Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Everts is glad to end his career in a positive light, and even in the face of his remarkable win streak, the Yamaha rider is confident that it is time to hang up his boots at the end of 2006. "It's not possible (to race again in 2007)," Everts declared. "I decided to retire and I stick with that. I have had a great career. Within ten years, I will know I made the best decision of my life." Honda-mounted Josh Coppins finished second overall in the MX1 class. It was all he could do to simply sit back and watch Everts collect his 12th consecutive GP win. It can't be easy for Coppins - giving 100 percent week after week, yet still hopelessly stuck in the shadow of Everts. As Everts celebrated, it was clear the New Zealander was not enjoying it. "We had some problems with the clutch, and this morning we had more problems," Coppins said. "I went to the start line using a system I have not used all year. I passed a few guys and passed Steve (Ramon) and then I could get close to Stefan." Coppins also commented on the rough, technical Namur circuit, "It was really rough; you had to give the track respect. The front was slippery and the back was all over the place. I made two big mistakes and I didn't want to crash on this track." Many people say that Steve Ramon has the talent of Stefan Everts, though he does not have the heart. Ramon has shown in the last few rounds that he wants to climb in series points, and he might just be a serious title contender in 2007. This year, however, it's third for him in the MX1 series standings, which he reinforced with a third-place finish at the Namur GP. "In the first moto, my start was good," Ramon said. "At the beginning, I could fol- low Stefan for the first two laps. But then the speed of Stefan was too quick and then Josh [passed] me and I finished third." "In the second moto," Ramon contin- ued, "my start was not so good and then I was third, following Stefan. I could fol- low him for a few laps, but then I started making small mistakes and my riding was not going like I wanted. Of course, the track was rough, but if you look for the good lines it was okay. I like it here; I hope we can come back here." In the MX2 it was Antonio Carioli who won ahead of Christophe Pourcel and his brother, Sebastien Pourcel. The defending champion went 1-1 and is now just 26 points away from Christophe Pourcel in the title chase, with three rounds and 150 points still up for grabs. Cairoli is not interested in the fact that Pourcel hounded him the whole week- end. "I don't think about who is behind me," Cairoli said. "I tried to win here today. In 2004, I won my first GP in Namur, so to win both heats here and win the overall [was] special for me. I am thinking about winning all the races now and having some fun. "[In the] first moto, David (Philippaerts) was faster than me," Cairoli continued, "but he took some different lines and it was a little strange. Then he went off the track and I passed him. I had trouble with my arms in the first part, but the second moto was easier. I started first and made a gap between Nunn and the others, but then I made a mistake and Christophe was coming." Christophe Pourcel continues to lead the MX2 World Championship Series, although the Frenchman finished with 3-2 results in Namur, losing a mas- sive eight points to Cairoli. The Championship might end up going down to the wire, but Pourcel remains confi- dent despite bike problems. "I had trouble with my suspension in qualification," Christophe Pourcel said. "I also had trouble in the first moto. I was racing with Cairoli and Philippaerts, but my suspension was not working well and I had to slow down. But we worked on it between motos and also changed the tires and that helped. In the second moto I had a better start, but I made a mistake when I was trying to pass Cairoli and that meant I had to make up ground on him and it's difficult to do that here." The older brother of Christophe Pourcel finished third overall. Sebastien Pourcel looked better than he has all sea- son and captured his first podium finish in a long time. He also had some brotherly love during the second moto. "Qualification went good," Sebastien Pourcel said, "and I had some good starts in the races. I'm happy that I am on the podium with my brother. It was a positive result for me. In the first moto, I had a 10th place start and then I was going well. Then [Marc] de Reuver passed me and I looked at his lines and passed him back. In the second moto I had a good start, but then I made a mistake and crashed. I let my brother pass me because he is fighting for the championship, but then Rattray also passed me and I got tired and could- n't pass him back." CN THE CITADEL OF NAMUR NAMUR, BELGIUM RESULTS: AUGUST 6, 2006 (ROUND 12 OF 15) MX1 MOTO 1: 1. Stefan Everts (Yam); 2. Joshua Coppins (Hon); 3. Steve Ramon (Suz); 4. Cedric Melotte (Yam); 5. Ken de Dijcker (Hon); 6. Gordon Crockard (Hon); 7. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 8. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 9. Vico Garcia (Hon); 10. Wyatt Avis (KTM); 11. James Noble (Hon); 12. Danny Theybers (Yam); 13. Manuel Priem (Yam); 14. Clement Desalle (Suz); 15. Cyrille Coulon (Suz). MX1 MOTO 2: 1. Stefan Everts (Yam); 2. Joshua Coppins (Hon); 3. Steve Ramon (Suz); 4. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 5. Cedric Melotte (Yam); 6. James Noble (Hon); 7. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 8. Manuel Priem (Yam); 9. Vico Garcia (Hon); 10. Wyatt Avis (KTM); 11. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 12. Danny Theybers (Yam); 13. Christian Beggi (Hon); 14. Bas Verhoeven (Kaw); 15. Antti Pyrhonen (TM). MX1 OVERALL: 1. Stefan Everts (50); 2. Joshua Coppins (44); 3. Steve Ramon (40); 4. Cedric Melotte (34); 5. Kevin Strijbos (31); 6. Pascal Leuret (28); 7. James Noble (25); 8. Vico Garcia (24); 9. Avis Wyatt (22); 10. Manuel Priem (21). FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX1 POINTS STANDINGS (After 12 of 15 rounds): 1. Stefan Everts (592/12 wins); 2. Kevin Strijbos (424); 3. Steve Ramon (408); 4. Ken de Dijcker (372); 5. Tanel Leok (365); 6. Jonathan Barragan (273); 7. Pascal Leuret (230); 8. Cedric Melotte (224); 9. Manuel Priem (210); 10. Joshua Coppins (202). MX2 MOTO 1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Davide Philippaerts (KTM); 3. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 4. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 5. Marc de Reuver (KTM); 6. Max Nagl (KTM); 7. Billy MacKenzie (Yam); 8. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 9. Manuel Monni (KTM); 10. Matti Seistola (Hon); 11. Carl Nunn (KTM); 12. Patrick Caps (Hon); 13. Pascal Renet (Hon); 14. Aigar Leok (Yam); 15. Shaun Simpson (Hon). MX2 MOTO 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 3. Carl Nunn (KTM); 4. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 5. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 6. Gareth Swaenepoel (Kaw); 7. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 8. Aigar Leok (Yam); 9. Manuel Monni (KTM); 10. Pascal Renet (Hon); 11. Carlos Campano (KTM); 12. Matti Seistola (Hon); 13. Marc de Reuver (KTM); 14. Matteo Bonini (Hon); 15. Anthony Boissiere (Yam). MX2 OVERALL: 1. Antonio Cairoli (50); 2. Christophe Pourcel (42); 3. Sebastien Pourcel (34); 4. Carl Nunn (30); 5. Rui Goncalves (27); 6. Manuel Monni (24); 7. Marc de Reuver (24); 8. Tyla Rattray (22); 9. Davide Philippaerts (22); 10. Aigar Leok (20). FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX2 POINTS STANDINGS (After 12 of 15 rounds): 1. Christophe Pourcel (458/1 win); 2. Antonio Cairoli (432/2 wins); 3. David Philippaerts (393/4 wins); 4. Tyla Rattray (352/3 wins); 5. Marc de Reuver (338/1 win); 6. Carl Nunn (307); 7. Billy MacKenzie (264/1 win); 8. Sebastien Pourcel (259); 9. Tommy Searle (254); 10. Gareth Swaenepoel (251). C Y C L E N E W S • AUGUST 16, 2006 39 (Above) New Zealander Josh Coppins rode to a solid 2-2 finish for second overall in the MX1 class. (Right) Antonio Cairoli (1), Tyla Rattray (16) and Rui Goncalves (10) battle for the holeshot in the first MX2 moto. Antonio Cairoli (1) grabs the holeshot in the MX2 class. The defending champion hopes to close the gap on current points leader Christophe Pourcel. Antonio Cairoli (1) grabs the holeshot in the MX2 class. The defending champion hopes to close the gap on current points leader Christophe Pourcel.

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