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MOTOCROSS Round 4: Vi//ars-sous-Ecot Motocross Park ' 250cc WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MOTOCROSS SERIES ' ... ..,' ,,-, By Geoff Meyer VILLARS-SOU5-ECOT, FRANCE, APR. 26 he 1998 World 250cc Championship is beginning to look like a one-horse race, as, once again, defending champ Stefan Everts of Belgium, aboard his factory Honda CR250, took complete control of the French 250cc GP in southern France with another dominant performance. He led horne his rivals with 1-1 results. And he was not about to let his rivals think it was going to be any easier come round five on his home turf at the Belgian GP. "I though t my best results would corne around the sixth or seventh rounds, so this is earlier than I expected," Everts said after his French win. During last season's championship, ' Everts also figured his best would corne around the middle of the tough 16round series. He figured right, then went out and won 10 of 14 motos and blitzed to' a near-record championship win. (He won nine overalls; the record is 10 overalls). No one is really expecting ·anyone to seriously challenge Everts soon fo'r this year's championship. As far as the complete season goes, it may as well be round 16 next week, as the championship is certainly the Belgian's, unless injury downs the four-time champ. At Villars-sous-Ecot, the site of the 1988 Motocross des Nations, local riders Sebastien Tortelli, Frederic Bolley, Yves Demaria and Mickael Maschio would all shine for the patriotic supporters, but beat Stefan Everts they could not. Saturday's qualification was very much a story of old, as Tortelli pushed his Jan de Groot Kawasaki to the quickest time with a 2:17.978, followed by Bolley, who finally carne to terms with his new Honda, with a time of 2:18.419; then came German gun Pit Beirer with a 2:18.883, Yves Demaria with a 2:19.183, and Everts with a 2:19.667. But Saturday was not what Everts was thinking about. "1 don't mind the track; Sebastien is . always fast on Saturday," Everts said. "We will wait and see what happens T: tomorrow." American Tallon Vohland was 10th fastest with an average time of 2:20.468, but like Everts, he was not overly worried where he started. 'Tm in the top 10 starting positions," Vohland said. "It's all very similar, so first or 10th is okay for me." As has been the case for three of the last four rounds, the conditions of the track turned nasty after a heavy downpour turned the hilly Villars track in~o a complete quagmire. By early Sunday morning the track was nearly unridable, and practice would turn out to be just a waste of time. "Going out for practice is really a joke," Vohland said. "You cannot get up any speed. I just hope the rain stops and we can get some serious racing done." Meanwhile, Tortelli smiled about the conditions. "For me, it's not too difficult," said th~ young Frenchman. "You have to be a little careful, but 1 don't see any problems." , As for, Everts, his chances looked even better when you consider that Vohland, Beirer and Tortelli are known for hanging it out on the comers. "It should suit Stefan," said Everts' team manager, Dave Grant. "He rides so smooth, and he uses his brain like no other rider on this planet." -Luckily for the 15,000 spectators, and for the competitors, the rain finally , I ,tf) L/ , I I I , I stopped in time for the track to dry out for the pre-GP races. When the GP riders exited the first turn of their first moto, it was a sorry Vohland who was in last place. "Pit Beirer made a turn to the left for no reason, and I hit him," Vohland said. "I finally got up in last position and tried to get by some of the slower riders." Everts gated well and pulled past Tortelli and into the lead. Then Tortelli began to turn up the wick but still couldn't catch the leader. "I knew if I could get some type of lead, it would be hard on Tortelli and the others to get it back," Everts said. He forged slowly away from second-placed Tortelli. Frederic Bolley had also gotten a grea t start and held third place ahead of two other French riders - Maschio and Thierry Bethys - and Sweden's Joakim Karlsson. Beirer suffered from his corning together with Vohland. "I was about 15th, or something like that," the upbeat German said. '1 got a great start, but when we collided, I lost some rhythm, and I think 10 riders passed me." By lap five, Beirer was holding down a much better fifth place, but his turnone battling partner, Vohland, was sitting in his trailer in the pit enclosure. "Man, I tried my best, but after a few laps, I crashed again after hitting a tree stump," Vohland said. "I fell down a rather long hill and had to drag myself up. It was hopeless - the front brake was locked on, and my head was 'spinning around, as 1 had also hit it when 1 fell. I'll try and get it together in the next moto, but I'm a little pissed off." Everts had well and truly taken complete control of the moto and was now some 20 seconds ahead of his teammate Bolley, who had passed the slowing Tortelli in fourth. In fifth came Maschio, followed by Beirer. The laps rolled on and, while Everts continued to show his class, the remaining riders fought for the scraps. Two Suzuki factory riders, Marnicq Bervoets and Werner Dewit, must have been wondering what was going on, as Dewit trailed in 14th place and Bervoets in 10th. Everts eventually crossed the finish line approximately 17 seconds ahead of Bolley, who in turn was eight seconds ahead of Tortelli. Moto two promised to provide some action, as Vohland bolted out of the start behind Everts. The crowd began with the air horns, and just as everyone anticipated a battle royal, Everts pulled clear. "I wanted to get him early," Everts explained. "It's not that normal for me to charge like that, but I wanted to surprise him." '1 was surprised, for sure," Vohland admitted. "He rode away from me without any problem at all. I tried to keep with him, but it was not possible." Again Everts set his pace, as Vohland held second, Beirer third, Bolley fourth and Tortelli fifth. By lap three, however, Tortelli was into second place and making a great attempt to get to Everts. "I could hear the crowd and wanted to make some type of challenge," Tortelli said. "I could see I was catching him." In fact, the Kawasaki rider had pulled back about five seconds and was no"!" only five seconds behind the leader. Everts, though, was playing with his rival. "I knew where he was," Everts explained. "He was not going to catch me." Everts was right, and Tortelli, as he had done so many times before, had charged too hard. On a slight left-hander, Tortelli dropped his bike, and Everts was gone for sure. "I just slipped, and it cost me any chance to catch him," Tortelli said. Vohland, in the meantime, had been in some battles of his own: first a barbanging duel with Karlsson, then finally losing out to Dewit. The Yamaha factory rider, Vohland, would end up in 10th place - only a shadow of his usual results. "I just didn't have it," Vohland claimed. "My rhythm was gone; my whole plan was empty." With "Tortelli 20 seconds down, Everts put it on cruise control and fin~ ished with his Honda motor only on half-speed; again, he had dominated. "My speed is easy," Everts said with confidence. "[ work hard and the results corne. You can't ask for much more than maximum points." In second place came TorteUi, followed by Beirer, Bolley and Demaria. Stefan Everts extended his series points lead with a 1-1 sweep at the French 250Cc MXGP. Bervoets, last year's series runner-up, took 14th. CN French 250cc GP Villars-sous-Ecot, France Results: April 26, 1998 (Round 4 of 16) MOTO 1, 1, Stefan Everts (Hon); 2. F.-ederic Bolley (Hon); 3. Sebastien Tortelli (Kaw); 4. Pit Be;rer (Hon); 5. Mickael Maschio (Yam); 6. Yves Demaria (Kaw); 7. Piertick Paget (Hon); 8. joa kim Karlsson (Hon); 9. ThieiTy 8ethys (Hon); 10. Mamicq 8eTvoets (Suz); 11. Miska Aaltonen (KTM); 12. Werner Dewit (Suz); 13. Paul Cooper (Kaw); 14. Remy Van Rees (Kaw); 15. Francisco Vico Garcia (Yam). MOTO 2: 1. Stefan Everts (Hon); 2. Sebastien Torlelli (Kaw); 3. Pit Beirer (Han); 4. Frederic Boliey (Han); 5. Yves Demaria (Kaw); 6. Mickael Maschio (Yam); 7. Werner Dewit (Suz); 8. Joakim Karlsson (Han); 9. Thierry Bethys (Hon); 10. Tallon Vohland (Yam); 11. justin Morris (Han); 12. Pierrick Paget (Han); 13. Miska Aaltonen (KTM); 14. Marnicq Bervoets (Suz); 15. Alessandro Zanni (Hon). O/A: 1. Stefan Everts (Hon); 2. Sebastien Tortelli (Kaw); 3. Frederic Bolley (Hon); 4. Pit Beirer (Hon); S. Yves Demaria (Kaw); 6. Mickael Maschio (Yam); 7. joakim Karlsson (Han); 8. Thierry Bethys (Hon); 9. Werner Dewit (Suz); 10. Pierrick Paget (Han); 11. Miska Aaltonen (KTM); 12. Mamicq Bervoets (SUZ)i 13. Tallon Vohland (Yam); 14. justin Morris (Hon); 15. Paul Cooper (Kaw). FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 250« MX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (Alter 4 of 16 rounds), 1. Stefan Everts (147/3 wins); 2. Sebastien TorteUj (129/1); 3. Pit Beirer (97); 4. Tallon Vohland (SO); 5. joakim Karlsson (64); 6, Werner Dewit (61); 7. Frederic Bailey (58); 8. MickaeJ Maschio (49); 9. Marnicq Bervoets (46); 10. Yves Demaria (45); 11. Leon Geisbers (41); 12. justin Morris (33); 13. Paul Cooper (29); 14. Jaimy Seevenels (29); 15. Mark Eastwood (17). Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Leuven, Belgium, May 10 Round 6 - Foxhill, England, May 24

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