Smets pushes Everts to the end.

Joel Smets came within a whisker of taking his first MX GP class victory on Sunday at Namur, leading the early stages before being passed by countryman Stefan Everts.

The pair - cheered by the fanatical home fans - were rarely separated by more than a second for the rest of the race, and when Everts ran wide with half a lap to go, collecting some 12ft of plastic trackside fencing in his rear wheel, Smets should have been in a position to seize victory... but would make a mistake of his own.

"I rode a good race," he began. "I knew Stefan was fast and didn't want to waste too much energy at the start with a plan to attack him at the end. I used the same tactic he took with me and just followed him for a while. My speed was good towards the end but I just made a slip on the final corner that lost me the race."

Worse was to follow for the four times world champion when his 100% win record in the 650cc category was ruined by an early race mistake, which meant he could not threaten the leading duo of Cedric Melotte (the eventual victor) and team-mate Javier Garcia Vico.

"I had a problem from the minute the gate fell to the chequered flag," sighed Joel. "I could not find my rhythm at all and wasn't able to use any of my lines from the MXGP moto because they had put so much water on the track.

"I was struggling on the first lap and was all over the place; I lost control went sideways and smashed the front of the bike. It was hard to correct myself and get going. The front mudguard was flapping around and it would have been a lot better if it has just broken off. I am disappointed with third and also feel sorry for Vico that he wasn't able to get the win," he added.

Vico himself wasn't too devastated at missing out on victory, sounding pleased simply to have made the flag after the hectic final laps.

"It was a good race but at the end it was like using the Playstation! The fans came onto the track and I had to dodge so many people!" he exclaimed. "The track was difficult and bumpy; I almost stalled the bike a few times. Cedric pushed hard in the last laps and I lost the back of him after a good battle early on. Now I hope to ride and practice in the sand back in Holland and get ready for Lierop."