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/128354
W ile th e ge ne ral expectation in Spain was for a GP that lacked su rp rise s af te r bo t h S I sta ndings leader Thie rry van den Bosch and S2 standings leader Max Verd erosa a ppeared se t for the ir re spective coronatio ns as World Cha mpions , t he last ro und of the 2004 World Supermoto Championship se ries , he ld at the Circuit de Finest rat in Spain, turned out to be anything but predictab le - especially in the S2 division. In S I, "VDB" re ac hed his goa l of regaining the Wo rld Cham pionship he vacated in 2003 by winning moto one . The rest of th e day for was just a glo ry parade for him, capped by his seventh Supe r Final w in of the se ries. But it was another story in S2 class, whe re Verdero sa suffered his worst performanc e in in his career and missed out on what appeared to be a ce rtain S2 World Cha mpio nship. A master of co nsisten cy throughout the entire season , Verd erosa was caught up in a big crash at the start of moto one, and cons equent bad luck during th e re st of the day opened the door for a really motivated 44 DECEMBER 15, 2004 • C YCLE NEWS and de te rmined Je ro me Giraudo . The Aprilia-riding Giraudo scored a conv incing Super Final win and was do ubly rewarded by giving the Italian SXV 4.S tw in its first World tit le in its first full yea r in the sport. SI Just seve n points were all VDB ne eded to regain th e World title he won back in 2002, and it cou ldn't have gone mo re easily for the Fren chman as he embar ked on his quest. Desp ite visiting th e beautiful Spanish course for the first time, VDB learn ed it with his usual ease and looked tremendously comfortable. The title for him neve r was in doubt th ro ugh the enti re weeke nd . VDB's jackpo t was banked on Sunday afte r he wo n the fi rst moto, but he piled on eve n more points with w ins in moto two and the Super Final. T he only order th at he didn't top was timed qu alifying, th is due to an incredible lap put in by exit ing champion Eddy Seel. (VDB was second .) But once race time came , VDB was perfect, displaying the incre dible dominance he has en joyed for most of th e season. A gre at sta rt by KTM teammate Boris Cha mbon really didn't wo rry VDB, 40th Anniversary who quickly passed Chambon and pulled as usual th roughout the 10-lap race . The title clinched , VDB wa s wa rm ly welcomed unde r the finish-line bridge by the entire KTM crew. ':As we commented many times lately, it was a hard season , especially in the beginning, because I got sick and it lasted for a while," van den Bosch said. "It was hard to co me back after an unfortunate yea r in the World Supersport, and I'm very happy with the way KTM we lcomed me back into the team and worked so hard to help me acco mplish th is dream for the second time . I can't wa it for the next season to start and to we ar numbe r one on my bike." Second place went to rival Seel, with third going to his Husky teammate, Gerald Delepine. After leading early, Chambon slipped to fourth place, right ahead of Czech Jan Kvasnicka and Max Manzo. Lazzarini, the only rider to choose the big LC4 on the slippery and tight-cornered Spanish track, finished eighth, just behind young British sensation Matthew Winstanley. Moto two started w ith Seel, Valter Bartolini and Federico Brondi all involved in a first-co rne r pileup . VDB, who was