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/128336
o m ing from a seasonal debut in Belgium , which offered fresh new names at the top of the series, the World Supermoto Championship had its second stop in Romania, in the town of Arad instead of the country capital, Bucharest, as originally scheduled . The Romanian GP was one of the best rounds of the 2003 season, with a fast track loved by most of the riders . Unfortunately, the same appreciation was not felt at Arad's karting facility this time around, mainlybecause of slippery asphalt and a one -line off-road section . So passing in Romania was quite hard this year, but that didn't prevent the second round of the series from offering some unexpected results . First of these was the strong win by former world champion Thierry Van Den Bosch. But even more surprising than that was the first win of the new Aprilia in the S2 class. C 51 The SI riders suffered a little more from the unforgiVing circuit's characteristics than did the S2 riders, as the bigger bikes really couldn't use all their potential. So when the timed practice sessions came around in the SI class, it wasn't a surprise that Boris Cham bon and Van Den Bosch, both on the smaller SXSKTMs, posted the quickest times. The 2003 series runnerup, Chambon, showed the same determination he showed at Spa a month ago and 50 AUGUST 11, 2004 • put in his killer time on the last lap. Van den Bosch had been counting on taking the pole after consistently domi nating most of the session, but he missed out by a slim margin. It was surprising, however, that "VDB" was as fast as he was, having suffered a knee injury early in the season , and he was still in a low-energy condition due to some problems with his blood. If that wasn't enough , he also has a strong form of arthritis bothering him. The situation forced him to opt for the smaller and lighter SXS instead of his usual LC4 at Arad, though it would prove to be the better choice . Despite missing pole, Van Den Bosch fulfilled his plan to win the race , and he did so by dominating the rest of the pro gram. In moto one, he started next to Cham bon , first-round winner Ivan Lazzarini, and Gerald Delepine, while 2003 World Champion Eddy Seel was fifth, on the second row. Van Den Bosch got a good start, right behind Cham bon, who closed everyone's line in the first short chicane before approaching the tabletop at the beginning of the dirt segment . Chambon didn't last long in the lead, as Van Den Bosch was already in front of him by end of the off-road section. From there, VDB was untouchable. The same could not be said for Chambon, who lost second place to Delepine on the last lap. Lazzarini suffered an unusual technical problem, as the anti-lift system on his front suspension CYCLE NEWS 40th was auto-selecting itself during the mota, making his bike difficult to maneuver, but he still managed to finish fourth . Seel was seventh, behind the two factory Vors of Valter Bartolini and Graziano Rispoli . Seel would suffer major setting problems and excess of sliding of his new Husqvama through the entire weekend. In moto two, VDB took advantage of the pole position that he had gained by winning moto one and got a perfect start to lead and win again. Lazzarini fixed his fork problem, and everything went much better this time, as he started and finished in second place . Chambon was third again, although he had to deal with the surprising Bartolini (older brother of Andrea Bartlolini, the former SOOcc MX World Champion), on the factory Vor. Bartolini got a good start and kept Chambon behind him for six laps before eventually letting the Frenchman by. Seel finished fifth. For the SuperFinal, the gate positions changed again, with VDB first, followed by Lazzarini, Chambon and Bartolini. Cham bon got the holeshot and entered the off-road section with VDB behind him. But again, Chambon couldn't fend off the former champion , who passed him before the completion of lap one and AnnlVlE:lrScll'b