Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Anto nio Ca iroli of the DeCarli Yamaha team produced his own piece of magic around the citade l circuit. Having won his first GP moto on ly a week earlier in Czec h Repub lic, the tiny Italian then we nt o ut and won his first GP overall and the first for an Italian rider since Alex Puzar in Bulgaria in 2002 . Seco nd place in t he MX2 class went to CAS Honda rider Jussi Vehvilainen, and t hird place went to Andrew McFarlane of t he Yamaha UK team. T he opening MX I race saw Steve Ramon take t he early lead , followed by Everts, Pichon , Coppins and Julian Bill. As has been the case so often this year, the top three (Everts, Pichon and Co ppins) moved to the front, re legating Ramon to fourth and making some serious time between themselves and the remainder of t he field. Pichon took a tumble on lap six and dropped back in the field, although he recovered to finish in fourth place behi nd Eve rts, Cop pins and Ramon . In t he second MX I rnoto, Everts led early, althou gh he crashed on lap two, hand ing the lead to Picho n. Picho n did get some heat fro m Coppins, w ho had gated te rribly but worked his way through the field . At one stage, it looked like Coppins had Pichon 's meas ure, although, w ith a few laps remaining, (Pic hon t urned upped) the speed and raced away fro m Coppins, Everts, Kevin Stri jbos and Brian Jo rgen sen to w in. You cou ld see Everts , with the birt h of his son beh ind him, was more focused, and it showed in his results. "In both races, 1 was really aggressive from the beginning, like Mickael was in Czech Republic," Everts said. "I made some tricky passes today. It's a pity that I crashed in the second race. After tha t it was tough, as Steve Ramon was pushing really hard; I knew I needed to finish third to w in the GP. When Steve passed me , it was a difficult place; he started to slide and then made a very big crash, he hit the trees and went over the handlebars. I saw in the next lap that he was okay. The track was this year really physically, it was very hot and it was hard in some places to stay focused ." As fo r Coppins, after his victory at the Grand Prix of England, he continues to fight for victory, coming up short, once again, in Namur. "I'm nearly there, I just do n't know what I have to do to get another win, " Coppins said. "My speed is good enough, maybe I have to wo rk on my end ura nce . My starts were not especially good today, but my riding was good. It was easier for me when the track was wet; it was more technical and slippery. In t he second moto, I came really close to Mickae l. I th ink I was a little bit faster at t his moment, but o n the big dou ble after the Chalet du Monument, my hand came off the handlebar. It was pretty sore, and I tried to kee p pushing but almost crashed and t hen decided to slow down a little bit. My plan was to attack again late r, but my rhythm was not good again; I was too I Briefly... On Friday, a legends r a ce was held on the Namur circuit. Included in the lineup were former World Champions Brad Lackey' Hakan Andersson, Hakan Carlqvist, Roger DeCoster, Eric Geboers , Dave Thorpe, Graham Noyce, Joel Smets and Geo rges Jobe. All together. the riders had a total of 28 World titles. Lackey remembered his time at Namur. "I never won here, but I did get a holeshot once," he said. "Iwas quickest in practice, and the officials put me on the outside of the grid; they did that type of stuff in those days. Anyway, I got to the first comer first and was reallyhappy about that; it was likegiving them the finger." Roger DeCoster was quick to point out that the American team wou ld not com- pete in the Motocross of Nations this year. The Belgian legend and team manager of the American team is looking at work ing on something for next year. "The problem is that none of the top riders want to go," DeCoster said. "Also, the event is getting later and later in the year, which makes it difficult to arrange. It's a pity and I am a big supporter of the Motocross of Nations." More bad news for the Motocross of Nations is that Da vid Vuillemin has pulled out of the French team, and Australia's Michael Byrne is rumored to be consideringskipping the event as we ll.Just as was the case last year, it seems riders are havingsecond thoughts about the event. American rider Jeff De m e nt did not ride in Namur due to his hand and rib injuries sustained in the Grand Prix of Czech Republic a week earlier. Dement is expected to race the Grand Prix of Germany in two weeks. www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 18, 2004 23

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