Spain kickstarts the 2004 World Supercross GP.
The 2004 World Supercross GP Championship gets underway in just over a months time by making its first appearance at the Estadio Olimpico in Sevilla, southern Spain on Saturday, December 6th. The 17 race series will once again commence with two rounds in Europe this winter before beginning a 15 race stretch in the United States.
The 2004 World Supercross GP Championship gets underway in just over a months time by making its first appearance at the Estadio Olimpico in Sevilla, southern Spain on Saturday, December 6th. The 17 race series will once again commence with two rounds in Europe this winter before beginning a 15 race stretch in the United States.
The prestigious Estadio la Cartuja arena is located in one of the open areas that acted as the venue for the Universal Expo in 1992 and it has played host to International football such as last year's Uefa Cup final and Athletics events such as the 1999 IAAF World Championships. Now it will house a formidable 646 metre course of jumps, switchbacks and whoops to put the top SX riders in the world to the test.
Reigning Champion and factory Yamaha rider Chad Reed from Australia is expected to defend his title against the cream of America's SX talent. Ricky Carmichael (Honda), Tim Ferry (Yamaha), Mike LaRocco (Honda), Nick Wey (Suzuki), Ezra Lusk (Yamaha), and Mike Brown (Yamaha) are the pick of a wide pool of riders all gunning for Indoor glory.
Frenchman David Vuillemin was consistently posting podium results last season until an untimely injury limited his participation. His countryman and former Motocross World Champ Sebastien Tortelli is another hoping for WSX GP success. South Africa's Grant Langston is also hoping to forget his last campaign that was dogged by physical setbacks and use another season of SX experience to his advantage.
The Championship has the backing of a number of manufacturers submitting works efforts, namely Yamaha, KTM, Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki, all pitching a mix of 250cc two-stroke and 450cc four-stroke machinery to defy gravity and gruelling punishment.
Supercross is arguably the toughest and most demanding off-road motorcycle sprint racing show. The sport has enjoyed phenomenal support in the US since the 1970s and now the World series, in conjunction with the FIM, Clear Channel Entertainment and Dorna Sports, is aiming to bring the intense and frantic spectacle to more fans around the globe.
The race schedule in Sevilla will involved over nine hours of action on the Saturday including practice time, qualification heats and semi-finals along with the Main Event. To the delight of local enthusiasts a jump exhibition has also been included in the programme.
The second round of the European leg will arrive at the Gelredome, Arnhem, the Netherlands, one week after the extravaganza in Spain.
