Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

I MOTOCROSS My 72 Round 1 I~ OWN RACE Stefan Everts 4th (MX I) The 31-year-old veteran was happy with his 5-5 results. "If somebody had told me Iwould get 5-5 after my crash in the Belgium Championship a few weeks ago, I would have been very happy to take it," Everts said. "I didn't have a good day, crashed too many times and didn't feel confident. I am also happy to see so many young riders come through today - so many Belgian kids showed the future in not only Belgium, but Europe, is very good ." 31 Josh Coppins 3rd (MX I) New Zealand's josh Co ppins proved he is back to something of the form that took him to second place in the wor ld in 2002. His 7-2 results gave him third overall. "In the fi rst moto, I was riding okay but not relaxed eno ugh to make any progression," he said. "The second race was much bett er. I felt in tune with the track and was able to save energy. I felt fast enough to win the second heat, but then I made a few mistakes, and Cedric [Melotte) got past. 3 Joel Smets 9th (MX I) Suzuki's newest recr uit, joel 5mets, never looked likely to race up front, and as the tough Belgian tried to fightthe pain of an injured knee, he also looked to the future races for some better results . "I entered the first comer of the first race a bit too tense ," Smets said. "I should have been stronger in the head, and I may have come through. Myriding was good in the first moto , and I made up a lot of positions. We still have to fixa few mechanicalproblems ." 24 Kevin Strijbos I Ith (MX I) joel Smets' IS-year-old teammate showed his speed is good, but bad luck robbed him of a better result. "When I was leading the first moto , I felt good ," he said. "I didn't worry about anything, but then I made the mistake in the whoops . I was back in sixth but making some ground on the group ahead when the bike cut out. I couldn't restart it and had to retire." and some less-than-positive vibes gave the opening round of the 2004 series a less-than-glossy fe e l. Rainstorms hit Zolder as early as Friday, and by Sat urday t he circu it was flooded. The rain he ld up at times, although duri ng Sunday's program the rain returned. While t he racing was first-class, the atmosphere in the pits on Satu rday was somber, as riders threatened a strike and Youthstream, the promoters, mentioned the poor state of Grand Prix Motocross in 2004. Giuseppe Luongo was truthful for t he first time about the differences between AMA Motocross and FIM Motocross. "We have to be real istic," Luongo said . "We are the breeding ground for AMA Motocross and Supercross. We have to worlk w ith America, not against them. We need to work together. It is the only way we can prosper. If you loo k at the fields at t his Grand Prix, there are so many riders 26 MARCH 31, 2004 • CYCL E NEWS 2 FIM World MXI /MX2 Motocross Championship Mickael Pichon 5th (MX I) The two-time 250cc World champ had great speed in the first moto, but then seemed to lose motivation. His second moto was riddled with accidents and bad luck. "My ridingwas not good in the first rnoto, and I felt tense and was making stupid mistakes," he said. "I felt confident because right away I could see that my speed and physical condition was okay. Starting the second race, Marko Kovalainen slammed into me, and for a moment I was afraid as all the bikes ran over us. Igot back up and banged the front mudguard back into shape. Although I was down in 20th, my performance in that moto was much better. I was more relaxed and making better times." 15 Andrew McFarlane 4th (MX2) Australian Andrew McFarlane moved down fro m the premier class and is excited about the new challenge. His fourth-place finish and 35 results in the MX2 class proved a lot of people wrong. "Going into the weekend, I was a bit nervous," McFarlane said, "what with all the changes for this season. For the first time, I had to ride a qualifying race , and of cou rse the form at changed to two races as well. Being consistent today was my main goal, and I think I scored important points for the championship. I was not completely happy with my performance , but Iwas very pleased with my bike this weekend. I just consider Zolder as a solid base to build my season on." 64 James Dobb 6th (MX2) Former I25cc World Motocross Champion james Dobb showed good speed in his opening moto but struggled a little in the second. The RWj Honda CRF250Rwill need to get a w in or two. "T his wasn't the start to the season that I expected ," Dobb said. "I struggled with my goggles; the flyi ng sand caused by the high winds made thingsworse. The bike worked very well. The suspension coped wellwith the circuit, which was deeply rutted and choppy. I think that next wee k at Bellpuig, Spain, it will be a different story. These KTM guys practice on this type of track every day, but in Spain I willshow them I can race with them ." wh o are in t heir 30s . Many of the guys winning today are o ld ride rs . We need to ge t new tale nt, but once we do , t hey go to America. It's a sad fact , but very true." Amazing ly, the words of Luongo rang hard in the ears of the youngsters, and when it was time to race, they were ready to prove Mr. Luongo wrong about who is winning all of the races. The MX I class (formerly the 250cc class, or MotocrossGP class last year) was an exciting affair. In the opening rnoto, it was fo rme r 250cc World Motocross Champion Pichon, riding a CRF450 R for the Martin Honda team, who blasted out of the gate and led t he riders around the opening few laps. Yet , on lap three, Picho n slippe d o ve r and handed the lead to lo cal rider Kevin Strijbos on the works Suzu ki 450. Be hind Strijbos came a host of youth and e xperie nc e , as Brian jorge nse n held se co nd, Picho n t hird, Melon e fourth and Ramon fifth . As for Sme ts , after slipping over in t he first turn, he he ld 27t h place , and he was not making up ground on the leaders. Everts remained in co ntrol in seventh position, although like Smets he was not mak ing any type of charge. On lap six, jo rge nse n passed Strijbos, but was soon passed by Ramon , who then made a small break and took the victory. Melone finished second, with Pichon third, jorgensen fourth and Everts fifth. Ramon felt good about his finish. "I felt really good," Ramon said. "I liked this track from the des Nations last year, and this year it was even rougher. But it showed the riders who w ill be in contention. It 's a track where only the good riders can show something. I didn't have the bad luck of the others, but I know I can ru n w ith them any time anyway. I am Marc de Reuver (17) led the first malo from start to finish but finished second overall. Here, he leads Claudio Federici (22), Anlonio Cairoli (222), Jonathan Ba rragan (83) and Juan Ba rreda (60) off the s ta rt. 40th Anniversary

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