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MOTOCROSS Round 2: Swiss Grand Prix 500ct MOTOCROSS SERIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ~-----------------------------' , By Alex Hodgkinson PAYERNE,SWlTZERLAND,APR.19 arryll King fulfilled the promise he showed when he won three of the last four GPs last summer by taking his first GP victory of 1998 (and moving to the lead of the World MX 500cc Champion hip title chase) on a Combremont-le-Petit track that was made even more rugged than usual by persistent rain throughout the week before the race. The Swiss organizers .did a fantastic job of preparing the track after the final drenching from the heavens on Sunday morning fell as snow, but the track was then ready to punish mercilessly every minor mistake. But the elder King - and he alone - made no mistakes. It was a wonderful day for the Husqvarna team. Not only did King take the win, his teammates Bernd Eckenbach and Johan Boonen also each took a podium finish. Eckenbach brought back memories of the GP at Combremont 12 months ago as he took the holeshot and immediately opened up a lead, but this time it was not joel Smets (who was caught up in a first-turn coJoiision with two Scandinavians)" who was chasing, but Husky teammate King. For nearly 15 minutes, the German led, but then the blue-shirted duo arrived with the positions reversed. <'I made a silly mistake on a jump and fell," explained Eckenbach, who was back on the Kiwi's rear wheel with a quarter of an hour to go, but he could not quite nip past despite desperate attempts approaching th~ third-to-Iast corner on each of the last two laps. King was confident about success. "I knew where Bernd would try," King said. "He was jumping the double along that straight and 1 wasn't, so I made a special effort in the last couple of laps to get far enough away from hinL" Andrea Bartolini was third all the way. "I made a conscious decision before the season started to finish every moto, and that meant avoiding mistakes here," Bartolini said. "It was so bumpy after all that rain and there was the additional problem of lappers already from lap six." The carnage in his wake was dramatic. Boonen was fifth on the third Husky before falling victim to a big crash from which he couldn't restart because the kickstarter was broken, while Shayne King was indirectly affected by the Belgian's demise. "I was chasing johan in the same rut," Shayne said. '1 was just far enough back that 1 could avoid crashing into him, but a I tried to get out of the rut, 1 crashed myseU. The bars were loose and I had no option but to pit." Rob Herring wore a wrinkled grimace at the finish.. 'The throttle grip was loose from the opening lap, and it was all I could do to stay on, let alone fight," Herring said. Up to sixth at one stage, Herring was down in 11th by the end. That sixth place eventually went to Smets. "1 got back to that placing within three laps from that first-turn collision, but I suddenly lost power," Smets said. "The rocker arm was damaged, and the exhaust valve wasn't opening. 1 just had no power up the hills." Back down to 10th at one stage, the champion, Smets, charged as hard as he dared in the final laps to regain that sixth place. Peter Johansson, on the second Yamaha, quit early after stalling twice. It was again Eckenbach who took the holeshot in race two and he led for 23 minutes, but Smets was on a charge. Already, on the previous lap, he had pulled alongside the Husky, but this time a dramatic outside surge had put the Husaberg in front on the long uphill. Eckenbach tried to counter, but the Husky was thrown sideways and it touched the rear wheel of the champion's 'Berg. The Belgian stayed on but the German fell. Bernd was 18th when he finally got going again. By t~e finish he was 14th. Bartolini then pushed the champ for a couple of laps before dropping back rapidly with forearm cramp, and Darryl! King swept past in commanding fashion to take that second spot. Already headed for the overall, King, with that pass, also 'clinched the series ~ad. ~ Swiss SOOcc GP Combremont-Ie-Petit, Switzerland Results: April 19, 1998 (Round 2 of 12) MOTO 1: 1. Darryll King (Hus); 2. Bernd Eckenbach (Hus); 3. Andrea Bartolini (Yarn); 4. Rupi • Walkner (KTM); 5. GerHan Van Doom CHon); 6. Joel Smets (Hbg); 7. Chris Burnham (Hon); . Mats Nilsson (Hon); 9. Avo Leak (Hon); 10. Willie Van Wessel (Hon); 11. Rob Herring (Hon); 12. Danny Theybers (Hbg); 13. jochen jasinski (Yam); 14. Siggi Boue' (KlM); 15. Mats Andreassen (Hon). MOTO 2: 1. joel Smets (Hbg); 2. Oa"yll King (Hus); 3. Johan Boonen (Hus); 4. Andrea Bartolini (Yam); 5. Gert-jan Van Doorn (Hon); 6. Shayne King (KTM); 7. Rob Herring (li0F); 8. Pel... Johansson (V"",); 9. Chris Burnham (Hon); 10. Mats Nilsson (Hon); 11. Rupi Walkner (KTM); 12. James Marsh (KTM); 13. Jochen Jasinski (Yam); 14. Bernd Eckenbach (Hus); 15. Erwin Machllinger (Hon). O/A: 1. Oa"YU King (lius); 2. joel Smets (Hbg); 3. Andrea Bartolini (Yam); 4. Gerlwjan Van Doorn (Hon); 5. Bernd Eckenbach (Hus); 6. Rupi Walkner (KTM); 7. Chris Burnham (Hon); 8. Johan Boonen (Hus); 9. Rob Herring (Hon); 10, Mats Nilsson (Hon). 500ee WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX SERIES POINT STANDINGS (Afler 2 of 12 rounds): 1. Darryll King (64/1 win); 2. Andrea BorloHni (61/1); 3. joel Smets (SO); 4. Cerl·/an Van Doorn (48); S. Rob Herring (40); 6. (TIE) Bernd Eckenbach/Pete.r Johansson/Johan Boonen (32); 9. Shayne King (24); 10. mE) jochen Jasinski/ Avo Leak (22); 12. Rupi Walkn... (21); 13. Chris Burnham (19); 14. Mats Nilsson (6); 15. Willie Van Wessel (14); 16. James Marsh (10); 17. Mikkel Cap,ani (S); 18. (TIE) Oanny Theybers/&win MachUinge, (4); 20. Siggi Bau.,. (2). . Upcoming Rounds: Round 3 - SChwanenstadt, Austria, April 26 Round 4 - Vasteras. Sweden, May 10 (Above left) Darryl! King rode mistake-free in tough conditions to card the win at the Swiss GP. (Below) The gate drops at the Combremont-le-Petit track.