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McFarlane also re flect ed on the death of
fellow Austral ian racer Jono Porter, who
was killed in a radng accident in Australia
two weeks ago. McFarlane knew Porter
and was saddened by the sudden death of
an old friend .
"I know the people in Australia are hurt ing no w," McFarlane said . "I grew up ra cing
dirt track w ith Jono, and I feel a little he lpless not being able to do so m eth ing, but
when I go back to Austral ia in the w inter, I
will visit [one 's fam ily
."
In th e MX I class, se ve n-time World
Motocross Champion Stefan Eve rts , on the
L&MYamaha, recorded his 77th Grand Prix
ove rall with 2- 1 resu lts. Second place went
to Kevin Strijbo s, wh o went 1-4 o n the day.
In the first mota, Strijbos took his firsteve r G rand Prix victo ry, as did the new
450 cc Suzuki, and gre at starts helped their
cause . Strijbos pushed th e co mplete mota,
and despite Eve rts and Mickael Pichon clo sing on him in th e late stag es , he wasn't con cerned.
" I knew where they were; I had it under
co ntrol," he said.
"In the sec o nd heat, my start was pretty
bad ," he said. " I did a wheelie, and I was
around 20th. In the beginning, my laps were
not so good, bu t after 10 m inutes, I took a
good r hythm and caught many riders,
includ ing Ramo n, in the last two laps."
Everts fo ught his way through fro m a
slow start in mota one. He never managed
to catch Strijbo s.
"I missed my jump from the gate in the
first race, and I just had a bad start," Everts
said. "Whe n I finally go t into third , the gap
with Strijbos and Steve Ramon was too big.
My rhythm was gone, and Pichon was pushing me from behind at the end of the race."
The second MX I mota was all Everts.
He took his time and showed Pichon what
he had. The French rider often looked wild
as he tried to contain the four-stroke
machi ne, while Everts breezed to his ninth
mota win of the year.
"I had another bad start in the second
race, but I easily made headway, and I just
had a great time on the track," Everts said.
"Luckily I had less lapped riders th is time .
My OWN
2
!
RACE
Mickael Pichon
(3-2, 2nd) MX I
''I'm never happy with a th ird position, but it's nice to be back on the podium afte r
France ," the for me r World champ said. "I gave eve rything I cou ld. In the first moto, I was
fourth but lost two ranks when my team mate pushed me in fro nt of th e boxes. Josh and
Stefan passed me , and as the track was rea llyslippe ry, I too k my time . The track was drying
in the last 10 minute s; we had a goo d speed with Stefan and came back on Ramon . My start
in th e seco nd heat was better th an Stefan but not so much, pre tty q uickly I got in front . I
didn't find the good lines and str uggled a litt le bit . Stefan passed me . I tried to go easy on
the track, but he pulled away a litt le bit. I was slowe r in two or three slippery co m e rs. I
pushed rea lly hard in the last laps, but I made a mistake and almost cras hed."
31 Josh Coppins
(6-3,4th) MX I
"In the first mota we had a pro blem with the [foam insert] getting hot , and I didn't have
good grip," Coppins said. "The track was really slippery, and tire choice is so important
he re. I holesho t the second moto and felt good. T he back tire was bette r, but I shou ld have
go ne for a harder front tire. We used a soft tire in the first moto, and I didn't wa nt to make
a mista ke with tire cho ice, so I st uck wit h the soft er on e , and it was a mista ke . Both Everts
and Pichon passed me , and I co uldn't kee p with th em , the y we re just too fast . I am just disap po inted with t he first heat prob lems, I shou ld have bee n o n the podium today."
4
Alessio Chiodi
(6.3, 3rd) MX2
"To scor e anot he r podium is just gre at fo r me ," C hiodi said. "In the first race I had a hard
time to get into the right rhythm after a bad start, and I wan ted to avoid a crash. My riding
was a lot bett er in the secon d race . I too k full advantage of the track, riding o n the o utside
and using th e be rms. With mo re races unde r my be lt and finally injury free, I ho pe fo r more
podiums. "
87 Jeff Dement
(10·9, 8th) MX 2
"It' s not wh ere I want to be , I re allywant to get so me top fives, o r even podiums, but I w ill
ta ke it," th e American said. "I have not ridden for three weeks and felt goo d with th is
result. I just ke pt my head down. It was a to ugh track , but I w illnow go to the next few
ro unds and build on this result."
Pichon pushed really hard , but I felt pretty
much in control, and I never had to ride on
the limit."
In th e MX2 class, it was an easy time for
McFarlane. In the opening race, McFarlane
took the lead on the opening lap and then
ran away from the pack .
" I reacted well as the start gate dropped
and took the ho leshot ahead of Stephen
Sword, [Alessio] Chlodiand [Patrick] Caps,"
he said . "I had a trouble-free race, just kept
my head down and rode fast , smooth and
consistent."
Stephen Sword walked away
.
from this nasty get-off.
In the second race , th e Aussie kid o nce
again did th e bus iness. McFarlane had just
received a new engine from Yama ha, and it
seemed to make all the differen ce . O n a circu it that needed a lot of powe r, McFarlane
and his Yamaha w e re alwa ys a step ahead of
the others. Th e seco nd ra ce was not as easy
as the first , however, as Italian local Antonio
Cairoli pus hed the Aussie all the way to th e
finish.
" My start was not as good as rac e o ne ,"
McFarlane said . "I knew th at if I co uld get up
there wit h the fro nt ru nners , I would be in
with a good chance of t he overall. Th e first
five to 10 minutes were the most important
of th e race. I passed a few guys and then
took the lea d fro m Cairoli . I had been ta king
my tim e and finding lines , but it all came
together with a good rhythm. Maybe Cairoli
tired, I am no t sure, but I was there to ta ke
over the lead and another race win. It's
been a great day."
Second place ended up go ing to Claudio
Federici. The Italian playboy was one of the
favorites going into the event, but he struggled with starts and a crash in the second
mota .
eN
GRAND PRIX O F ITALY
GAllARAn , ITALY
R ESUL
TS: JUNE
(ROUND
9
13, 2004
OF
16)
MX I MOTO I: I. Kevin Soijbos (Suz); 2. Stefan Everts
(y",,); 3. MKXael f';chon (Hon); 4. Steve Ramon (KTM); 5.
Brian jol'gens en (Hon); 6. Jam Coppins (Han ); 7. T""" L.eok
(Suz);8 . Wg; Seguy (y",,); 9 . Ced ric Melotte (y",,); 10. Jul""
8 i11 (KTM); I I. Ken De D;jck... (Hon) ; 12. O>ris Burnham
(KTM 13. Ant<>neMeo (Kaw); 14. Lauris Freib..-gs(Hon); 15.
);
www.cycieneW5.com
Briefly...
:
The Aprilia MXV 4,5 made its lo ng-awaited app earance . Wh ile its riders did not fare
th at well, w ith Thomas Traversini finishing
26t h overall and Javier Vico Garcia 27th ,
both riders kept the bikes togethe r. What
was interesting was th e sound of the Aprilia
449c c tw in-cylinder machine s. Run with the
large Leo Vince silencer, the bike soun ded
mo re like an electric lawn mowe r tha n a
motocross bike.
Stephen Sword had a big get -off in the
seco nd MX2 race . The Scotsman was lead ing the race when his bike broke as he was
abo ut to com e down a steep downhill sectio n. He was thrown from the machine ,
rolling halfway down the hillw ith the bike
in to w. Sword was lucky to avoid being run
ove r by th e on coming r iders.
terM CHAMP ride rs Ben Townley and
Tyla Rattray both suffered prob lems on
th e day. ''A bad day for me," Townley said.
"I did not get a good start in th e first mota,
and it took me a long time to find my
rhyth m and come thro ugh. In the seco nd
mota I went down at the start when I cut
across and someo ne clippe d me . I was last
and concentrated on wo rking my way up,
but it was hard to make passe s, and it was a
difficult race fo r me ." As fo r Rattray, he lost
gro und on Step hen Sword in th e points
race ."My starts tod ay we re te rrible, and
this is someth ing I have to wor k o n," Rattray said. "It is costing me races and point s,
so I w ill practice this week ."
Marko KovaJairJen (Hon).
MXI MOTa 2: I. Stefan Evens (y",,); 2. MKXaelPKhon
(Han); 3. Josh Coppins (Han ); 4. J