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/128230
F IM W orld Championsh ip Motocross S e r ie s R ou n d 1 0 : G a il d o r f C ircu it Everts With Pichon out, Everts seems the certain champ '1 S T O RY A N D P HOT OS BY G EO FF M EYE R GAILDORF, GERMANY, AUGUST24 [lf] i s pl ace in history rema ins ce rULJ t ain , yet Ste fan Everts continues to march thro ugh t he co m p eti t i o n and toward m o re records - and yet anothe r World Moto cro ss Cham plo n ship . Everts , al rea dy a six-time World Motocr oss Champion, is closing in on t itle number seven a nd is doing it with su ch ease tha t h i s r iv al s a re begi nning to find th e fi nal m oments o f the 20 03 cha mpio ns h i p a ve ry painfu l experienc e. Everts once again wo n both the 125cc and Mo tocrossGP rac es in the Grand Prix of D eut sch land, hel d around the very technic al, roc k- hard Ga ild orf circuit, and has a 15 -p o int lead o ver Joel Smets in th e Mo tocro ss GP poi nts race wi t h just two ro unds rema ining . E v e r t s h ad a l read y broken t h e s p i ri t of defen d ing W orld 250 c c Motocro ss Cha m p io n M ickael Pich on 18 S EPTEM B ER 3 . 2003 ยท e y e I e n e VIl' s c oming into th e Germa n even t. Win ning t he last six GPs o f th e sea soh had p ut Pichon into defensive m ode, a n d a ro u n d t h e slipp e ry c ircuit in Southern Germany , th e final nail in Pic hon' s coffin was h am mered int o pla ce as he crashed o ut o f Su nda y morn ing pra ctice and da maged ligaments in his k nee. The F renchman is now ou t f or si x mo nths , and t he defe nse of his title is ove r. Ev ert s ' ot he r ma in r iva l , Jo ~1 Smets, has conti nued t o plug away , t ak i ng p o d ium after pod ium and k eepi ng Evert s in sight on th e track , yet in Gaildo rf it see med Evert s had also finally pushed h is fellow Belg ian to the side. " I knew i f S m e t s and I pushed Pichon , he w ou ld strugg l e: E ve rts said . "I' m sorry to see him inj ured; y ou don 't want a ny one ge t t ing inj u red. As for J oe l [ Smets ], h e is strong in the head , but I thin k I fi nally h a v e p ut som e dista n c e b etwee n myself and him . I am in super form , and w hile it m igh t loo k eas y, it is still hard work, and I w ill co ntin ue to work hard until the n umber-o ne pl at e is in m y ha nds. Pic hon was rea ll y fast in quali fica t i on o n Sa turda y , a n d h e would ha ve been a co nte nder to d ay for sure." As for lo oking ah ead to his record b reak ing seventh Wo rld Moto cross Champio nship , the Yam ah a rider i s not looking into his cry sta l ball - not just yet , any wa y . "I don't li k e ca lc ulat ing wh at I need t o wi n th e t itl e ," E vert s sai d . " J u st r i d e t h e wa y I am and see w hat happens . Wh en yo u push 10 0 perc ent , you 're more fo cused , and your ch ance of making a mistake is less. I c an afford to be in sec on d in the last two races , so the p ressure is not so great. I won m y sixth World ti tle in the Czech Republic, so th e nex t race fo r m e has good m emories. I m ade a good ste p to ward the title today ." As for Sm et s, he tries to remai n p os itive, a lth ough his c h a nce s of catching Everts remain only i f th e ser ies leader has t err ib le luck , Smets is now looking for a miracle.