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FIM World Championship Motocross Series Round 5: Motocross Gioiella Circuit STORY AND PHOTOS BY GEOFF MEYER CAsnGUONE DEL !.AGO,ITALY, MAY 26 gn the sunshine of Italy this weekend, three French riders stood tall for the first time in the history of Grand Prix motocross. Mickael Maschio, Mickael Pichon and Yves Demaria took wins in the 125, 250 and 500cc classes, respectively. For Corona Suzuki's Pichon, it was nothing special, as the defending champ has dominated the season thus far, and even the victory by de Groot Kawasaki's Maschio was not totally unexpected. But the win by factory KTM rider Demaria stopped a 29-race 500cc-class winning streak for Belgians, as Stefan Everts and Joel Smets have made the big-bore division their realm of late (the last time a non-Belgian won the Open class was Peter Johansson's win back in 2000). "Lets forget about what happened to Joel Smets today [Smets DNFed]," Demaria said. "I won and KTM won that's all you need to know. My last win was in Namur two years ago; it's been a long time, and I now have the motivation to go for more wins." Though it was Maschio's second win of the season, he's still getting used to the feeling: "I know how riders like Smets, Pichon and Everts feel now," he said. "After my win in Spain and my second places in France and Germany, I have so much confidence in my riding. I only want to win - I never had that before. I had a lot of pressure because Pichon and Demaria won; I wanted to win for France, as we have never done three wins in one day. I felt the pres- 32 JUNE 5, 2002' cue I e The 125cc riders charge through the first tum in Italy. sure; however, I also let it work in my favor." Pichon is possibly the most confident rider in Europe at the moment, with a long string of victories in GP motocross and several Internationals: "You know, I am winning races," he said. "I'm not about to slow up - we continue to do serious testing on the bike, and I work hard on my condition. I am at the peak of my career, and I want to stay here - I have never been so strong in my head." While the French connection was laughing out loud around the hills of Castiglione del Lago, for many riders the Italian Grand Prix turned into a nightmare. Smets' DNF in the Openclass race was caused by machine problems. Though third place seemed assured on lap 14, his bike broke and he cruised back to the pits, his race over and his dream of adding to his four titles now in tatters. Frederic Bolley was also unlucky in the 250cc n e _ s Mickael Maschio chalked up his second 125cc GP win of the year to extend his points lead. class; the two-time World Champion crashed early and failed to make up the lost ground, finishing in 29th place and dropping back in the series points standings. American Tallon Vohland, who has struggled all season long in the 125cc class, left the circuit in the back of an ambulance after crashing hard and injuring his neck. The Italian circuit, which is one of the best of the season, came under heavy criticism from the riders. Unlike in previous years, the track had been heavily graded, with all the rough areas taken out. While the track was the same for everyone, the top riders wanted to see more bumps and some different lines. "This is motocross," Pichon said. "I don't want to ride road racing, so what about if they make it a motocross track? Last night, there were some bumpy areas on the track; today it was smooth and so easy for everyone to be on the same pace. They also watered the track in some stupid places - in corners where you have to brake or make your passing moves. In America, the tracks are really rough and you can race hard; here they are terrible." American Trampas Parker, a veteran of more than 10 years of Grand Prix motocross, was also disappointed: "You know, this track is a good track," Parker said. "I just don't get their logic. We need to race on these tracks, and what they have done here is not good for motocross. The track is baked-hard. They should have worked on the track earlier, put some water down a week ago. They started putting water down on Friday - that was too late." Whatever the case, the natural-terrain circuit made for good action, with all of the top riders on the same pace; throw in some crashes in the early going of the 250cc and 125cc races, and the 12,000 spectators saw some very good racing. 12Scc GP The tiddler class was once again full of intense action, as several riders found themselves in the race for first