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MOTOCROSS Round 14: Swiss GrandP rix WR O LDCHAMPIONSH IP 250C O R SS S R S F--CM TOC O E IE - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - ----' eating more stones than he e v e r could ha ve hoped for. "The track is a killer for getting hit in the face by stones," Evert s sa id later . He co ntinue d to mount so me type of assau lt on the lead ing American, and, after three laps of constant pr essure, he breezed past Brown and ga ve th e form er lea der a taste of blood. "Whe n Stefan passed me, I got a stone in my face; my face went numb and made me a little di zzy," Brown said as his swollen nose bore w itness to the pain he was now feeling . With the lead and an open track, Everts was riding strong and moving away from the in jured Brown, who wa s now ge ttin g p ressure fro m 5cevenels, Bervoets and Bierer. "1don't know what it is, but today I rod e up front lo r the first time in this se ries; I jus t .could not maintain a strong pace," Brown sa id, as firs t Scevenels, then Bervoe ts and finall y Beirer passed with t!iUie. Bcircr, w ho had come from 20th position on lap one, was now in third place as he passed Scevenels and set • (Left) World champ Stefan Everts of Belg ium cruised to his ninth 250ce GP win at Roggenbu rg. Switzerland. (Below) Marnlcq Bervoets gave Everts a run In the second moto but couldn't catch his countryman. . By Geoff Meyer 36 ROGGENBURG, SWITZERLAND, AUG 31 or Stefan Everts, numbers are seemi ngly the most important things on hi s mind at the moment. Havi ng only two weeks earlier wr apped up his fourth World Motocross Cha mp ionship, Everts is kee ping himself motivated for the fina l two round s by go ing for records set by his father, Harry Everts. When Stefan won the 1997 250cc Motocross Cha mp ionship, he ha d equa led h is father' s am oun t of World titles. Tod ay, in Roggenburg, Swit ze rland, he equaled yet another impressi ve tally of his father's. "My fa ther won nin e overalls back in, I thin k it was 1981 ," Ever ts sai d mom ents after win ning his nin th overall o f the '97 se ries . "I wa nted to w in as many or more than him and now I have done it."Next on hi s list, in Gaildorf, German y, where the fina l rou nd of the '97 series w ill be hel d , Everts will go for w in number 10 a nd tha t would equal the record set by Fre nch sensatio n Sebastien Tor telli as the rid er with the mo st o vera lls in one season. Indeed , n u m b ers a re wha t thi s season is a ll abou t for Everts. The upco ming site of the final round of the ' 97 Wor ld 250cc Champions hip Se ries has ma ny happy memories fo r European mo tocross. It is the site where the mi gh ty American Moto cr oss des Na tions monopoly came to an end back in 1994, the da y the British team of Rob Herring, Pa ul Ma lin a nd Kurt Nicoll won , a nd th e pr estigious des Nations trophy was returned to European soil. How times have changed : Nicoll, Her ring and Malin art! all struggling along with their careers, an d America is righ tfully on to p agai n . Howeve r, Stelan Ever ts and Marnicq Bervoets, the tw o l e ad ri d ers o n this .ye a rs Belg ian .Motocross des Nat ions team, have their battle plans formed - a nd goo d results coming in the Sep tember 14 des Nati ons is what it's all about. In qualification at Roggenburg, it w as all Everts an d Ber voets, with the lat ter speed ing to a top time 01 2:13.091 and Everts clocking 2:14.085. Just to give the Belgia n p lan a nice tou ch was the lac t tha t Wern er Dewit mad e a tim e of 2:13.600. In Sunday mornin g's free practice, it was German Pit Beirer timing in at 2:1 4.870, followed by Everts, Bervoets, Jamie Scevenels (of Belgium), and Dewit. With the qua lification out of the way , it was obvious th e Belgian rid ers p referred the hilly Roggenburg course, yet there were some surprises in sto re. A s th e competitors were making thei r way to the sta rt gri d for the lirst mo to, Am erican s Tallon Vohla nd and Mik e Bro wn had made thei r p repa rati ons . Vohla nd , co mi ng ba ck fro m injury, was su re of one thi ng . "1 feel okay, this track is fine, but Everts is really ridin g with confidence - he' s goi ng to be toug h," said the somewhat so mbe r Yamaha rider. As the gate dropped , it was Brown wh o bolted into the lead and had Everts