Just one week after the Grand Prix of Flanders, the Motocross World Championship moves on to Spain this weekend with Cedric Melotte and Ben Townley leading the early MX1 and MX2 championship standings.
Round one at Zolder was probably one of the toughest tracks visited by the world Championship in recent few seasons and, together with the return of the two motos format, there were plenty of surprises as the likes of multiple champions Stefan Everts, Joel Smets and - to a lesser extent - Mickael Pichon, overshadowed by their younger rivals such as Melotte, Steve Ramon, Kevin Strijbos and Josh Coppins.
However the season is a long one - with no less than thirty motos - and the move away from the ‘specialist’ sandy Belgian soil of Zolder is likely to provide a truer reflection of the 2004 championship.
Home of the Spanish Grand Prix for many years, the Catalan track of Bellpuig is one of the most popular of the season with a terrain offering good grip, a couple of up-and-downhills and the typical lively Spanish atmosphere.
Winner of the last three editions (250 class in 2001-2002, then MXGP in 2003), Frenchman Pichon will be looking for a podium result after fifth overall in Flanders:
“Without a crash at the start of the second moto I would have been on the podium twice,” commented the former double champion. “I was stressed for my comeback in GP’s and made a couple of mistakes but come secured points. I’m lucky that I didn’t get injured, as I was buried under a couple of bikes after the crash and I’m sure that everything will be easier for me in Spain.”
For Everts and Smets, who both started the season without their usual level of preparation, time is working in their favour as their physical condition is slowly improving each day. They are both unlikely to be capable of victory this weekend, but a podium result is definitely possible, and both have stood on the final podium in the last three editions of the Spanish GP.
