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MX1 : Everts enforces championship position
Round: 8 - Grand Prix of Italy
Circuit: Castiglione del Lago
Date: 12 June 2005
Crowd: 18000
Temp: 26ºC
Weather: Changeable
Castigilione del Lago, located in the scenic region of Umbria, was the host for the eight round of motocross world championship. Solid results landed Yamaha L&M Motocross Team riders Stefan Everts and Brian Jorgensen respectively second and fourth overall. Everts' closest contender Mickael Pichon (Honda) had a black weekend and failed to score points, allowing Stefan to walk away with a healthy 339 points tally, 63 points more than second placed Joël Smets (Suzuki), Pichon drops back to fourth in standings, while Jorgensen climbs up to eighth.
Danish star Brian Jorgensen enjoyed a thrilling first race to wipe out bad memories of last week's drama in England. Jorgensen grabbed the holeshot ahead of Smets (Suzuki) and France's Pascal Leuret. The MX1 riders rolled along the hard packed track in close formation trailing Jorgensen, but Ben Townley was clearly the man on the move. By half race distance the MX2 world champion had climbed up from fourth to take the lead. However after two laps Townley dropped back to third following a small mistake. The end of the race saw a nail-biting thriller with Jorgensen and Townley dicing for victory. On the last lap Jorgensen seemed to have a slight edge over the New-Zealander, when Brian had to settle for a heart braking second when a mechanical problem four corners before the end handed victory to Townley. Leuret managed a surprising third ahead of Smets, while Everts had to settle for fifth after a difficult race troubled by arm pump.
Jorgensen tried to repeat his performance in the next race and rode his YZ450FM to another holeshot. However Jorgensen's winning aspirations for this race were short lived as an aggressive Townley quickly stormed into the lead before the end of the first lap. Belgian star Everts was also back on form and strode smoothly to second. With Everts chasing down Townley another spectacular clash was in the making. After eleven laps Stefan made the pass on Townley, but the latter was not to be counted out and stayed in contact with the eight-time world champion. When Everts started lapping near the end, the classic confusion with the back markers came into full effect. Not only did it allow Townley to come back right behind Everts, when Stefan hit the rear wheel of Daniele Bricca, Townley was handed victory on a plate. Smets finished third, Spanish hope Barragan, Coppins and Jorgensen completed the top six. Pichon retired with injury, while his fellow country man Luigi Seguy, (Yamah! a-JK racing) rode to eighth.
The Grand Prix of France, round nine of the World Championship, takes place in two weeks time on June 26th in Saint-Jean d'Angely.
Stefan Everts (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) - second overall "Generally I'm happy to finish second today. I did not have a good start in the first race and it was hard to catch up because I suffered arm pump. In the second race I felt a lot more comfortable. I changed my lines, and the track had changed a little as well. Unfortunately I had the same awful situations when lapping riders and that's how I fell. It's a very frustrating situation and I think the FIM should consider how to deal with this problem. I think my position in the championship is looking good, but the title is still far off and I really need to push for five more GPs. For now I'm looking forward to having next weekend off, and of course the upcoming GP at Saint Jean d'Angely because that is a track I really enjoy."
Brian Jorgensen (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) - fourth overall "I had two great starts today and that made things a little bit easier. I was happy with my points score in the first race, but I was really upset how I finally lost the race. The second heat was a little strange because again I had the holeshot and I felt good on the track, but my speed was just not sufficient. I tried to stay with the front runners, but gradually I lost some ground. Anyway I feel like I'm getting back into the groove after all the bad lack I had lately, so I can't wait to back this up with good results in France."
Race classification MX1
Round: 8 - Grand Prix of Italy
Circuit: Castiglione del Lago
Circuit Length: 1748
Lap Record: 1' 56.934 (Mickael Pichon, 2002)
