Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128109
Radson S t a d iu m C ross S TORY AND P HOTOS BY G EO FF MEYER GENK, BELGIUM, JUNE 2 ith th e E uro MXers getting the entire m on th of Jun e of f from the GP ca lendar, th e void was filled by a n im porta nt Be lg ia n indoor ra c e , and Ch ad Reed cel ebrated the best wee k of his you ng racing career by following last week's podium GP finis h with a c o nv in c ing sta d iu m w in . Desp it e winning .both of his qualifi ers and the main , it was not an e asy n ight fo r Reed , as heavy ra in turned his he at in to a lottery , and th e 19 -y ea r-ol d Auss ie had a fig ht wit h fo u r -ti me Wo rld Motoc ro ss Ch ampion Stefa n Everts in th e a ll-important fina l. Th e win came ju st o ne we ek after Reed 's pod ium finish in th e Gr and Prix of Europe in Spa, Belgium. "Whe n I got to th e stadium , I wa s a little d isappointed ," Reed said. "It's not really a supe rcross track , a nd I kn ew t h e y had to make the tr ac k safer for the Euro pe a n riders and the fo ur-stroke gu ys. Having won th e final , I a m so happy ; it 's be e n my dre a m to race g uys like Stefan Everts an d Joel Smets, and while I know th is race does not reall y mean anything it's not a c ha m pionship or even a real supercross - to be able to race side by side with Stefan Everts is awesome." W GUALIFVING The Genk Supercross opene d with loca l rider Patrick Ca ps winning h is heat race ahead of Mis ka Aalton en and AIWA Yamaha 's Pau l Coo p er. 44 JUNE 20, 2001 • cue I e Iris hman Gordon Croc kar d , riding th e CAS Ho nda , m issed o ut on a d irect seed to the semifin a l a ft er 5 00c c Wo rld Cha mpion J oe l Smets pa ssed him on the la st lap of the race . " I d idn ' t k now we re I was , " C ro c kard la u g h e d . "T h e n Sm e ts passed m e, and I had to ride the lastchance rac e . Th e track is so d iffic ult to pass o n , an d I wa s a lo n g wa y ba c k. Ra c in g a gai nst four -st rok e s d idn 't m ake it an y e asier - sand was flying ev erywhere." Coop e r was gl ad to fi n d s o me good lin es ea rly on the wet Be lgian s a nd t rack . "It' s no t re all y a ve ry go od tra ck," Cooper sa id. "Ve ry na rrow , and the only good line is th e one eve ryon e is us ing. I got an okay start and could ride a little e as y." Th e next hea t race we nt to Ree d , ah ead o f Jo ak im Kar ls s on , J a v ier Vic o -G a rci a , Jo sh C o p p ins a n d Sha yne King . Reed was not s ur p rise d by his victory. "I lo ve supercross , " Re ed s aid . "A lthough t h is is m o re motoc ro s s than supercross. The jum ps are not that big , and the start is cr itical. With all the ra in, t he tr ack is like qu ick sand - y o u' re slid ing a ll o ver the place. I knew if I got th e start that I could win." The th ird heat race went to Everts , who had foll o we d fe llow Be lg ian Steve Ramon for most of the race. "Steve had the advantaq e with the 250cc ma chine," Everts said. "I jus t kept some pr essure on h im , an d he ev entually made a mistak e . It's nice to pu t on a sh ow for the local c rowd ." n e V l l e: (Above) Australian teenager Chad Reed followed up his first-time podium placing at the previous MX GP with a win at the Radson Stadium Cross in Genk, Belgium. (Right) Joel Smets has had better days. The fast Belgian suffered poor starts throughout the event and ultimately finished 13th i n the muddy final. (Below Left) Radson-sponsored Stefan Everts traded the lead with Reed more than once, but a late-race m i stake cost h im the win and second place . He still finish e d third on the two-stroke frien d ly track. (Be lo w) The Genk stadiu m was said by Reed t o b e " m o re motocross than supercross ," w h ic h was evidenced by the relatively flat layout of the stadium floor.