); 2. Geo rges j obe (Ho n); 3. J acky Marten, (KT M); 1. Jeremy Wha tley (Ka w); 5. Kees Va n der Ven (H a n ); 6. Jo Martens (Ho n); 7. Johan Boone n (KTM); 8. Billy Li les {Ka w ): 9. David Thorpe (Kaw); 10. Joe l Smets (H on ); 11. Ca rlo H u lsen (H a n) ; 12. So ren Mor ten sen (Ka w ); 13. j ared Smi th (Hon ); 11. Paul Mal in (Kaw): 15. Arl o Parmila (H a n ). WO RLD CH AMPIONSHI P 500 MX SE RI ES POI NT STANDIN GS: I. Georges j obe (179); 2. Ja cky Martens (164); 3. Kurt Nicoll ( 132); 4. Dirk Ce ukens (125); 5. Paul Mali n (116); 6. Ana Panr rila (112); 7. Kurt Ljungqvist (105) 8. Bill y Li les (101); 9. J o Marten, (97); 10. J oh a n Boonen (84); I I. Kees Van der Ven (57); 12. Mervy n Anstie (56); 13. Soren Mor ten sen (55); 14. Ro n n y w eu sren raed (54); 15. Dav id T horpe (52); 16. (TI E) Ca rlo Hulsen /j erem v Whatle y (5 1); 18. j ared Smith (46); 19. (TIE ) joel Sme is/Stua n Coy le (25). World Championship 500cc MX Series: Rou nd 6 Jobe bounces back with Italian GP win ESANATOGLlA, ITALY, JUNE30 h er h is rocky sta rt in th e World Ch ampionsh ip 500cc MX Ser ies, Geo rges J obe bounced back fro m in juries to sweep both mot os a t the Ital ia n GP a nd move to th e top o f the point sta ndi ngs . Earlier in th e seaso n J obe str uggled with a shoulder inj ury before break ing hi s low er leg a t th e previo us GP in H olla nd . Bu t fo ur weeks and a n opera tion to plate th e bone la ter, J obe jum ped to the top o f th e wor ld. H is closes t riva l fo r the ti tle , J ac k y Mart ens , fin ished seco nd in each m o to. At the start o f the first mot o, Walter A

• Cover