Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Mickael Pichon (Pictured) has been nearty as dominant In the 250cc MX GPs as R1cQ Carmichael has been In the 2SOcc U.s. Nationals, and the Frenchman was once again victorious In Bulgaria. rider Vico Garcia, the tall Belgian began to have problems. "I had worked hard to get past Garcia and was looking at a win," he said. "Then my back brake began to fail. I thought to myself, 'This can't be happening,' although, after all the problems I have been having with injuries and mechanical failures, I told myself to fight on; I was not going to lose this Grand Prix." Smets would continue on to win, leaving Garcia and Stefan Everts to fight for the other two podium places. 125cc GP As has been the case at just about every 125cc Grand Prix this year, it was battle stations from the word go in Bulgaria. A veteran of 16 years in the GPs, Puzar led into the first lap. Behind him came an amazing mix of young talent and veterans. In second place was American Jeff Dement, then New Zealander Ben Townley, another American Trampas Parker, and 19-year-old Josef Dobes from the Czech Republic. By lap one, the Americans were putting pressure on Puzar, who had been passed by Townley, Dement in third place and Parker in fourth. The glory of Uncle Sam's boys was short-lived, as Parker retired with bike problems and Dement began to struggle. "My speed has been good, n Parker said. "Too much testing and some problems with the bike. I know I can race with the young guys, as I proved in my qualification-race win." Townley, who had only returned from America a few days before heading to Bulgaria, was riding the race of his life, yet Puzar was not about to let the teenager get away. On lap 12, Puzar moved alongside Townley and - without having to make contact - passed the Vangani KTM rider. While Townley and Puzar had been fighting for the top spot, Switzerland's Phillipe Dupasquier crept up on the two and was now only one second behind second-placed Townley. "My start was terrible," Dupasquier said. "I was in about 20th place. It took me a few laps to get inside the top five - in fact, on lap seven. Finding a way past Ramon took a few laps. By the time I got to Townley, he looked a little tired, and I got him okay. I was looking at Puzar, although he was riding very well and I just could not get to him." With laps running out, Puzar controlled the last part of the race and was even able to move away from Dupasquier, winning by nearly five seconds. Second place went to Dupasquier, while Townley picked up his third podium place of the year in third. "I made a mistake of charging hard," Townley said. "After racing in America last weekend, I came here being aggressive - you know, like they do in America. I should not have done that; I had nothing left at the end of the race. Next time, I'll take it a little easier early on. n Rounding out the top 10 were Stephen Sword, Josef Dobes, Steve Ramon, Dement, Luigi Seguy, Patrick Caps, and Christian Stevanini. Series leader Mickael Maschio crashed out while in 13th place. After being run over by two other riders, the Frenchman returned to the pits without any points and in danger of losing his series lead in Sweden in two weeks. Justin Morris, James Dobb, Claudio Federici and Gordon Crockard following. By the end of lap one, though, Pichon had worked out what he had to do, and on a short section, he held his throttle on a little longer and pushed his wheel up the inside of Bolley. With what seemed like much more power, Pichon continued to control the corner, and he was never again headed. Pulling off a surprise 125cc victory was Italian veteran Alex Puzar, who is now Just five points out of the points lead. "I was so surprised by Bolley," Pichon said. "I went for the holeshot, but then slipped a little in the first comer. They had watered the track in some places, which made it difficult; I nearly crashed a couple of times. It was lucky I didn't fall, as the condi- Many people had their doubts last off-season when news came that the GP circuit would be visiting Bulgaria, but the Gam" Rositza circuit impressed quite a few riders. Built at a claimed cost of $3,000,000, the venue w"s touted by some as the best facility they h"d ever seen. "A very good track," Kiwi Josh Coppins said. "The work they h"ve done here is just amazing. It's a poor country, yet this place is like "n oasis. The dirt h"s been ripped up, and after each race it is getting rougher: American Trampas Parker, " rider who has seen more than" few motocross tr"cks throughout the world, was also a fan. "This is without doubt the best," Parker S"id. "The work they have done here, with the track, the paddock, the press center - everything - it's truly a great place. n One rider who was not impressed was Joel Smets. The Belgian is not happy with much of anything about the current Grand Prix system, and he once ag"in let Doma have it at the press conference. "The paddock and those types of things are first-class," Smets said. "I would have liked the track to be a little more technical. It's too fast, "nd while th"t makes for good racing, it's not so much fun to r"ce on. I wish Doma would ask the riders what they think about these tracks. " The GP series is scheduled to fmish up its 2003 schedule with stops in the Czech Republic and Russia. 250cc GP Bolley gave series leader Pichon an early scare as he led his countryman around the undulating Bulgarian track, with Andrew McFarlane, Pit Beirer, Alessio Chiodi, Josh Coppins, cue I _ n __ ,. • JULY 3,2002 13

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