Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

6-2, and Scotland's Stephen Sword , who , with his 3-5, moved into the lead of the championship points race. The two favorites in the MX2 class, Ben Townley and Marc De Reuver, both suffered mechanical problems in the second moto after Townley dominated the first race and de Reuver finished in fourth place. For KTM, though , it was an emotional roller coaster, and the man who pulled them through in Spain was Rattray. "I wanted to show people that I am strong enough to win a Grand Prix," Rattray said. ''Afte r the first round, a lot of people in Belgium were saying that I wasn't fit enough to run at the front. I wanted to prove those people wrong. I train with joel Smets and practice with Ben Townley, and those guys really pull me through ." The opening moto of the MXI class saw Brian jorgensen lead Everts into the first lap, followed by Gundec;en, Kevin Strijbos, Smets, Melotte , Coppins , Chris Martin, Pichon and Marnicq Bervoets . jorgensen looked to have the race in his contro l, as his teammate Pichon stuck his bike in a mud bog. The Frenchman did his best to get the bike out of the thick paste , but his Honda wasn't going anywhere and was forced out of the race. Pichon left his bike submerged in the mud as he walked back to the pits. During the next few laps, jorgensen began to get press ure from Strijbos, who eve ntually took the lead on lap four. Everts soon followed Strijbos past the Danish rider, and not long afte r that, jo rgensen also dropped out wit h a transmission failure. On lap 12, Everts passed Strijbos for the lead and was neve r again headed. Coppins passed Strijbos one lap late r, and that's how the top three finished. "The first race was in my favor," Everts said. "With all the mud , I can ride okay, and once I got the start in the seco nd rnoto , it was just a matter of holding my position. josh came onto me and fought for a little while ; he 's going good this year, and I will have to watch him." While Evert s looked confident, Coppins showed he is ready to race with Everts. " I had an okay start, " Coppins said. "I worked my way into fifth, wh ich was okay. came past Gundersen , then got pas t third place and I kept pushing. I then passed Strijbos for second and began to push to get to Everts. I was able to run with him for a wh ile, but he got too far ahead , and I just dec ided to stay in second . It's a long season , and getting 2-3 here is great," In the second MX I race , jorgensen again took the holes hot, followed by Bervoets, Everts, Smets , Coppins, Ken de Dijker, Gundersen, Steve Ramon, Paul Cooper and javier Vico Garcia. jorgensen held the point through the 10th lap, and then it was again Everts, who took com mand and built a slight lead over the Danish ride r. Eve rts went on to win, leading jorgensen and Coppins across the finish line . "It was much easier," Everts said. "My early laps, though, conti nue to trouble me . I just didn't have the rhyt hm I wou ld have liked. Coppins did come close again for a little while. My riding is not great at the moment. The first 20 minutes I was riding stiff, plus the cond itions were not easy. I started to ride better, go faster and could get away. I still don't feel any pres sure, which is great. I've been excited the last few days. I have some work to do , and the feeling will come. I'm not riding like last year, not even close, but it will come, and I have to get ove r these injuries." jorgensen, riding for the Martin Honda team, is also fighting injuries; he looked good in both motes and perhaps pro duced the best race of his Grand Prix career in moto two. "I held on there for a while," jorgensen said. "I was not worried about Everts, but he came onto me quickly and passed . I then had to dea l with Coppi ns. He was pushing hard there for a wh ile, but even tually I was able to make some ground on him and get second ." Cop pins, not one to get too excited about his results , was looking at the next few races as the places he will pick up his first Grand Prix victory. "My start was good ," Coppins said. "I had mud on my boot, though , and missed a gear in the start straight, then I stayed on the inside and came out of tum two in second. I made a mistake, and Stefan passed me , and then I tried to pass Brian jorgensen, but I couldn't. I tried really hard once but then decided not to take a risk and settled for third. I do n't feel my speed is as goo d as in 2002 , but I am getting there." In the opening MX2 race it was Stephen Sword who led the riders around the opening lap, followed by his Kawasaki teammate Mickael Maschio, Italian sensation Anton io Cairoli, Marc De Reuver, Ben Townley, Aigar Leok, Andrew McFarlane, jeff Dement, Sebastien Pourcel and james Dobb. Townley made a quick passage to the lead and , by lap one , was already checking out. Maschio had also worked his way past Sword, as De Reuver and McFarlane continued their opening -round battle . Townley, though , was never in danger as he opened a one minute lead, crossing the line with his arms in the air and his championship points lead extended. "My start was perfect," Townley said. "I came out of the start and thought I would have to sit back because of the wheel spin, but I lifted the front wheel and had to double clutch it to get traction . CYCLE NEWS APRil 7, 2004 21

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