Demaria clinches MX3 crown.

Victory at the last round of the MX3 Motocross World Championship, in Sevlievo (Bulgaria) last weekend, has handed KTM's Yves Demaria the 2004 title.

The French rider clinched his first individual title (he was member of the French Team that won the Motocross of Nations in 2000) after a difficult season.

Second in the first heat behind Italian Daniele Bricca, who claimed pole position, Demaria wanted to end the season with victory - as Stefan Everts and Ben Townley did in Ireland one day earlier.

Fourth at the start of the second moto he quickly took the lead and went on to win the last race of the season.

"They put a lot of water before the first heat, and I made a wrong choice of tyre as the track dried really fast," said Demaria after the race. "In the first corner Bricca tried to push me outside but I was taking care and decided to secure my second place as he was really excited and nervous.

"I'd a pretty good start in the following race, and wanted to win it. I passed both Beggi and Bricca and proved that I was the strongest this year. It was not an easy season with only five races between April and September, a broken chain in France and I had a lot of pressure from the medias and the factory.

"Everybody was expecting me to win this title, and I'm so happy to get it. I've worked really hard during fourteen years to reach my goal, I'd a couple of injuries and many GP wins, and today I got it finally," explained Demaria who seriously injured his back last year.