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
F IM W o rld C h a m p io n s h ip M otocros s R o u n d 1 2: E r n e e De spite his l o o k s, Ramon was happy w ith his first-ever World t itle. er ror on lap fo ur and dr opped bac k t o 12th , g iv ing himself anothe r run at the m idfielders. " I am ju st no t in a go od m o od ," Sm ets said. '" c ame here not feeli ng 10 0 perc ent, and I was never in th e race - I kn ew t h at b efo re the m oto eve n beg an ." New Zea lan d's J os h Co ppi ns h ad c om e u p from seve nth p lac e on lap o ne and wa s fig hting for sec ond pos i tion w hen he also m ade an error. " I mad e t he sa me m ist a k e tw ic e, on th e sam e part of the tr ack," Cop pi ns said. "I am reall y di sap pointed. I ca me here wantin g a podium , and I go t t hat , a lth o u gh I cou l d h av e so eas il y had second p lace." Fu rt her do wn t he fie ld , Irel an d ' s Gordon Cro cka rd held 22nd pl ac e ye t was m akin g st ead y progress - first m ovin g into the to p 20 o n la p fi ve , th en i nto 1 2 t h p l ac e i n th e f i nal stages of the rac e. Everts wou ld cro ss the fin ish line jus t me t e r s a h ea d o f Br ia n J o r ge nse n, althou g h the Bel g ian cruised th e l ast la p of th e rac e , lett in g t he Dan ish rider m o v e t o w ithin j us t a c o u p l e o f seconds of th e w in n er . Third we nt to J osh Co pp ins. Smets had made his wa y into 10th place on lap ni ne and slow ly work ed h i s way t ow a r d t he fro n t r u n n er s , BRI EF LY• • • The biggest news to come out of the French Grand Prix was th e fact Joel Smets is nearly sure 1 sign with the Suzuk i factory team and race their new 450 cc four-stroke. A press conference 0 was inked down for the M onday after the Grand Prix. Mickael Pichon w as n o t happy to find out Sm ets wi ll join the Suzuki team in 20 04 . The French rider foun d out from a journalist and had no idea that his place as the team' s lead rider was in jeopardy . With Ramon, Everts and Smets (pictured), Belgium swept the World Motocross Championships this year . Actually, Belgium holds the top two spots in the 125cc a nd MotocrossGP classes. '" wa s in jured ea rl y in th e yea r," Seg uy sa id . "Then , wa nted t o rid e t he Ya ma h a f ou r - s t r o k e , bu t , co uldn 't, so it was a frust ra ting yea r. Today , I c ou ld j ust go from th e st art , and thi s is one of m y favorit e tra ck s, which ma de it a great place t o get on the pod ium." In a huge surp rise , loc al rider Vince nt T urp in to o k the hol esh ot in the Mot ocross GP race , altho ug h by a few m eter s, Evert s wa s into the lead and ma k in g sp ac e bet ween h im self and seco nd - p l a c ed Turp in . J o el S mets h e ld t hi r d , f o ll ow ed b y Br ia n Jo rgensen , Kevin Strijbos, Kenn eth Gund e r sen , J os h Co p p i ns a n d Pat r i c k Caps in 10th . E verts ha d alrea dy p u ll ed a ni c e l e ad as Sm et s mo ve d i nto se con d pla ce o n l ap two, a n d d espit e th e 650 c c W o r l d Ch a mp i o n d o in g h i s b est t o pu ll in th e le ad e r , it nev e r hap pen ed - in fac t , Smet s m ade an KTM was proud of Ramon's championship . KTM won two of the three championsh ips this season , Steve Ramon will test the 450cc KTM next we ek in preparation for the M otocross of Nations, although he is not yet sure if he wi ll race the four-stroke or the 250cc two-strok e in Zold er. The Australi a n team fo r the Motocro ss of Nations looks like it might change again. The rumo r in France w as that Cr aig And erson is o ut. and another Au ss ie unknown will joi n Paul Broomfield and Andr ew M cFarlane in the team . At o ne poin t. the A ust ralian fed eratio n was considering not sending a team at all, although they will co mpete now . Stef a n Ev erts w as toasted by Joel Robert on the French Grand Prix podium. It was Robert who had held the most W orld M ot ocro ss championships before Evert s' wi nning number seven in Loket. Czech Republic , two week s ago . Robert wa s happy to see his fel low Belgian break his reco rd, "Y ou know beca use Harry, his fathe r, raced ," Robert said. "We all knew Ste fan, and we all knew he wa s a kid wi th a lo t of talent. I am so happy for him. He has turned into a very nice perso n, and I only feel happiness today." , St efan Evert s' 72 Grand Prix v ictori e s prove d a nice number fo r the Belgian. He has ndden., w ith th e number 72 on his bike because he was born in 1972 . It wa s, of course, in 19 72 that Joel Robert won his sixth World ti tle. Jonat han Beasley from Budds Cr eek was in Emee, and he enjoyed the action, The American pro mot er is a huge Grand Prix fan and loo ked at Evert s' vict ory wi th th e histo rical significance. " I've seen history made here," Beasley said. " I like St efan, and I love Gra nd Prix M otocro ss, I would love come to more of these races, and maybe next year I will. " Anoth er team change for the 2004 seaso n has been announced. W elsh rider Stephen Sword will race for the Jan De Groot Kawasaki team in the 125cc class . England's former Wo rld Cham pion James Dobb has yet to find a team for next yea r, although he is in talks w ith Honda and Suzuki. The Motocross of N a t ion s eve nt is coming together, with the track now under way. Ju st as wa s in case in 2003 w ith the C omp etit ion Park fiasco, the circuit is not expecte d to be ready unt il the week before the event. Let' s cross our fingers. S t e fa n Ev erts wa s not abo ut to get too excite d abo ut the M otocro s s de s Natio ns. The seven- time W orld Champio n wo uld not get into wheth er he co uld race with Carmichael . "T o be honest, the most importa nt part of the seas on is over, and I have done what I wante d," he said. " The des Nations is an important even t, but at the mom ent I just want to enjoy these wi ns." The B e rcy Supercross , se t for N ovember 7·9 , w ill see a nic e field of ride rs in the 2 1st run ning of the event. David V u illemin will return to the stadium that made him famous, wh ile Grant Langston , Craig Anderson , Mike B ro w n , Stephane Roncada and several other top 125cc riders wi ll co mpete in the team event. Once again, it wi ll be the USA vs. France ' vs . the res t of world. 10 SEPTEMBER 24 , 2003 ' cue I eo neVY's