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Tanel Leok rod e the Suzuk i 450 factory bike in Belgium. It was his first outing on the bike. and he was quite happy. "Seventh was an excellent resu lt today. especially on this track with the 450, and I felt really tired at the end . The first moto was good. I started well but then crashed, which put me down to 10m. I was able to pick up the speed and finished well. In the second race I pushed hard at the start. and this meant I was strug gling at the end . The 450 is more physical to ride , but I am getting more comfortable with it." o a seG and soon j:ot around jorgensen for the lead. Shortly thereafter. Everts also got around jorgensen for second. and then Pichon and Everts began to fight hard for the lead. The large crowd was left disappointed, though, when Everts crashed on the fifth lap, which made it easy for Pichon to go on and win the race. Kevin Strijbos, Cedric Me lotte, Steve Ramon and josh Coppins were fighting for the remaining two podium spots. Melotte passed Strijbos for third midrace but then crashed heavily in the whoops. dislocating his hip . Strijbos eventually finished third behind Pichon and jorgensen. while Everts finished sixth. In the second race. Strijbos got the holeshot and led for two laps . Everts and Pichon both passed the Suzuki rider and. once again. battled around the tricky circuit. It was a close race all the way to the nat while wou ld have liked to leave his home track with victory. he didn't lose any sleep. Second place after his moto-one crash was a good result for the Belgian legend. " By the time I had pulled myself together after the crash in race one, Coppins and Ramon were too far off to catch:' Everts said . "Considering the circumstances, I thought sixth was better than taking unnecessary risks. The second race was quite exciting. Pichon pushed me. but I was never worried because I knew a small gap would be enough. My pace was very ano The Alessi familyattended the Grand Prix of Belgium. Rumors circulated the paddock that the two boys, Mike and jeff. were testing KTMsat a circuit near the GP facility. The Alessis watched Saturday's practice but could not stay fo r the race , as they new back to America on the Sunday. Mike and Jeffalso got to meet Stefan Everts and Ben Townley during the weekend. "I don't want to sound cocky. but I think I could handle most of these guys:' Mike said. "The tracks are fast here, much quicker than in America." Everts said, "You know. they seem like nice kids. I have heard a lot about them. I am not sure they knew who I was; they wanted to meet me but didn't really know much about the Grand Prix scene. The older one [Mike] was standing, looking really cool; you had the feeling he thought he could beat me . They are young kids, and they have a lot of pres - Former Grand Prix winner and now sports manager at KTM Kurt N icoll has hinted at possibly racing in the MX3 class at some stage this season. Cedric Me lo tte , Everts' teammate, crashed hard in a whoops section , injuring his hip. The L&M Yamaha rider had been having trouble in the whoops section all weekend and was still recovering from a minor injury he sustained in the Grand Prix of Benelux a month earlier Teamcoordinator Massimo . Raspanti said, "Melott e was taken to the hospital. The scan showed that Cedric's hip was heavily dislocated, and he was obviously in a lot of pain. Luckily, they were able to put the leg back into place without operation. Depending on the muscle damage or possible co mplications, the first estimate was that revalidation will take between six weeks and three months." Word from the Australian camp is that they might field a full team for the Con,inued on page 34 LE NEWS • JULY 7,2004 33