Good Stefan, bad Stefan
By TMX Archives on 12th Oct 04
Everts goes from hero to villain and back again STEFAN EVERTS cemented his reputation as the finest GP MXer of all time when he clinched his eighth world title at Ballykelly, the penultimate GP of '04. The 31-year-old Belgian, son of four-time world champ Harry, finished the season a massive 68 points ahead of nearest rival Mickael Pichon - despite a controversial no-score in moto two at the series finale in South Africa. After a sensational season that's seen Stefan rewrite the MX record books, become a father for the first time and help Belgium to their second successive MX des Nations win, the only blot on his '04 CV occurred at Sun City. Following a race one second behind Pichon he clashed with the Frenchman in moto two, crashed and saw red. As Pichon went past on the return loop, Everts ran across and - in full view of the TV cameras - threw his goggles in the Tiscali Honda rider's face. If that wasn't enough to land him in hot water with the FIM and Youthstream, Stefan was also - incorrectly - singled out as the ring-leader when the MX1 riders staged a 10-minute 'down tools' as a protest at financial conditions laid down by GP promoters Youthstream for '05. Everts travelled to Leirop for the des Nations with the threat of a possible ban hanging over him. But the clouds began to lift when, in a pre-race press conference, Stefan and Mickael kissed and made up. "I want to clearly express to the fans, the media and the Federation that, as far as I am concerned, this incident is over," said Pichon. "And I hope whatever is possibly decided by the Disciplinary Commission keeps the general interest of motocross in mind. The GPs need great champions like Stefan Everts. I know it motivates me to race - and sometimes beat - the greatest performer." And there was more good news for Stefan after he took the individual win, despite racing with a broken cheekbone following a mid-week practice crash. At a post-race press conference Youthstream president Giuseppe Luongo called for the Sun City controversy to be laid to rest. "I cannot speak for the FIM because they will decide what to do themselves but Youthstream has decided that no action will be taken against the top teams or the riders because of what happened last week in South Africa," says Giuseppe. "We have just had a fantastic end to the season with the world's greatest race a great success. Now we finish happy and I do not want a bad situation all winter." The MX2 crown was also decided at a wet and muddy Ballykelly with Kiwi teenager Ben Townley sewing up the series. BT will now step up to the MX1 division for '05.