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/128233
Sellen-Time World Motocross Champion Stefan oerts T he op ening rounds just didn 't go you r way . Wha t hap pened? I was so disappointed and co nfused w ith what happen ed at the open in g round of the World Moto cro ssGP Champi onship . I w ent t o that ra c e w ith a lot of co nfidenc e. exp ecting to battle for the win , and for whateve r reason I co uld not m atch th e speed of Mi ckael Pichon . I was reall y confident ; also after pra ctic e o n Saturda y m y co nfi dence rem ain ed go od . I had a good , quick tim e early o n Satu rd ay , and it seemed like everyone was struggli ng to fi nd a q uicke r time . I stopped p ushing beca use I didn't feel I need ed t o . the n J o el [S m et s] and M ickael [pi ch o n] both got a little quicker at the end of qualification, but it was not important for me to t ak e pole position - it's more importa nt to take a good start. and if you ' re o n pole or in thi rd place, it really does not mak e any differen ce . Wha t abou t your bike ? How w as t he 2003 450cc Yam aha t o ride compared to, say. t he t wo -st ro k e of Pichon? It seemed the four -strokes had a huge advantage . Ou t o f th e start, for su re . and the race w as oft en wo n in th e first 1000 m eters this year. I w ill say m y bike was better o n the hard tracks, and it is also better in the sand , so I was co nfi dent that this was go ing to be a good season fo r m e. I feel so comfortab le on the b ike, and I knew in my hea rt that I c o u ld race with Mickael [Pic hon ] th i s year, even when he was beati ng me; I di d n' t have any doubt abo ut th at. If you look at the 250cc gu ys wh o m ad e th e po dium this ye ar , th ere wa s Pich on, Gu nd er se n, Co p p i ns, a n d I think th at was abo ut it. It w as usually the l ()()k his seven t h title this veer; a n d h e u c esn't I()()k t o b e sl()win!! n own ~v e ...ts S T O RY A ND P HOT O S BY G EO FF M EYE R I n 20 years' time. they will st ill be talking about the great Belg ian ri de r Stefan Everts , about his smooth riding style and his reco rd -breaki ng perfo rm an c es a ro un d th e t ou gh , rock - hard circuits of Euro pe. Bob Hann ah , Rick y Johnson, J oel Robe rt and Roger DeCoster are th e legends of th e sport, and Everts has lin ked his nam e t o th e greats of motocross racing. Albertyn , T ortell i, Schm it . McGrath . Windham . Mo ore. Pich on and Smets all ra ced aga inst the brilliant 30 -yea r-old . and with sev en World Motocross Champ ionsh ip s and 69 Grand Prix victories t o his name, Ev erts is now the most successful rid er in Grand Prix hist ory - more so than DeCoster, Robert or an ybody else. We sa t down w ith Ev ert s onl y ho urs after h is rec ent vi cto ry and asked him how his year went and how the intro d ucti on of th e mighty four-strok es into the 250cc Championship brok e th e French stran gleh old o n th e pre mie r cl ass. S even World Motocross Championships , the best rec o rd for GP overall s in Grand Prix his- Stefan Ev e rts is not only the w inningest GP rid er of a ll tim e , but now he's the greatest champion in his t o ry w it h se ven World titles. t ory, and be c o m ing t he first non -French ri der to win the World 250cc Ch am pio n ship since 1997 ( w hen Everts last wo n the 250cc t itle). How does that feel ? It's something I h av e wa ited for my wh ole career. When I beg an back in 1989, my a im was always to be the gr eatest ever - break all the records - and th at is w hat I hav e do ne . I reall y d id not expect t o win in Czech Republi c ; m y ai m wa s winnin g it in the fin al ro und of th e season, yet J oel [Sm et s] crashed and handed it to m e. 26 S EPTEM BER 24 . 2 0 03 ' eye I e n e vv s