Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

¢ l· > O O R S ,. . . M T C O S:< "W hampionship~c Motocross Series: orld.C Round 1: Circuito los Horarios ines in .Spain thought it must be broken spokes:' By the end of the lap, Albertyn was already in front, as Everts' bike d ragged him down exiting the final tu m . Everts desperately pushed his bike to the pits. "I thought we might be able to change the rear wheel an d 1 could at least salvage a few points:' Al berty n was n ever head ed after that, tho ugh Dema ria closed to wi thin inches at one stage. Schmit rolled across the finish line in third. "I got the holeshot, but 1 braked too late for the tum and they got inside me: ' Schmit had rounded the first lap in sixth , then passed Bervoe ts as the Bel- (Left) Two-time World Cham pio n Don ny Schmit go t off to a good start in his bid to reclaIm the 250cc title. He won the second moto and the overall. (Above) Riding the new Peps i Honda, Frenchman Yves Demaria rode a co ns istent 2-2 for second overall . By Alex Hodgkinson TALAVERA DE LA REINA,SPAIN,MAR 20 onn y Schmit ou tran the .' opposition to w in the op ening round of the . World Champ ionship 250cc MX Ser ies in the cau ld ron of the Circuito los Horarios at Talavera de la Reina near Madri d. He was relaxed and sociable as ever, and clad in the new Darth Vaderblack color schem e of his Chesterfield / Rinaldi sponsor. "I ma y not ha ve been th e fastes t today, but 1 got the sta rt in the second moto and jus t concentrated on rid in g m y own pace," said theMinnesotan. "It' s ni ce to win, but it wasn 't vital. There ar e still 14 rounds to go and it looks like there will be mor e riders on the pace this year. Tha t is good; 1 like racing different people every week. " The defending champ, Greg Albertyn, on the Johnson/Bieffe Suzuki, wo n the opening moto and was headed for the overall in mo to two until he stalled his engine late in the race. Needless to sa y, he was not happy. "I rode like a dick today," Albertyn said. "I was making mistakes all over the place:' " I fee l 1 was th e fas te st today, " declared ]HI< Kawasa ki's Stefan Everts. Few would argue.with him after seeing D him lead the opener for 25 min utes, and then haul in his two arch rivals in race two. But the Belgian didn't score a point for the day! The rear h ub on his bike collapsed in race on e, an d in the second moto Everts wa s unable to restart the bike after a fall, as the kickstarter lever broke off when he hi t the ground. He could only shake his head in disbelief. The tens ion was as gre at as eve r as the riders lined up for the season opener. Under blue skies with tempera tu res in the high 70s, the crowd - estim ated at 15,000 - was much larger than last year at the same venue. The small French contingent went crazy as Fre d eric Boll e y a nd Yv es Demaria emerged out in front exiting tum one, but their joy was short-lived within a lap, Everts was past them both and streaking clear of the pack. Albe rt yn was fourth after quickly demoting teammate Mamicq Bervoets, but he needed another four laps in order to pass Demaria for second. Bolley was already back in the pits after twisting his knee in a slow tu m . Everts quickly established a five-second ma rgin and that's how it stayed · until the 11th of 16 laps. As the Belgian entered the first tum he glanced down at his rear wheel. "I felt it (the collapsed hub ) im m edia tely," Ev e r ts sa id . "I thought I had a .fla t tire at first , then L ' 'f ·· . • ..S ·r :II 'e ' ,I.v.~•::.:.... ai:Bea\lCair~;: . ." golieiora they came -out of the restaurant and 'when mealafter'testll;g .. .. . Jhey found the ' truck had been . broken' into:" ..'" . . , : . The thieves stole TV ,iI video and al) of Honda's much.i1~rald~d official ' retu~ to the ': Evertsen's ridin~ gear,1t wasap~rently pure . · motocross GPs sim'ply d idn't ,happen in .: luck that they did not also break Into the rear : Spain: !Odw ln : E~ertl!en lost 'cont rol ' of. his ' ,. of th~ truck and steal the bikes. The f~ctory bike' during the second free practice and was . bike IS mo,stly hand-made, with a redes'9 ne.d thrown over a tabletopwithout his' bike; land' . . frame, Which wlH pr~umably form the baSIS in g heavily on hi s shoulde r and str iking a . of ~e 1995 pr~uctlOn .range . II also boa.sls a metal tence post with hiS head. The ph; in his . r~V1sed shock linkage and a Sho~a f.ork iden- . left sboii lder ~ from a crash' 12 months ago _ . ~a~ to .that bought by tt: e PepSI team. The" was , ben i 90 deg rees ,~ and bon e in the .: engine jnternals are C()mp~tely different from . shoulder was broken. The Dutchman 'couldn't ': s.tan;dard . and mec~a nic ' Jukka PentUla · , , " . '. . . admits that hardly a Single part from. the ,pro-: remember thfil crashd ue to a concu~lo.n . He . duc tiorr Hcndawou td fit: T he Fin n. who flew back. to .Holland to. seea speclallst on . 'returns to the ·scene.after.quitting at the end · ~unday morning, b~ would . appear to bll rae-.. of 1991;' declinedto be drawn into comrnent- , , In9 a 10ng .lay-oftWlth no c,>lher suitable rider 'ing furthe'r, but a revised ignition cover sugavallabl.em ~urop~ , the ~orks Honda may gesls something neWthere, too. ' . . : . . . . · not be, In .acnon thi s coming ,wee kend, but . '. ' ,, ' . . ' '. . ' • . ' . '.' t~.am bO~S ,Eric GebOer:sW?S adamant that ~ . W~i1d ~h~~i9n' Greg ' Alberty;' admitted 'on ' · Will not he idle 'for. IO . I W be loo~,ng fO~ a .. Saturday that this.is definitely his,finalseascin ' , n? ill replacement ; but dl:lOt ask ,me w~o., . J:ie diS: . ' In Eu rope . ."1 a lready have contacts wi th , ".'issed .the. pro ~pec~ ' of flying: a Japanese . Ame rica : 'I 'v~ learn ed lessons fromlast rider over, sa yin g: There Is np o~.e fast · ,. year .and V!on'tleave' it until so late this' time, enough,," An .uncontracfed A~eTlc~':l would ·" . But, if I don't get .a ride' in America, then I will . appear to .be the only alternative , Pnor to his :quit. That is for sure'this time,. I am on a one-: ·crash an.d riding with ~ badly bruised left fopt,:. .year contract ~,ith, Suzuki, and r am riding this : Evertsen had . peen ln .and , out .of th e pits. . yeil.rto ·earn myself' a ride in' America.' The ',adjusting the su spensi on . ashe became .. South Africarialso'acfm ittEldthat he would not ' acquaintedwitti a. bike he fiad o~ly ridden for. ", be making thesame mistake as .last 'year, · four days priorto 'the GP. .·.: ,' . . ' : .' : :' . whim he didn't. fUUy 'c ultivate 'c ontacts ·w it~:.· ." . . .. . . . ~" ; '. ".. ' . ' . ... .. . . othe factories since'he th~ught ~e w9u1d get . r Evertsen's problems actually began prior to . acealwith Honda, only to find'that'the other the race. Midweek, ' the Dutchman 'sworks '.: teams were full when Honda 'decided .te 'run ~ · ~oiidahad neartY been~olen. The team h~d . An u~ch~~t~~. : '. '. . . .. ' . a a my .:> __. . A

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