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
Steve Ramon 18) was c rowded by Yamahas at t h e start of the 125 c c race, with Everts 172) on the far i nsi d e, Alessio Ch iodi (23) right next to him and Andrea Bartolini to his left. Ra m o n f inished fifth and c linched his fi rst world title. Wo rld titles, and now Stefan has th e reco rd. Wo nderful. " As for Ramon , his 125cc champi onship was a highl ight for t he Belgian, having finish ed sec ond th e last two years. T he KTM factory pilot was surp risingl y qu iet after h is champ i onship w in . " I feel grea t ," Ramon said . " I' ve worked hard th is ye a r, and t oda y I just didn 't want t o c rash. In the first corner of the rac e, I was between tw o Yama ha riders , Andrea Bar to lini and Alessio Chiodi. I d idn 't get nervous , altho ug h in th e first c o rne r th ey both came close to m e, and I had to slow dow n - I w ou ld hav e co ll i de d with th em for sure . From th en o n , I just rode a sm art rac e for fifth place ." Ram on took th e easy route to th e cha m p io n sh ip , fi n is h ing fifth in t h e 125cc m ot o . A nd showing little in the w ay of emotion, the b lo nde Bel g ian will now m ove t o the 250cc class in 2004, where he w ill have to come up against Everts and Smets - two of his idols. " S o man y tim e s I h eard t h a t I sho uld hav e wo n th e champ ionship last year, " Ram o n said . " I've won the 125 cc titl e, an d now I c an lo ok for wa r d t o ra c ing again st t h e best. I do n' t w ant to eve n think ab out next year j ust ye t, I wa nt to go hom e and enj oy what I ha ve done today . It ha s not sunk in yet - I' m sure it wi ll." Joel Sm et s had a terrible week end, fin ishi ng sev enth in th e Mot ocrossGP cla ss after a cra sh and then crashing aga in in th e 650 cc ra c e , finish ing third . " I h a v e ha d a l o t of talks w ith teams in the last mont h ," Sme ts said. " M y m in d i s n ot st ro ng at th e moment. I a m j ust not 100 pe rce nt about racing, and I hope I ca n get m y motivation back for th e des Nations in a m onth 's time . I have to say tha t Stefa n [E v ert s ] was flaw less t od ay , and I don 't take any thi ng aw ay from h im . He ha s really proven himself as the best. " The o peni ng moto of the day, th e 125 c c r a c e , saw Everts t a ke th e hol eshot and j ust race awa y from th e field . Following him across th e li ne o n the first lap wa s fellow Yamaha rid er Al es sio Ch i od i , followed b y yo u ng British r id er T om Church , Anth ony Bo is siere, Davide Guarnieri and J erem y T arro ux. A s for World Championele ct Steve Ram on, h e sat in 11th p la c e afte r a fi rst -turn attack fr om Yam ah a-mounted Barto lini and Chi o d i. Ev en furth er ba ck was N e w Z ea l and 's B en Townl ey , wh o h ad cras hed o n th e fir st lap . He held 18th pl ac e , ju st behind d ef end ing W orld E v erts wo uld e ve n t ua lly wi n b y fou r sec onds ove r Chi odi and ano ther Y a m a h a r i der , Lu i gi S e gu y , T h e n c a m e T yla Ra t tra y and new World Champion Ram on i n fifth . Ramon wo u l d b e c ro w ne d c h a m p i o n, a lth ough h is e nd-of-sea so n res ults hav e many of th e op inion th at Everts was the true W or ld champ i n the 125cc class . F o r Ramo n, there w as not doubt. " St efan co uld have don e the wh ol e series," Ram on said . " I' m a little tired of all th e t alk . I hav e ridden my best, and I won th e ch am p io ns hi p. I was nerv o us , and in the st art th ere were some cra shes, so I had to be c areful. Th e s ec ond co r ne r so m e bo d y c rashed , th en the th ird corn er. Whe n I was beh ind Tyl a Rattray , I didn 't push to pass him; I d idn 't thin k about th e titl e, I just rod e m y own rac e. Today w a s not a g o od day f or me, and Evert s rode ver y well, but I wo n th e title." With second p la ce in the 12 5cc race , Chiodi was happy to be back on the podium. The Ita lian had p i ck ed the inside gate on th e start, although he gave it to Ev erts and then m oved t o the sec ond pla c e on the grid , whi ch placed him al ongside Ram on . " I had a great start," Ch iodi said . " W e tho ugh t t o pla y some g ames with Ramon. I w as right with Everts in th e first co rne r and c ould mai nta in second p lace fo r th e c o m p let e ra ce , so I was happy w ith that. " Third pl ac e wa s French loc al Luigi Seguy , and th e third Yamaha ride r on th e podium has not enj oyed a gre at season . Cha m pion M ickael Masch io , wh o held 16th position. It w a s soon o b vio u s th at E v erts wa s never go ing to be challenged for th e w in , and everyone 's attenti on turned to Ram on , wh o had worked his wa y into sixth place. Yet the so on -to b e W orld champ was getting some serious hurry-up from fe ll ow Champ KTM ride r T ownley , and th e two near Iy co lli d ed as the rac e entered the la ter st age s. T ow n ley th ought about th e pass and th en d ecid ed f or th e safer optio n. " I co u l d h a v e tak e n h i m out , " T ownl ey said . " O f co urse I did n 't, but we nearl y hit, at th e l ast m om ent I took evasive actio n and didn't go fo r the pa ss." Trampas Parker (3 6 ) grabbed t he l ea d at the start of the 650cc race, w ith Everts (7 2 ), Joel Smets (3 ), samull Aro (128) and the rest of the fi eld giving chase. Everts won, with Javier Vlco Ga rcia (4) and Smets rounding out the podium. cue I e n e _ s: • S EPTEM BER 24. 2003 9