Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS FIM W RLDC AMPIONSH O H IP 250cc M C O SER OTO R SS IES Round 9: Belgian GP gentleman on the track, and this would oJ prove To rte lli' s downfall. Wh ile Everts set about bring in g th e huge Belg ia n cro w d to it s feet, it was Tortelli a nd Dewi t fighting it out for third place. All loo ked good for Tortell i as he mad e a move on the Belgian but, like so man y o ther times, Dewit pr o ved he lo ves a good dogfight, a nd charged back past the 18-year-<>ld. Then, as the two rid ers made a small jump, they locked together; Torte lli seemed to ge t a little ou t of s hape a nd head ed fu ll-thro tt le for the safety fen ce. In a split second, he was into the hay bails and ove r the bike into a small patch of mud . "As we came over the jum p, he landed on m y hand," To rte lli explained . "My other han d was full-thrott le, a nd with the left hand off the handlebars , I co u ld not s to p . The n the fro nt of th e bike go t stuck in the fence and I cou ld no t ge t it out." Tortelli wou ld restart in 39th place. Eve r ts' lead was now seve ra l seconds, and wh ile the Germa n Beirer held seco nd place, Bervoe ts wa s looming in the di stance. "I knew he was coming, and I also knew he wou ld want to get by me, this bei ng Belgium and all," Beirer sa id . " It (Left) Defending 250Cc World Champion Stefan Everts rode to a convincing 1·1 victory at his home GP in Belgium, further extending his po ints lead. (Bel ow) Fellow Belgian Mam icq Bervoet s rode to a 2·2 for secon d overall. and trails Everts In the points standings , 318-246, with six rounds 10 go. By Geoff Meyer KESTER, BELGIUM,JUNE 21 den d ing World 250cc MX Cha mp ion Stefan Everts tu rned the screw one more no tch wi th a 44 1- 1 o ve r a ll wi n i n th e lat e s t round o f th e Wo rld C h a mpio nshi p 250cc MX Series, held in Kester, Belgi u m . Everts has slow ly moved away from his rivals in the past few rounds, but a t Ke st er th e th r ee -tim e Worl d Champion looked better than ever. "Winning her e is not as d ifficu lt as man y people th in k," Everts said . "For some reaso n, the pr essu re of racing in front of my people drives me to do better." If Eve r ts w a s think in g happy th oughts, th en it was fell ow Belg ia n Mamicq Bervoet s who had to pic k up the scra ps in Kester. Bervoets, who has had to follow Everts all his career, was aga in th e o nly r id er to ch allenge th e cha mp . "I hate to say it, but we are all racing fo r seco nd pl a ce a t the m oment ," Bervoets said . "Stefan is so far ahead." Still, Bervoets' 2-2 resul ts moved him pas t former ru nner -up Sebastien Tortelli, who, like the Titanic, is sinking qu icker than any body would have expected . Th e Fre nch " wo n d e r" crashed a n d cras hed a nd crashed, his fina l ov erall placing bein g eigh th ove ra ll, but th e bigg est d isappointment for the Frenchman was his 24th place in the opening moto. For American interest, the mote-t wo perfo rmance by Mike Bro w n wa s the only shining light. Th e likable Bro wn, having spent a week after the San Mari - no GP sick in bed while getting ove r his myst eri ous sto mach virus, managed a fifth place in the secon d hea t to go with his eighth in moto one, but Brown is still fighting the pr oblem of poo r starts . "Man, j f 1 ca n get a good start, I' m sure I ca n run with th e top g uys ," Brown said after the first moto. True to his word, a lightning start in the second moto ga ve him his fo urth top -five finish. Tallon Vohla nd , comi ng back from h is in juries, mad e a n effor t to race in Ke s ter, and, w hil e he d id score 13-9 res ults, his per formance was noth in g com pa re d to wha t he had been doi ng ea rly in the yea r. "I just wanted some time on the bike, but to be honest , I was rid ing like an old man ," Vohla nd said . "N o bod y impressed me today, except Everts an d Berv oets." The Belgian GP, held on the beautiful Kester layo ut, is one place the GP circus b lossoms, d ue to the winding, tacky arena. Qualification once agai n went Ton elli's way, his rocket-like laps bringing hi m a 2:16.720 - mu ch be tter tha n tha t of Everts' 2:17.308. Nex t in order ca me So u th Afri can Co lli n Dugmore wi th a 2:18 .363, Bervoe ts (2 :18.5 2B), We rn er Dewit (2:18 .619), l a im y Sceve nels (2:18.730), Leo n G iesbe rs (2:18.760, Pit Be ir er (2: 18.9 50, a nd [oakirn Karlsson (2:19.162). Brown was 21st with a 2:21.730. Fo r Tortelli, th e cha nc e to be th e fastest GP rider wo uld mean riothing as he battled o u t of th e sta rt and fo und himself in 'a h eated ex c h a nge wit h Dew it , a rid er of grea t skills bu t a nything but a favorite in terms of bei ng a

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