Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

"I had heard all the stuff about me," Townley said. "I train as hard as anyone. I'm working really hard and I was just pushing as hard as I need to. I knew I could not push hard early and finish strong, that is one thing I have leamed this year - take my time and then attack." Sure enough, Townley made his attack, and when he did, Ramon had no energy to fight back. Ramon, who had fatigued terribly in the extreme heat at the Bulgarian Grand Prix two weeks earlier, was again digging deep and finding no second wind. "I was spent," Ramon said. "I knew he [Townley] was coming, and I just had to fight on. I tried to block his pass, but he was just too strong. Once he passed me, I could not come back." American riders Trampas Parker and Jeff Dement struggled somewhat in the Swedish race, finishing 11 th and 17th, respectively. Just as they had done in the previous round in Bulgaria, the two Americans had a huge battle midrace, with Parker getting the upper hand after Dement slowed. Dement remains in the top lOin the points race with 74 points for ninth place, while Parker is 11th with 53. old hands at the game of Grand Prix battle. French rider Mickael Pichon, the defending World 250cc Champion, once again produced the perfect race in the 250cc class. Taking second position on the first corner, Pichon then passed Kenneth Gundersen on lap four and, just as the young teenager (Townley) had done in the 125cc race, the French rider made a break on his rivals; it was only a laterace charge by New Zealand's Josh Coppins that put any doubt on a Pichon victory. With Pichon winning ahead of Coppins and Frederic Bolley, the French rider captured his 21 st GP victory, taking him past Sebastien Tortelli as the winningest Frenchman in GP history. "It feels good," Pichon said. "I want to win many more, and today it was a little tough. I knew [Kenneth] Gundersen would not last the distance and, when he got away, I took my time and did not try and get to him quickly. To be the best French rider ever. .. Wow, that's something." Coppins, fighting a drug charge from the FIM, had a lot on his mind on the day. The Honda rider faces a possible two-year ban from the sport plus a huge fine, and many riders were questioning his honesty at Sweden. Some riders even went as far as to try and get Coppins banned from racing the Swedish GP; sense prevailed, however, and Coppins was able to prove his speed is from hard work and not some type of medication. "I'm disappointed, of course," Coppins said. "I've taken a lot of shit this past two weeks. I know one thing: If the FIM does what I consider to be unfair, I won't race the World Championships again. I'll move to America and try and get a contract to race the Nationals." Stefan Everts and Joel Smets did it another way in the 500cc race. Two veterans of World GPs, the two Belgians raced side by side for the entire Open-class moto. There might not have been a lot of action, but the tension was amazing, as it was only a lapped rider in the latter stages of the race that stopped an epic final-lap charge from Smets making this race the race of the day. "We don't need to race like crazy kids anymore," Smets said. "Today, we just took our time and raced clean. It was a great race for the crowd. I think everyone must have enjoyed the battle we had." "I can start to look at what I have to do now to win the championship," Everts said. "I didn't panic today when Smets was behind me, I just rode my own race and waited for him to do something. This is one of our best battles ever and hopefully will help me win my next championship. We go to Belgium for the next Grand Prix, and I want to win that race for sure, then I can really start to calculate what I have to do in the last three Grands Prix of the year." 125cc GP If motocross was scored on magnificent racing, then the World 125cc Championships would have to be the best motocross series in the world. While names like Carmichael, Stewart and Pichon have been racing away with easy victories, it's been the European-based 125cc class that has produced excellent racing, and the Swedish Grand Prix was no exception. From the opening corner, when The 50Oec: GP featured a classic Stefan Everts/Joel Smets confrontation. Everts' number-one Yamaha finished ahead of Smets' number-two KTM. Frenchman Luigi Seguy and Belgian Steve Ramon locked handlebars, until the late-race battle between Ramon and Ben Townley, this race had everything. On lap one, Seguy pushed his Yamaha into the lead, showing no signs that he was riding with pain in both his knees. He led European Champion Kevin Strijbos, Ramon, Puzar, Christian Stevanini and Townley. The French Motocross des Nations hero has ridden the complete season with cartilage damage in one knee and ligament damage in the other, yet he still shows amazing speed. Around the Uddevalla circuit, Seguy had his time in the sun, although with Ramon pushing him at every corner, it was not long before the KTM factory rider was in the lead. Seguy remained in second place until lap eight, when another KTM rider began to put pressure on Seguy, he again dropped a place as Townley bolted past and set out after race-leader Ramon. This was when the race really began. Ramon continued to clock quick lap times, but started looking behind instead of ahead. For Townley, this was just what he was hoping for. All week, the New Zealander has read reports that his condition was not good, and that he only lost the previous Grand Prix in Bulgaria because his training habits were less than that of his rivals. In Sweden, Townley knocked the doubters for six. cue. e 250cc GP Kenneth Gundersen, who had won the Swedish 125cc Grand Prix in 2001, began his quest for glory in the 250cc race in Sweden by getting a lightning start out of the gate. He was followed by Pichon, but that did not seem to worry the young Norwegian. For three laps, everyone in attendance was looking at an upset. As Pichon fought off Gundersen's Kawasaki teammate, Andrew McFarlane, Gundersen moved even further away, and then all of a sudden Pichon set about changing the path of the race. Taking care of McFarlane and pushing a little harder, he closed in on Gundersen; then, on lap four, he made a pass and took the lead. As Gundersen began to lose places quickly, Pichon turned up the heat. McFarlane was able to maintain second place, and then around midrace, he began to suffer problems with his bike and retired to the pits. Once again, it was left up to New Zealand's Coppins to add some spice to the 250cc moto, and as he reeled in Pichon, the French rider failed to up his pace. For the first time this season, Pichon looked a little vulnerable as he led, and for Coppins, this was his chance to show the critics that he was not a cheat. With the race closing out, Coppins reeled in Pichon and, at one stage, looked likely to catch the leader. As it turned out, Pichon held on to win by four seconds. "I have this drug thing hanging over my head," Coppins said. "I stopped taking those sinus tablets, and today I showed that I am the second-best rider in this class, because of hard work and never giving up. I wanted to show some people that I am not a cheat." n e _ S • JULv17,2002 15

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