Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Sebastien Tortelli rode third behind Marn icq B ervoets in the early g oing , then advanced to sec ond . The Honda r id er t r ail ed Carm ichael by a s m an y a s 14 sec o n d s at o ne p o i nt , d ue in part to Carmichael's unparall e l e d speed and in part to the fact th at - a rock hav ing bent his shift sha ft - he wa s u nable to shift past third gear for m uc h o f th e m ota . Adapting well to a two - st r o k e 250 , Yarnaha -rn o u n t e d Bervoets h eld o n for t hird . Fo urth was the Husqv arn a 250 of an im p ressive Paul Cooper for Great Britain , while Ital ian C lau d io Fed er ic i k ept It aly in th e hunt w ith an insp ir ed ride on his Bel g arda Yam ah a . " I w as j us t try in g to stay up th er e and [still) b e r e ady fo r t he ne xt mota," Ca rmichael said . " We ' re ra c ing the 500s , and they're su p po sed t o be the best riders in the world . We 're going to find out, but I'm not ra ci ng to win th e m ota ; I'm ra c ing to w in the t itle." In t he 125c c ranks , Ro ncada avenged his first mota, taking the win and an impressive ninth overall. As for Pa st r a n a , hi s assessment , "You live b y th e sword , you d ie b y the sword" pretty much summed u p the Suzuk i rider 's mota . While m a k i n g another cha rge through the pack , Pastrana attempted the same move that had worked for him in mota one, but this t ime it put him on the ground. "A ll we ek , I've been pa ssing eve ry body o n that j u m p," Pa strana said . " It's ab ou t 100 feet st ra igh t down and about 120 fee t out, a nd you land in braki ng bumps r ight before a corner. It's p re tty ins ane .. .I j u m pe d , landed in t he braki ng b u m ps, b oun c ed twi c e, fl ip pe d ." " I was having fun ," Ron cada sai d . "I t wa s pretty coo l. It w as j us t g re at [ridin g in F rance ]. Just amazing." Pa st ran a r emounted and fin is hed 15th o ve ra ll, w hich th e U .S. correctly assumed would be the team 's throw away ride . Even co u nt in g th e resu lt, the U.S. con t in ued to lead with a 27point total - well ahead of Ita ly 's 42. Gre at Britai n was third a nother six points back . MOTO:3 [250/500) H i s co un try 's h op e s dwin dling , B a il ey heroically suited up for mota t h r e e , stri ps of ta pe p ro t e c t in g his injured n o se , but after a poor start and in fear of t ak ing m o re roost to h is fac e, Ba il ey p u lled out after a cou ple o f l ap s . Al s o heroic w a s f e ll o w Fren ch m an T o rt e IIi, who after g at in g po orly and com p le ti ng la p one ba ck in ei g h t h, absol u te ly ri pped up t h e t rac k , a dva nci ng t o th e lea d i ng Carmich ael's rear tire and p ass in g th e K awasaki rid er at th e mid w ay p oint . Riding for t he h on or of h i s c o u n t ry , Tort elli pro ceed ed to o pe n up a gap, puttin g n e arl y 1 5 seco n ds on Carmich ael b y rac e ' s end . " I w a s p retty bumm ed a bou t th e fi rs t mota ," s aid Tort ell i , wh o w as ra is ed w ith in a cou ple h ou rs of th e trac k and who grew up racing in t he area . "T he c ha nces w ent away when [Bailey bro k e h is no se] . W e couldn ' t win anym o re, so I ga ve everything I h ad to rn ak e t he fa ns happy and give at least a m o ta wi n to the fa ns, and to m y sel f , also. I w as very excited ." It wa s tem pt ing for A mer ican sup porte rs to wri te off Tortelli 's amazing ride to Ca rmichael's ri ding cons ervatively, bu t the Floridian claimed otherwise. " I like to win every race, and h e does too ," Carmichae l said . "He j ust had one of those races where he was on . He 's a [former] World Champion , and World C ham pions are good. I didn' t have nothing for him . He was riding o ne of those races where t here's nothing you can do." B art o l in i posted h is second th ird place finish of the d ay fo r the O p en class win , and Bervoets was a distant fo urth . In fifth wa s Hughes , who h av in g sat out the bul k o f t he season wit h injuries - was co mpletely deplet ed of energy at the fini sh. " I t h i nk mos t of it w a s from nerves," Hu gh es sai d . "I rod e so t ight , I d o n 't e ve n t hi nk I m o v e d on t he bike . I just w an ted to b e co ns iste nt. Th ey t old me, ' Be con si st en t , and w e'll w in it.' '' Hu gh es' fo rtitu de secured th e w in for th e U .S., and the team - nearly as Ricky Cannichael followed Hughes' w in with a win of his own In the 12 5 / 2 5 0 cc moto. " It gives m e a better look a t t h e MX des Na t i o n s t h a n t he l as t tw o years," Ca rmich ae l sa id . " This gives In light of this year's historic significance, 2000 was in high demand by countries wanting to host the MX des Nations. but few could argue that France was a poor choice. Not only is the country a powerhouse in term s of riding talent of late, but the French really know how to put on a spectacle worth y of the occasion. "Many tim es, people in Europe com plain ; these guys don' t complain," said Actio n Group Press Relations Manager Pasqual Haudiquert of the Mota Club Angerien. whose 660 volunteer members shouldered the burden of preparing the facility and handling the public . "They push, and they do everything they can. Before the FIM [initiated ] the new track standards. they had already adopted them . Last year when they came to the GP, the FlM said. "This is the future of motocross." Europeans have eamed a reputation for poor track preparation. but the immaculate MCA Motocross Circui t between Paris and Bordeaux was in prime condition for the event. It was laid out on a hillside, maki ng spectating as easy as watching a movie. and it had been prepared well, too (althou gh race-day mai ntenance was mi nimal , only a bit of dust appeared by the final mota ). The high speeds and many hills defini tely favo red open bikes, and the gravel and rocks resulted in more than a few welts and mechanical problems. but the riders were nearly unanimous in their praise of the circuit. "This is the most impressive track I've seen, as far as presentation," Team USA Manager Roger DeCoster said. "As far as how clean it looks, and how professional it looks, and even with the handicap of the strike, it's amazing that they came through." The rest of the facility was also impressive, with an extremely well organized pit area and pressroom , and comforta ble VIP areas as well. The opening ceremonies were emotional and exciti ng, and, with the great racing on Sunday , French spectators hardly seemed dis tressed at their country 's disappointing result. T he l ast MX de s Nations to be h eld i n Fra nce w as i n Villars sous Ecot in 1988, when t he U.S. won with Ron Lechien, Rick J ohn son and J eff Wa r d . Next year, th e event will be held in Italy , near Milan. popula r w ith th e French as their own sq ua d - b a sk ed i n th e g lo r y of t he m omen t. ey e I e n e _ S • S EP T EMBER 20, 2000 15

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