my speed to his, and I knew if I rode
to my full potential, I could get a
podium. It was a good race for me,
although Caps was too strong near
the end."
Third-place Ramon moved within a
few points of the championship lead
with his fourth podium of the year. It
was a tough race for the Belgian, as
he trailed in 15th place on the first
lap, entered the second lap in 1] th
place, and then moved through the
field despite a circuit on which it was
difficult to pass.
"It's going to be tough," Ramon
said. "The last three races are going
to decide the championship. I didn't
feel good today; I just could not get a
good momentum in the first few laps.
Passing was so tricky, you had to
take some chances in areas which
were really slippery, and the stones
from the riders in front also caused a
problem."
Joel Smets (2)
picked up his
fourth 500cc
GPwin of the
year but is
only fourth in
the standings.
250cc GP
The opening moments of the quarter-liter moto proved to be painstaking for the competition. While seriesleader Mickael Pichon once again
powered into the lead, behind him
was complete mayhem. Australian
Andrew McFarlane, who held a topfive position into the first corner, fell
as the riders exited the first turn.
Moments later, American Robbie
Reynard also crashed, hitting the
deck after a rider crashed in his path.
Also going down was Finnish hero
Jussi Vehvilainen, Japanese rider
Yoshi Atsuta and Norwegian Kenneth
Gundersen. Pichon, on the other
hand, once again gated brilliantly,
moved into the lead within the first
100 yards, and then took off. Simply
put, nobody is in the same class as
early, yet his speed is just too good
for me."
Third place went to KTM rider Gor-
the Suzuki factory rider this year.
Taking second place to Pichon was
Kiwi Josh Coppins, who had garnered
pole position the day before. The
Honda factory rider is battling a possible ban from the sport, yet was still
able to concentrate on the job at
hand.
"I have been thinking about this
drug thing all month," Coppins said.
"I am not guilty and will not let this
thing hamper my aim to be the best I
can. Today, Mickael was just too fast
in the early going. It's been my problem all season long. I tried to push
eye
I
e
don Crockard, the Irishman making
his second appearance on the poctium this year.
"I thought I had the holeshot,"
Crockard said. "However, Pichon got
(Below) Trampas Parker (54) looks
over as he, Steve Ramon (2), Tyla
Rattray (99), Ben Townley (33) and
Phillippe Dupasquier (42) all vie for
the holeshot at the start of the
125cc GP.
n
e
_
so
• AUGUST 14, 2002 39
