Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

FIM World Champions h ip 1 2 5cc MX S e r ie s Round 1 5 : H e in o la n MoottodKer ho Bv G E O F F MEVER HEiNOLAN, FINLAND, AUGUST 27 ,t new era of motoc ross is be gin~n ing to unf old righ t befor e o ur eyes , as 18-year-old So uth Afr ic an Grant Langston c a p t ure d th e 2000 World 125cc Motoc ross Championship in do minating fashion . Now , a lot is going to be e xp e ct ed from this kid , who is going to be bringing his FIM number-on e plate to the United States next year. Of course, he'll be looking for noth ing le ss than adding another cha mpions hip to his World c rown. "Now I've got the World Championship out of the way ," Langston said. "I had so many distractions this year. We were talking to other teams about next yea r an d that really cost me some energy. I wan ted to get that sorted out as quickly as possible. I'm just looking fo rward to co m ing to America and doing my best there. It's going to be tough , but wh o wou ld ha ve e v er th o u g ht I would h a ve wo n a Wo rld cha mpions hip so soon? I didn 't. My aim was to tak e the championship in 200 1." Th e wa y Langston won the cha m pionsh ip was very m u c h a re peat of what another young S ou th African, Greg Albertyn, did wa y ba c k in 199 2. Albertyn had finished a fight ing 10th in the 199 1 World 125cc title , and th en he backed it up by ta king th e 12 5c c c ha m p io ns h ip in 19 9 2 fro m another youn gste r named St efan Ev erts . It' s history that Everts and Albertyn then became a mong two of the gr eatest motocross riders of a ll time , Langston is headed to that s a me lev el. Langston, like Albee, c rossed the finish line in Finla nd ripping the number 10 from his machine a nd repl a c ing it with the number on e, the lion of South Africa roared, on ce again, in a World Motocross battle. 46 SEPTEMBER 13, 2000' cue So uth African 18-year-old Grant Langston becam e the second -younge st World Champion In history after c linching the 2000 FIM 125cc Wo rld M otocross Championsh ip at round 15 of the 16 -ra c e series In Finlan d . Defending cha m pion Alessio Ch iodi was in F in land, bu t h e co u ld o n ly cl a im DNF-19 , his injured wrist s t ill causing him problems. While Chiodi struggled to come to terms with the Am erican scene th is year (due to injuries) , don 't ex pec t the same weak e ffo rt from th e S outh African . "I think th e Am erican tra cks will suit me ," Lang st on sa id. "Ra cing with guys like Pastrana and Roncada, that's going to be exciting." The Finnish 125cc Grand Prix was so mu ch lik e we had see n b e fore, Lang st on clocke d qu ick er tim es than his riva ls all throughout qu al ific ation , went I -I in th e m oto s , a nd set th e quickest time for both races . It was a day of domination and will, for a long tim e , live in th e memory of th e 18 yea r-old. "I ha d said in the past that winning my first-ever Gra nd Prix in 1999 was my biggest thr ill , " La n g s t o n sa id . "Now I have to sa y the Finnish Grand Prix , e ve ry t h ing I did wa s p erfe ct, no thing went w ro n g a nd I go t th e championship." The fir st m o to in He in ol an saw Dan ish rider Brian Jorg en se n cl a im the holeshot, followed by Langston in third place . Langston wa s qu ickly into the lea d though and within a few la ps it was the KTM-mounted rider with the lead; with the wind in his face and the moto win under control , he took the victo ry an d the World Cha mpionship . "I was behind J org ensen a nd so mebody els e coming into the first co m er ," I e n e vv 'IS Lan gston sai d . "Before too long , I was in the lead a nd feeling great. Th e trac k was no t thick sand like some of the tra c ks in Be lg iu m and Holl a nd , the KTM's have proved unbeatable in the th ick sa nd , on th is track we d idn 't hav e a hug e advantage and Mike Brown wa s ch a s ing me for a wh ile. I didn 't want to mak e a stupid mistake and c ra s h . Th e pressure was no t as great as I ex pecte d , then I crossed the line a nd I fel t a hug e we ight o ff my sh ould ers." As for Brown , his lu c k wou ld run out as his bike sta rted m isfiring , due to being low on fue l. Fina lly st opping for mor e fuel from his pit, th e American ex pecte d to return to the action and a pos s ible podium pla c e. Brown woul d be excluded for making illegal contact with h is p it c rew , the Honda rider' s yea r went from bad to worse. "I sto ppe d during th e race," Brown sa id. "I didn't rea lize we did the wrong thing, I guess that's just part of raci ng. I ha d felt good befo re the stop, this tra ck is not so bad for our bikes , so I could run with Langston while I had fuel." Engl and's Jamie Dobb was not his usu a l self, with the cha m pionship jus t about over, the re was little doubt tha t the KTM rider was looki ng for a m iracle , it did not co me in Finland. "I got one of my typi ca l bad starts," Dobb said. "Gave Grant [Langston] a he ad start a nd ne ve r caugh t up. It's been the sa me sto ry a ll ye ar long , if I don 't get ou t of the gate first, then I'm c hasing and tha t's tough a t th is leveL" Dobb was still abl e to cla im second pla c e after Brown 's e xclus ion , with th ird place go ing to Danish Yamaha rider Brian J org en sen . "I go t t he hol esh ot , " Jorgensen said, "which was my first for the year. I am st ill recover ing from an injury early in the season. "I tried staying with Langston and Brown ," he added. "I just didn 't ha ve the sp eed ." Th e second moto p lay ed stra ight int o La n gs t o n' s hands - anothe r hol e sh ot , t h en a s h o rt battle with Brown , be fore h ead ing of f int o the d ist anc e for a no the r wire -to-wire win. "I fel t so relaxed, " Langsto n s aid . "I was already champion, but I wanted to win anyway , th e complete day was just like a dream . Brown s tuck with m e fo r a whi le , I wa s a litt le s urpr is ed b y his pa c e. T hen he ha d t roubl e a n d I just rod e a steady mot o . I'm going to celebra te tonight for su re , th en s ta rt getting ready for th e des Nations ." Th is tim e it wa s Pa trick Caps the Belg ian KTM ride r who would finish in second pla ce, with J orgensen thi rd Dutc h rider Erik Eggens fo urth a nd Dobb fifth. For Caps, the podi um was not enough to be dropped from t he KTM te a m a few days later. "I'm disappointed to lose my ride ," Ca ps said . "I a m t a lking t o ot he r te ams so hopefull y I ca n get another ride. I felt ok ay today, Langston wa s aga in too qui ck, but I wa s a ble to finish th e GP off with good results , so that is rewarding ." J o rg ens e ns 3 -3 results gave h im second overall, his be st res ults so fa r th is year and a return to form for the likabl e Dan e. "I think tha t moto was my best all season ," Jorgensen said. "Even better than my moto win in Belgium . I go t a n okay start and was able to hold a good pace . Caps got a littl e away a n d I wa nted t o co n t a in Dobb wh o was behind me, it worke d ou t oka y for me today , now I feel 1 ca n do oka y at the des Nat ions in thr ee weeks ." As for Brown , his bike gr oun d to a stop with the moto not e ve n hal fwa y over, his week end was over without a po int, despite the fa ct he was the second -quickest rider on the tra ck. "I just had o ne o f those day s," Brown sa id. "Nothing went for me. I'll try and do someth ing special in the last round in Ge rman y in a week a nd lea ve Europ e with some nice thoughts. It' s be en a long, hard season and I'm di s ap p ointe d fo r th e tea m and for my self, fo r a wh ile there we looke d good to win this c ha m p io ns hip. Like Grant , I got caught up in t a lkin g to other teams for 2001 , s ince the Croatia n Gran d Prix [which Brown won] the t a lk s ha ve re a lly messed wit h my he ad , I was cons tantly th inking a bo ut wha t s hould I do , instead of winning ra ces. " With a championship tucked a wa y, the 18 -y ear-o ld will now head to th e Motocross des Nations to try a nd get an upper hand on h is rivals for 2001. "I want to win the 12 5cc class at th e d es Nations , " Langston said . "Wit h Pastrana a n d Roncada both there , th is will be a great chance to ma yb e g et som e t y p e of mental advantage ov er them. I want to win for South Africa and also beat those two gu ys , that's my aim now . I know Albertyn has sa id it's the only thing he has not won , so he wants it rea l bad al so ." eN H elnolan Moottorikerho Helnolan, Finland Results: August 21, 2000 IRound 15 of 161 MOTO 1: 1. Gra nt Lan gst o n (KTM): 2. Ja mie Dobb (KTM): 3. Brian Jorgensen (Yam); 4. Kenneth Gund ersen (KTM ): 5. Ste ve Ram on (Kaw ); 6 . Luigi Seguy ( Vam) : 7. Patr ick Caps (K TM) : 8 . Mathie u La llaz ( Yam ): 9 . Petri J erv e!e ( Hen ) ; 10. Chri stian Stevaninl (Husky) ; I 1. Antti Kallonen (Suz ); 12. Mika Saarenk o skl (Hon) ; 13. Cedric Melotte (KTM) ; 14 . Enrico Odd enino (KTM); 15. Kevin Strij bos (Yam ). MO TO 2 : 1. Grant Langst on (KTM) ; 2. Pat rick Caps (KTM) ; 3. Brian Jorgensen (Yam ); 4. Erik Eggens (Vom) : 5. Jamie Dobb (KTM) : 6. Luigi Seguy (Yam ): 7. Sven Br eugelma ns (Ya m) ; 8. Philipp e Dup a squier (TM) ; 9. Antti Kallonen (Suz) ; 10. Christian Stevanini (Husky); 11. Antt i Pyrhonen (Husky) : 12. Carl Nunn (Yam) ; 13 . Petr i .Ie rvele ( Hon) ; 14. Tim o Aa ltonen (Yam); 15. Jukk a Pirinen (SUI). O /A : 1. G ra n t Lan g st on ( KTM ) : 2 . B r i an Jorgensen (Yam) ; 3 . J am ie Dobb (KTM); 4. Patrick Caps (KTM): 5. Luigi Seguy (Vam ); 6. Er ik Eggens (Y am) ; 7 . Ke n neth Gunder sen ( KT M) ; 8 . A n tt i Kall onen (Suz) ; 9 . Christi an Ste vanini (Husky) ; 10. Steve Ramon {Kew} . FII'I WORLD CHAM PIONSHIP 125cc MX SERIES POINTS STA NDIN GS ( A ft er 15 of 16 round s) : I. Gra n t La n g st on ( 4 7 8 / 6 win s) ; 2 . .Jamie Do bb (404/3) : 3. M ik e Brown (3 39 / 2 ) : 4 . Lui gi Seg uy (2 68 / 1) ; 5. Patrick ClJPS (265); 6. Thoma s Treversini (23 6/2) ; 7. Kenneth Gunder sen (202); 8 . Phili ppe Dupesquler ( 155) ; 9. Tr ampa s Park er ( 147 ): 10. Carl Nu nn ( 130 /1 ) ; 11. A le x Puz ar (1 26) : 12 . Steve Ram on (1 24) ; 13 . Bri an J org ensen (96) : 14 . J eff Dem ent (83) : 15. Stephen Sword (77) . Upcoming Round Round 16 - Gaildorf, Germany , Septem ber 3.

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