Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

"H e is m u ch faster than m e a nd I do n' t have trouble with what he d id, " Aa lto nen said . "I was in the corner and he cras he d in to my bik e, bro ke my fro nt bra ke and raced off." With the lead , Ever ts was soon several bike len gths ahea d of Aa lto nen on lap o ne, with Joa chim Karls s on in thi rd p lace, To r telli in fo urth a n d Fre der ic Bolley in fifth. We ll back in th e pack was Honda rid er Pit Beirer in 11th, w hile Yam ahamounted Vohland's p re-race th ro tt lest icki ng fears had been realized . "Th e throttle s tuck going over th e first ta bletop ju m p," Vohland said. "I just hit th e ground and hurt my back. Man, I'm scared if I have to race the second moto." With laps ticking away, Ever ts had pulled out to a seven-second lead ahead of Tortelli, who had also passed Aal tonen, wi th Bolley fighting with the KTM rider for third place. Abou t a hundred Everts sup porters ha d mad e the ir way to Pola nd , and the flags and horns of the Belgian people insp ired 'Everts to even grea ter heights, pulling o ut io a lead of more than 20 seco nds over Tortelli, and with no tim e remaining in the mo to, that was how it fin is hed - To r telli m iles beh in d , with Bolley third, Bierer fou rt h, and Aaltonen fifth . Ev erts w as aga in telli ng the u sua l story . "The bike just bolt s ou t of the sta rt," Everts sa id . " I w as ge tting so m e bad sta rts before Honda ga ve m e this new mot or, and no w it 's Se bas tie n w ho is getting in trouble ea rly. " To rtelli was at least smiling, but he w asn't all that ha p py about the start. "I'm not sure w hat type of tires he's usi ng , but he is fas t off the line an d then he moves over' on me . I have no hope," Tortelli sa id . Beirer had made a nice race for himsel f wi th his fou rth place. "I was so slow out of the start - it's been a p roblem fo r m e," the Germa n sai d. "I had to fig h t aga in ; b ut th en aga in, I ca nno t complai n - that's my nature." With a wi n to hi s name, Everts w as n o t a bout t o s to p t he re . W hen the machines en tered the firs t corner in the second m ot o, it was Everts who once again had his nose in fron t while TorteIli was agai n around fifth p lace . But the French rider fought through to second place by the en d of the second la p. It was to no avail , though, as Everts wa s al ready gone. Lap after la p, Everts cruised and Tortelli charged, and for a time it looked like a futile attack; but with around half the race distance covered, Tortelli made his mo ve. ' " I found some nice lines and my pit crew wa s tellin g me I was making tim e on Stefan," Tortelli said. According to Everts , it wasn 't s o mu ch To rtellis "nice lines" th at w er e helping him close in, but the fac t th at the Belg ian was being held up b y a la p p ed rider, something h e had co m plained about in the first moto. " I w as having r eal tro u b le wit h la p ped riders - there were no blue flags showing the la p ped rider I was co m ing, " Everts sai d . " It was a nig htmare." Vo hla nd , mean while, was still worried abou t his po tential mechanical trou bles , and after sta rt ing in arou nd 17th place, he was cruising in 10th an d still feeling the after -effects of his mote- one get -off. "I don' t fee l good a t all," Vohland said . " I got some p a inkill ers for my back. I'm just abou t living off those things lat ely." By the halfway m ark, To rtelli had moved onto Everts' ba ck wheel, but the Bel g ian looked coo l a nd ca lm, while Tortelli a ppeared to be riding on the edge. Th en, as the rider arrived at one of the large downh ill ju m ps, Tortelli' s b ike kicked sideways and threw the seco ndp laced ma n down th e track. . "The bike jus t we nt ove r and over - it was a big one," Tortelli sai d of his cras h . With time now o n h is sid e, Everts cruised to his six th overall wi n of the sea son, while Tortelli remounted to finish seco nd aga in. Beirer w as third, and unsure of what his next step wi ll be. "I am not stu pi d, but I ca nno t race with Everts and Tortelli - they ani just to o fas t. Ma ybe I should chan ge br ands," smiled Beirer, talkin g ab out his move to Kawasaki in 1999. Vohland, meanwhile, had made up so m e time on the leaders, but he w as still only ninth at the end of the race. Frederic Bolley had some bad luck in the rac e . Th e s eco n d facto ry Honda rider crashed on one of the large jumps and broke a bone in his hand, putting an en d to his season and rend eri ng him unable to fill his place on the French Motocross d es Na tions team. As for Everts, he felt he was a t the top of his form , and his hopes for making up some po ints in the cha m pionship w ere realized with this win. In add itio n, the Belgian is contes ting the 13 point s he wa s docked after b ei ng dis qu alifi ed from the Bra zilia n GP for a too-lo u d exhaust. "I felt I just rode one of the best races of m y year," Everts said of his wi n . "I really felt in con trol. The bi ke is g rea t, and it will take a really strong effort by Sebas tien to ge t back the points he had lost." Evert s came out the big winner on t he sandy Gyd nia track, ta ki ng both mo to wins in fron t of second-ov erall To rte lli . "It's goin g through the cou rts in England," said Dave Gra nt , Eve rts' ma nager . "We feel we have been wrongly d isqualified, and expect to ge t th e po int s back." If, in fact, th e Honda rider gets his po ints back, the n the race for the 1998 World 250cc Mo tocross Championship is jus t about over. Or is it? 1-;\ Kam ionka Motocr oss Track Gydnia, Poland Results: Aug ust 30, 1998 (Rou nd 14 of 16) MOTO 1: 1. Stefan Eve rts (Hon ): 2. Sebasti en Torte-IIi (Ka w) : 3. Fred eri c Bolley (Hon): 4. Pit Beiter (Hon) : 5. Miska Aa ltonen (KTM ); 6. M arn icq Bcrvoets (Su z ): 7. Remy Van Rees (Ka w): 8. Mi ckael Maschio (Yam); 9. Marko Kovala inen (Hon); 10. Peter Nijs CSuz); 11. Leon Giesbers (KTM); 12. Christian Stevanini (TM); 13. Jo sh Co ppins (Su z ): 14 . Paul COOpt"T (Ka w ): 15. Oscar Vromans (Ka w j. MOTO 2: 1. Stefan Evert s (Hen ): 2. Se ba stien Tortelli IKaw ); 3. Pit Beirer (Hon); 4. Joaki m Karlsso n (Honk 5. Leon Geisbers (KTM); 6. Marnicq Bervoets (Su z): 7. Mickael Maschi c (Yam) ; 8. Miska Aaltone n (KTM ); 9. Tallon Vo hland (Yam); 10. Pa ul Coo per (Kaw): 11. Remy Van Rees (Kaw); 12. Marco Stallma n (Hon). 13. Peter lven (Kaw ); 14. Jaimy Scevencls (Suz ); 15. Peter Nijs ISuz ). O /A: 1. Stefan Everts (H en): 2. Sebastie n To rte lli (Kaw): 3. Pit Beirer (Hon): 4. Mamicq Bervoe ts (Suz); 5. Miska Aalto nen (KTM); 6. Mickael Ma sch io (Yam ); 7. Leon C iesbers (KTM); 8. Frede-ric Belley {Hon): 9. Remy Va n Rees (Kaw): 10. Ioa kim Karlsso n (Ho n): 11. Paul Cooper (Kaw): 12. Tallon Vohland (Ya m); 13. Peter Nijs (Su z);14. Marko Kovalainen (He n), 15. Ma rco Sta llma n {H o n) . FI M WOR LD CH AM PIONSH IP 250« M X SE R IES P OINTS STA N D INGS (A fter 14 of 16 ro u nds): 1. Stefan Everts (497 / 7 win s); 2. Sebastien Tortclli (483/ 6); 3. Pit Beirer (J42 ); 4. Fred eric Bolley (279); 5. Marnicq Bervoet s (249 ); 6. Ta llon Vohland (22 1); 7. Jo akim Karl s son (204); 8. Micka e l Ma s chi o (192 ); 9. Le on T Gclsbers (54); 10. Yves Demaria ( 17); 11. Paul COOpt0 {)9 12. Peter Iven (90); 13. Werner Dewi t (86); 14. Josh ); Coppins (83); 15. Justin Morris (73). Upcoming Rounds: Rou nd 15 - Ro gg enborg , S witz e rl a nd , Seple mber 6 Round 16 - Megalopolis, Greece, September 13 00 0\ 0\ ..- '...... -!5' l-< OJ ,..Q E OJ ..... 0.. OJ if) 55

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