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Yamaha Stefan Everts (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) rewrote the record books by clinching his seventh world title – and the
manufacturer’s world title for Yamaha - with a win in the Czech Motocross Grand Prix in Loket today.
Everts arrived in Loket with a healthy 15 point lead over championship rival and fellow
Belgian Joel Smets (KTM), but few had expected the title to be decided before the final round. Such has been Smets’ consistency that it seemed unlikely the Yamaha man would gain the ten point advantage
he needed to clinch the title with a round to go.
From the gate Everts shot into a lead he wouldn’t lose, while behind him Smets was caught up in a first corner melee. The KTM man fought back to
climb up to fifth – a result that would have seen him take the championship to France in two weeks time – but a double crash on lap ten crushed his hopes and he finished a distant tenth. There was some
good news for Smets however. Later in the day he clinched the 650cc title.
Having won the earlier 125GP, Everts’ record tally of wins has now been extended to 69GP victories and seven world
titles. To put his results into perspective, the ‘next best’ rider of all-time is the legendary Joel Robert, with 50 wins and six world titles. Having won the 2001 and 2002 500cc championships it was
also Everts’ third successive world title with Yamaha.
Team-mate Marnicq Bervoets finished second to complete a historic day for the Yamaha L&M Motocross Team. It was Bervoets’ first podium
finish in an otherwise troublesome year for the experienced Belgian, but he avoided the first lap carnage and rode a smooth race to pick off early pace-setter Andrew McFarlane (Kawasaki) and eventual
third placed man Brian Jorgensen (Honda). Claudio Federici (Yamaha De Carli Team) rode strongly in a fierce mid-pack battle to claim seventh.
Stefan Everts (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) - first
“This is something I have been working for since I started GPs in 1989 - to be seven times world champion, to win more than anybody else. Even now it is only just starting to sink in, but in a few more
days I guess I will finally realise that my dream has come true. I made another great start and pushed really hard early on to open up a gap; I wanted to break the opposition immediately but I didn’t
know what was happening behind me.
“Early on I knew Smets was battling with McFarlane and Jorgensen but my team didn't signal me he was way back in 10th. It was only right at the finish that I
knew I was already the champion – I always thought it would be decided in two weeks’ time. The first clue I got was on the last lap when they put “seven times champion" on my pit board, but I was still
so involved in the race that I didn’t realise. It was only when I saw the victory T-shirts and champagne that I said to myself ‘Great, I did it !’”
Marnicq Bervoets (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) -
second ”That result has been a long time coming, and what a day to do, the same day Stefan clinched his seventh title. I've been riding well for the last few GPs but there always seemed to be something
happening to me. But I knew it was only a matter of time, and I felt so good all weekend. I made a good start and I saw immediately that I could pull back the couple of guys ahead of me except for
Stefan, so I was riding much looser. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't get on the podium again in France.”
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha L&M Motocross Team "What a perfect day! We did
not expect to win the championship today but Stefan rode so well. He was so smooth from start to finish while Smets made a mistake, but motocross is all about not making mistakes. This is a great
achievement for Stefan, Yamaha and everyone involved with the team."
Claudio Federici (Yamaha De Carli Team) - seventh ”I made a great start and had a good battle with Smets, Caps and Coppins.
But the pace was really hot today and in the end seventh was all I could manage.”
Less than a few hours before lifting the Motocross GP world title, Stefan Everts (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) completed the first part of another double victory by
winning the 125cc Motocross Grand Prix of the Czech Republic - extending Yamaha’s lead in the manufacturer’s championship.
Unlike his six previous wins in the class – Everts was forced to battle
from mid-pack after mistiming a gear change on the opening lap. That left outgoing world champion Mickael Maschio (Kawasaki) to set the early pace in a thrilling battle with Yamaha YZ250FM four-stroke
riders Alessio Chiodi (De Carli Yamaha Team) and Andrea Bartolini (Yamaha RZ Team).
Everts moved into the lead on lap eight as Chiodi started to slip back, leaving Bartolini to battle with
Maschio for second. Championship contender Bartolini tried every which way to get past Maschio, but the Frenchman rode a clever race to block the Italian’s move. Unfortunately Bartolini’s efforts opened
the door for Ben Townley (KTM) and the Italian finished fourth. Top Yamaha two-stroke rider was Luigi Seguy (Yamaha JK Racing).
Bartolini is currently second, two points ahead of Everts, with
Maschio a further five adrift. Steve Ramon leads with 217 points. The MX125 manufacturer’s title will be decided in Ernee, France, in two weeks time. Yamaha go into the final round with a 13 point lead
over second-placed KTM.
Stefan Everts (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) – first
“That was a real fun race. I made a good gate, but I missed my shift to fourth gear halfway down the straight, which
let a few riders pass me. Still, I enjoyed the race and it gave me the chance to show that I can win from behind too in this class.”
Andrea Bartolini (Yamaha RZ Team) - fourth
”I pushed early
to catch Maschio, and I could follow him without any difficulty. Passing was more difficult however as we both had the same lines. Then in the second half of the race, he started to slow and I fell into
the trap of dropping to his speed. That was how Townley was able to catch up and jump past me on the inside after a downhill jump.”
Alessio Chiodi (Yamaha De Carli Team) - sixth
"I felt really
good early on and was almost alongside Maschio for the lead several times. But I am still not back to 100 per cent fitness, I got arm pump and in four laps I slipped down to sixth."
Luigi Seguy
(Yamaha JK Racing) - seventh
"The best race of my season by a long way. We’ve got the two-stroke going well again and that ‘s made the difference. I lost one place to Eggens when he made an
aggressive pass but apart from that I was going forward."
Antoine Letellier (Yamaha RZ Team) – 16th
"The story of my season. Another bad start. I just can't get out of the gate, particularly
against the four-strokes. I felt I rode well after that, but it is always difficult to pass in 125 GPs.".”
KTM Joel Smets today clinched the 2003 650 World Championship for KTM. The Belgian earned his fifth career title
after winning his tenth race of the season at a cold and windy Loket for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic, round eleven of twelve, in front of 12,500 spectators.
Smets brushed off pain due to a fall in the MXGP moto that saw Stefan Everts claim the inaugural competition in the name of Yamaha, to defeat factory team-mate Javier Garcia Vico for the 8th time this
year. The celebrations helped erase the 10th place finish in the previous race that handed the MXGP crown to Everts as Smets fought back from 25th place on the
first lap (thanks to being involved in a first corner pile-up) and then falling heavily on lap 10 while holding 5th. Vico had earlier been leading the 650 race after passing hole-shotter Cedric
Melotte and went on to continue his 100% record of podium results this season.
In the 125cc GP Steve Ramon worked his way up to 8th from a bad start in a subdued race performance. His lowest
ranking of the year so far, coupled with the fourth place taken by Championship rival Andrea Bartolini, means the Belgian could not toast any title success this afternoon. He still carries a 22 point
advantage to the final race at Ernee, France, in two weeks time. Stefan Everts won the GP for his sixth consecutive 125/MXGP double and KTM’s Ben Townley grabbed
his second top three result in a row with a strong runner-up spot. Erik Eggens was fifth. World Enduro Champion Juha Salminen crossed the line 17th in his fourth 650 race appearance of the year.
Ben Townley, 2nd position:
“I have moved up another place on the podium and I’m happy for that. I struggled in the middle of the race today and I don’t know why. I held onto the back of Stefan for
the first 15 minutes but then they must have stepped up the pace because I could not go any faster; if you don’t stay with them then you cant fight with them. In the last ten minutes I found a good
rhythm and felt a lot quicker. I’ve made a fourth, third and a second and my aim now is to win in Ernee.”
Erik Eggens, 5th position:
“On the start Chiodi and Bartolini got ahead of me on the
straight and squeezed me out so I had to back off. Coming into the second corner I made up a couple of positions and was something like 8th or 9th. I then took a few laps to find my speed and was able
to work my way up to fifth and kept a good rhythm for the rest of the race. I am happy with my speed and now I am fifth in the Championship. I want a strong result in Ernee to keep this position, which
is not too bad considering I’ve had two DNFs this year.”
Steve Ramon, 8th position:
“My start was OK but someone came up the inside and hit me on the first corner and that lost me a lot of
positions. I found it difficult to make up ground and settle into the race. Once I had got past Sword then everyone was too far away. In the last few laps I didn’t take any risks. I knew where Bartolini
was and just wanted to score points.
Of course I was thinking about the Championship in the morning; it was hard not to. It would have been great to win the title today but now we have to wait until
Ernee.”
Joel Smets, 10th MXGP, winner and World Champion 650:
“I was feeling very confident for the MXGP race because the team have been working hard to make some small changes with the
suspension and the clutch. I was then too slow off the start and when you enter the first turn in the middle of the pack you have to be prepared for anything. So after the crash I was down in 25th and I
made my way through the field. My riding was good and the speed was high so I could gain enough positions. My lines were great and I thought I had a real chance of taking second. Stefan was too far away
and I had to be realistic; to reach second I thought was within my limits. When you are riding on the edge it can be risky and the crash came as a complete surprise. It was a big fall. The front wheel
hit the first braking bump after the jump and threw me over the forks; I don’t know why it happened because I did not feel out of control. I think I was more shocked than the people who saw it. I was
lucky to escape relatively unhurt. I kept riding mainly because I wanted to keep my muscles and body loose for the 650 race. I was in a bit of pain going into the 650 moto and I had my concerns about
taking part. My arm was sore and I knew my decision to keep on going in the MXGP class was a good one because now my hip and some other parts are feeling very stiff. I’m sure sleeping in the next few
nights will be difficult but if that is the price I have to pay every year for a World Championship then I am willing to pay it. This year mentally has been tough, more than I expected. I was confused
about my goal at the start of the season because we did not know if we would be competitive on the 450 and the 650 was labelled as some ‘second division’ title. Now I am so happy the Championship has
been won. In the first half of the year I thought I had the ability to beat with Stefan and Mickael but the combination of the rider and the bike turned out not to be on the same level and that is a
compliment to Stefan and Yamaha. I felt very emotional after the MXGP moto crash. The chance of the title had gone and there was a lot of pressure on me for the 650 race because I had the Championship
to lose. I am sad to be leaving KTM at the end of the year. We have won and lost together and that’s the sport but I feel that this is my last chance to take a step forward, it may be the wrong one but
it is the moment to try.”
Javier Garcia Vico, 2nd place, 650:
“For eight or nine laps the race was really good and I was pushing hard. I then started to lose some speed and knew that Joel was
coming. He caught up and again I tried to fight and stay with him but he was just too fast.
I really want to work on my condition and in my training for next year because I will move to the MXGP
class even though I am not sure of my plans yet. I have wanted to get closer to Joel all year and this is not a bad standard to try and reach! I have to say thanks to KTM and Telefonica for all the help
they have given me.”
Juha Salminen, 17th, 650:
“Timed practice was good, I was 14th and motocross is still a tricky discipline for me. The race was going very well at the beginning, I was
seventh for a while but then on lap five Bethys crashed in front of me and I went down. I restarted but was almost last, something like 26th. I climbed back up to 17th but fell again trying to gain
another position. Anyway it was a good experience this weekend and I liked the track. I will not go to Ernee because it clashes with a round of the Spanish Enduro Championship but I hope to make some
more motocross races next year.” HRC On the day when Stefan Everts claimed his seventh title by lifting the
first ever Motocross GP World Championship, Brian Jorgensen notched his second consecutive podium result for Honda as the manufacturer filled three positions in the top five after the Grand Prix of the
Czech Republic at Loket, round eleven of twelve in the 2003 campaign.
Everts guided the Yamaha to his eighth MXGP victory in a row and thanks to a race crash by KTM’s Joel Smets that saw the
Belgian cross the line down in tenth, Everts cannot be beaten entering the final round of the series in France in two weeks time. Brian Jorgensen on the 450cc Tiscali Honda fought with Everts’ team-mate
Marnciq Bervoets and Andrew McFarlane as the Champion-to-be escaped at the front. The Dane lapped the cold and windy confines of the Czech circuit, filled with 12,500 fans, at an impressive pace but was
unable to push Bervoets to the chequered flag in the contest for the runner-up spot.
Josh Coppins, the fastest and highest placed 250cc two-stroke rider, shook off a fight from CAS team-mate
Gordon Crockard to finish fourth. Crockard showed no ill-effects from his injured left wrist and despite a slow start was unlucky not to be further up the final ranking than fifth after a ‘coming
together’ with Smets immediately after the KTM man’s fall and a last lap error when he stalled the bike. Team mate, Yoshitaka Atsuta was almost involved in the first corner crash that forced at least
five riders to hit the dirt. The 2001 Japanese Champion was clearly suffering from the left shoulder he damaged while practising earlier this week and passed the chequered flag in 13th for eight
Championship points.
Jorgensen is now Honda’s top rider in the standings, lying in fourth position 17 points ahead of Kenneth Gundersen but sadly unable to catch the injured and absent Mickael
Pichon in third. Atsuta sits in ninth, ten points away from Bervoets in eighth, while Crockard (11th) faces a similar distance to Kevin Strijbos if he wants to break into the top ten. Josh Coppins is
five points behind his team-mate in 12th.
Stefan Everts earned his sixth double moto success with another win in the 125cc class; his sixth consecutive winners trophy in the category. He was
joined on the podium by Ben Townley and Mickael Maschio in second and third respectively.
Joel Smets was able to forget his MXGP disappointment in the celebrations for his fifth World
Championship collected after his tenth win of the year in the 650 series. Smets defeated his KTM team-mate Javier Garcia Vico while Cedric Melotte returned to the podium after an absence of two races
with third place and the second top three finish of the day for Honda.
Brian Jorgensen, 3rd position : MXGP “I was feeling good all weekend. This track is difficult because it is very bumpy. I
got into third position from the start and tried to ride very aggressively. I looked at McFarlane and just watched his lines. Once I passed him I then began to ride my own race. I was keeping an eye on
my board and working on my times because Stefan had already pulled out quite a lead.
Halfway through the race my shoulder started to trouble me and I lost my rhythm. For the first time this year I
started to get some arm-pump and Marnicq caught me. When he came through I wanted to follow him and make sure of third. It’s really nice to take my third podium of the season. I cannot get any higher in
the Championship so now I am just learning from the races and thinking about my lines to set-up me strongly for next year.
The Honda is a very good bike; I am only riding a stock machine with
semi-factory suspension. The engine is not far from Stefan’s and I think if we work more with the suspension we will have a bike capable of winning the World Championship.”
Josh Coppins, 4th
position : MXGP “We made a lot of improvements on the bike over the weekend and this helped in the race today. I took some time to get started and really picked up my pace as the GP went on. I still
have to work on my confidence and this will come with race time. My riding was good and I’m happy. I was easily the best 250cc rider out there. I want a podium on a hard track before the end of the year
and if I can push harder in the first few laps then I feel it’s possible.”
Gordon Crockard, 5th position : MXGP “I got involved in the crash at the start but then soon managed to catch up Josh.
Joel Smets had fallen, he didn’t see me coming around the corner and we collided. Our bikes were tangled and by the time I restarted Josh had disappeared. I had to catch up again and was riding quite
well.
I made a mistake on the last lap and stalled the bike, I was trying too hard and it was just a rider error. My pace all weekend was good and to be honest fifth place wasn’t what I had in mind.
I wasn’t tired today but I was a little scared at the beginning of pushing too hard. I did not really know what speed I could run and although it may sound a little stupid because I should have been
going flat-out, I did not want to go over the top. I backed off at the start too much and it cost me.”
Yoshitaka Atsuta, 13th position : MXGP “My start off the line was good but then I drifted
wide. It was difficult to pass on this circuit and I was riding in some pain because I hurt my shoulder in a crash on Tuesday. The last ten minutes of the race was very hard and I felt weak. I was not
so happy with my speed. Today was one of the hardest GPs of the year because I could not push. I hope for better in Ernee.”
Cedric Melotte, 3rd position 650: “I took the hole shot but from the
first lap I had trouble to find my lines. I pushed too hard, too fast. Vico and Joel were faster than me today and this is not my favourite track. I tried to ride smooth and easy once I was in third and
not make any mistakes. I was lacking confidence after the DNFs of the last two races, which both times were down to bad luck. I am happy with third today but my riding could have been better.” |
