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/128231
Everts was emotional after breaking the record for most World t iUes. worse for th e Belgi an as he rushed to get goi ng again. " I got c aught up in th e first co rn er c ra sh," Smet s said . "I wo rked m y wa y u p t o fifth pla c e and the n c ra she d. Wh en I wa s getting up , I crashed into Crockard and then lost so much tim e. I j u st didn't ha v e luck on m y si de tod ay , and it cost m e big ti me." 1 2 S cc th ird pla ce. Ram on fini sh ed in eig hth p la c e an d loo k ed d espe rate as h e crossed the fi nish line. "It wou ld hav e been n ice to w rap up t he ti t le h e r e ," Ram o n said . " I want to ride co nsistent no w and fi ni sh th e year on th e pod ium. I lost the titl e last ye ar by the sli m mest of m argins and by makin g t oo many m ista k es. I don't wan t to do th at again this year. I didn't take too m any risk s to day. " MOTOCROSSGP Just as he had done in the las t few Gr ands Prix , E ve rts p ut pressure o n his riv al s as soo n as th e gate dr opped in th e 250cc moto. Everts m issed a fi rst -turn ac c id ent and then pu sh ed hard to make a break on his riva ls. " I m ad e a n ot he r gre at star t, " E v er t s sa id . " I push ed really h ar d early on to ope n up a gap. I wa nted to break th e o pposit ion imm ediately, but I didn 't know w hat wa s happen in g beh in d m e. Ea rly o n, I kne w Sm ets was battling with [Andrew] McFarlane an d [B rian ] J orgensen , but my team didn't signa l m e he was way back in 10th. It was o nly ri gh t at the f inish th at I k ne w I was al rea dy the champion - I a lways t h o u gh t it wo ul d be decided in tw o weeks ' time. The first clue I got was on the last lap when they pu t "seven times champion" on my pit b o ar d, but I was still so involved in the race that I d idn 't realize. It was on ly when I saw the victory T -shirts and champagne th at I said to m yself, 'G rea t, I di d it. " Aus tra lia n An drew McF arl ane held second p lace for so me ti me, before M arni cq B e r v o et s, and Bri a n J o r gen sen pas sed th e slo wing A ussi e. Seco nd-pl ac ed M a rnicq B er vo et s was ab le to pi ck up his first pod ium of t he year, so methi ng tha t p leased the Bel g ian veteran and also set him up fo r a bigg er contract in 20 04 . The Ya maha fa cto r y rid er was ready to sig n a new co ntract fo r n ext season j ust after the Lok et eve nt. "That result has been a long tim e coming ," Bervoets said . "What a d ay to do it, the same day Stefa n clinched h is seve nth title. I' ve been riding well for th e last few GPs, but there always seemed t o be somethi ng h ap pen ing to me. But I knew it was on ly a matter o f t i me , a nd I fel t so good a ll week end . I m ade a good sta rt, and I sa w imm ed iately t hat I c ould pu ll back the co uple of guys ahead of m e exce p t fo r Stefan , so I wa s rid in g muc h lo os er. I don 't see any reas on In th e 125 c c race E v e rt s aga i n . sho we d h is t alent fo r pu sh in g hard , w h ile o t hers spe nt ti me ge t t i ng thro ugh th e traffic. "That was a real fun race ," Everts sa i d. " I ma d e a go od g a t e, bu t I mis s ed m y s h i f t to f o urt h g ear halfway down th e stra ig ht , w hich let a few rid ers pass m e. Stil l, I enj o ye d th e rac e, and it ga ve m e t he cha nce t o sho w that I c an w in from beh ind , too, in thi s cla ss." New Zeal and 's Ben T ownl ey wa s o ne o f th e r i d e r s w ho co u l d h a v e cha llenged Ev erts, had he not ha d trouble in th e early going. "I fo llowe d St efan in the start of the ra c e , b ut then I got st uck b e h in d [Andr ea] Bart oli n i. I should have got past soon er and gone with Ste fa n . M y goal was to finish the last 10 m inu t es of th e rac e reall y well, w hich I man aged to do. I nee d a bett er st art if I am goi ng to have a chanc e at beating Ste fa n. In Lie ro p [Netherla nds ] I was fourth; Ga i ldo r f [Ge r many] t hi rd ; today second - let's see what E rnec [F ranc e] brings?" With a small chance of ta ki ng th e World 125cc Champions hip, A nd rea B a r t o l ini pushed hard t o ma k e as many poi nts as po ssi ble aro und the tr icky Loket c irc uit. wh y I shoul dn 't get on t he po dium ag ain in Fran ce." T h ird place wen t to J o r g e n sen . Th e D an ish Honda rid er had beg un the rac e chargi ng alongside E ver t s be fore lo si ng p la c e s to M c F arl a n e and Bervoet s. J org ens en returned t o the podiu m b y p a ss in g M cFarl an e and rid ing a lonely ra ce in thi rd p lac e. As for Jo el Smet s, he co uld n 't fin d th e form , wh ich ha d seen hi m p ush Eve rts in pr ev ious G ran d s Prix . T oo man y m i st a k es , a n d the five -t im e World Mot ocross C ha m pio n n ev e r had a chanc e. Smets had beg un th e rac e in aro und 20th pla c e, wo rked hi s wa y past Mc F ar la n e fo r fifth p la ce th en c ra sh ed c o m in g into a ri g ht h a n d co rn e r . It we n t fr om bad t o J oel Smets a lso clinched a championship at t he Cz ech Repub lic GP . Smets earn e d his fifth t itle , t hi s on e co m ing in the 650cc c lass. cue I e n e _ s: • S EPTEM BER 1 0 , 2003 39