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/128157
Mickael Pichon racked up yet another 250cc-class win, his fourth of the year. place. In the early gOing, it was 16-year-old New Zealander Ben Townley who showed his hand. The Vangani KTM racer, who had crashed hard in the previous GP in France and injured his shoulder, went down twice, in Saturday practice and Sunday morning's warm-up. In much pain, the teenager took painkillers and rode under orders from his training partner [Smets] to take it easy. "After this morning's crash, I really had to dig deep and show some courage: Townley said. "The pain has been terrible, and my confidence was really low, although once I took the pain killers I felt a little better. Joel told me to just take it easy and not do anything stupid - try and get my confidence back." Townley led from the opening lap until lap six, but series leader Maschio pushed past the young Kiwi to take the lead. Once in front, the Frenchman never looked back. Riding for the same team that once took Sebastien Tortelli to his two World Championships and Chad Reed to second in the 250cc class last year, Maschio was again in great form. Having never showed this type of consistency in his career, Maschio blew his fellow 125cc riders away with his awesome speed. "The team are working so hard," Maschio said. "I know when Jan [de Groot] works so hard, I have to give him something. Today, I had a bad start - the first corner was really a mess, riders making crazy moves and many people got in trouble. I took my time and knew I had the speed to recover. I never lost track of where I was and where I wanted to go. I just concentrated on getting to the front and keeping a good rhythm and watching my lines." Third-place rider Patrick Caps found the going tough after a small crash in the opening laps. "It was nothing, really: Caps said. "I just slipped off and got up quickly. I lost several places, though, and had to work hard. To come from something like 20th place, after I fell, to third was good for me. I felt strong on the bike and we are working towards the championship; it's not out of reach - no way." Americans Parker, Jeff Dement and Vohland had mixed races. Veteran Parker finished in seventh place, backing up his sixth-place finish in the French GP two weeks ago. Dement, suffering from his shoulder injury and a crash with former World Champion Alex Puzar, came home in 14th place, with Vohland DNFing after his lap-six accident. Vohland had worked his way from 15th place to eighth and was looking toward a top-five finish when he was thrown to the ground. Carried from of the track on a stretcher, the Kawasaki rider was quickly taken to the hospital for observation after complaining of neck pain. 2S0cc GP The opening laps of the quarterliter moto saw many riders struggle and go down, as the track had been watered just prior to the start. The first to go was New Zealand's Josh Pichon (11 goes for the holeshot at the start of the 250cc GP. Yves Demaria ended his two-year winless drought with a victory in the 500cc class. Coppins. The Kiwi, who is second in the championship points race, slipped from third to 17th, and his race looked over. "I got into trouble with some riders," Coppins said. "When I came around for the first lap and was in 13th place, I figured I was in for a long race. I put my head down, though, and just went for it." Pichon was next to go, as he fell while trying to pass Pit Beirer for the lead on lap one. "I was too impatient," Pichon said. "I should have just taken my time. The corners were really slippery, and I just got caught out, slipped over and got up quickly. I didn't panic this time - took my time. I passed [James] Dobb for second place; however, when I passed him, he just ran into me. We are friends, so I don't know what he was doing that for. He should have just followed me - he might have learned something. Beirer was really riding well; however, I just set him up and made a pass. Once I got the lead, I pushed hard for 10 minutes, then could back off a little and cruise the last part of the race." Beirer, who had been really aggressive with Pichon, was showing signs of defeat when the Frenchman went past. "When he went by, I thought I would follow him for a euele n D _ S • JUNE 5, 2002 33