place for me. It's the most special circuit in
the world."
American Brad Lackey might not have
had the success of DeCoster around
Namur, although moto wins came easily
and he always knew taking it easy in Namur
was priority number one. He also knew
something about Belgian officials in that
dark era.
"You know, I had the fastest time in practice, and the Belgian officials put me on the
back of the grid - I had a shit spot, but I still
got the holeshot," he said. "That was my
best time at Namur. In those old days, that
type of thing happened all the time ; they
could get away with a lot of old stuff. You
always wanted to finish safe here, because
this was one of the last rounds of the championship. I never wanted to ride too hard
here, because it is a dangerous track , and
you didn't want to screw up here . I've won
a bunch of motos here, and the following
week after Namur was Luxembourg, and
that was my favorite circuit, so I always
saved a bit for there."
Lackey came very close to winning a GP
in Namur in 1982, although those Belgians
again stopped him in his tracks . Crowds,
though , didn't dare touch the legendary
"Bad Brad."
"In 1982, Andrea Vromans, who was
one of the top Belgians of that time , beat
me by half a wheel, so that was one I don 't
forget in a hurry. I didn't have trouble with
crowds here; I had more trouble with the
Belgian fans when we were in Germany or
Luxembourg - I don't know why that was ."
So many other legends of the sport have
enjoyed success around Namur, and so many
more will. It remains one of the greatest
motocross circuits in the world .
CN
Vliwwc.ycl
From top to bottom:
Noyce and DeCoster talk over the track.
Brad Lackey came out to r.artake in the race.
Here he is with Noyce be ore the start.
The race was a fan favorite.
CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 8 2004
31
