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/128144
Hawkstone Park International Motocross Hawkstone showing amongst the 250cc World MX elite was particularly satisfying for him. Finishing second to Dobb in the heavy, wet sand was another British rider, James Noble, who rode his 450cc RWJ Honda four-stroke with awesome form, claiming 3-2-7 results. Third place went to yet another Brit, as Stuart Flockard, on another RWJ Honda thumper, went 75-3 on the day. "I'm not even close to my best form," Dobb said after the race. "Wait until I get to the thick sand at Valkensvaard; I'll be much better prepared, and I'm going there to win." While Dobb was unstoppable on his home track, the form of 250cc World Motocross Champion Mickael Pichon was also very good. The Frenchman crashed hard in the first lap of the first Open moto, and after remounting in last place, he came all the way back to finish second - a bri!Riding a new-configuratlon KTM 250 SX, James Dobb led a British Invasion at his home pre-season "international, n riding against some stiff competition. James Dobb produced a flawless performance and a 1-1-1 tally on the STORY AND PHOTOS BY GEOFF MEYER HAWKSTONE, ENGLAND, FEB. 17 ith a huge crowd in attendance and the promise of the three current MX World Champions battling for victory, the British preseason International race represented high hopes for the British public. The day turned out to be more than the Brits could have hoped for, as homeboy day of racing. The factory KTM rider's career has always been filled with question W marks: He's been known as a quitter, a lazy trainer and an underachiever, but he proved last year that he has what it takes to be a full-fledged champ. Still, that was in the oft-overlooked 125cc division, so Dobb's BSEIFLY••• Gordon Crockard did not ride at Hawkstone. Suffering from wrist tendonitis, the Irishman elected to wait until the opening round of the MX GP selies to make his debut for KTM. Also absent at Hawkstone was Frederic Solley. with an injured hand, and Paul Cooper, recovering from an off-season operation. Tallon Vohland (right) is not concemed about the speed of the KTM riders. '1 think if you look at Mike Brown's bike last year, it was pretty quick." said Vohland, who will be riding a Kawasaki in '02. "I know in the thick sand today. it was not a problem; I had the speed okay. We've done some work. and I have brought some ideas from what I leamed while I was at Pro Circuit. The Kawasaki I have will be competitive. don't worry about that." Joel Smets, Yves Demaria and Andrew McFarlane did not compete in England. instead doing a French International race. Smets went 1-24-1. while Demaria won the overall and McFarlane finished with a podium finish in the first mota, a near·DNF in the second and a top-15 in the third mota. In news out of Italy, it appears that Claudio Federici looks likely to miss the first three months of the season with ligament damage to his knee. Also out for some time will be Sven Breugelmans. who broke his leg in the Hawkstone event. Stefan Everts has had better days. The Belgian's best moto finish was a ninth, and he placed fourth In the 125cc/Open Superfinal. American Jeff Dement is happy with his early-season form. Dement will race for the SRS Honda team in 2002 and is based in Italy. "I feel good." Dement said recently. "It's just a matter of getting as much time on the bike as possible. " Schedule changes for the World Motocross Grands Prix have already been announced. but it now looks as though the schedule could change again. At present, the 250cc mota will begin at 10:00 a.m .. followed by the 500cc mota at 1:00 p.m. and the 125cc malo at 3:00 p.m. Rumor has it that the 250s might in fact start at 11 :00 a.m.. a move that would better enable Doma to have the 250 and 500cc races shown on live television (the previously announced times would have clashed with the Formula 1 races). Yoshitaka Atsuta (left), the Japanese rider on the British CAS Honda team, made his Euro debut at the Hawkstone Intemational. Having never ridden on sand before, Atsuta went 8-6-10, and struggled with the thick sand. "I never ride sand like this," Atsuta said. "I also never had to use so many Roll-Offs. I ended up throwing my goggles off and then could not see because of sand in my eyes. I don't like sand." Despite his troubles, the Japanese rider looked good; expect some podiums from him in 2002. 40 MARCH 6, 2002' eye I _ n __ s