Wight heat!
By TMX Archives on 18th May 04
IT'S BEEN four long years but it's been worth waiting for - the British GP is back!In the '50s and '60s it was Hawkstone, in the '70s Farleigh, in the '80s both and for the final decade of the last millennium we all IT'S BEEN four long years but it's been worth waiting for - the British GP is back!In the '50s and '60s it was Hawkstone, in the '70s Farleigh, in the '80s both and for the final decade of the last millennium we all packed the slopes of the Foxhill valley. And now the Spring Bank Holiday weekend gives us a new shrine - Gore Basin.The track's British championship baptism last summer was sensational but that was nothing compared with the festival - and the Isle of Wight knows something about those - that awaits us over the weekend of May 29/30.And after a couple of years in the doldrums, as Gordy's injuries have prevented him from mounting the title challenge we all know he's capable of, we've once again got a Brit going for gold!Forget MX1 (well, we'll watch it of course), the big deal at Gore Basin is MX2 with what promises to be THE classic confrontation of the summer between hot favourite Ben Townley on the factory KTM and our - see what being a dbr columnist can inspire - very own Stephen Sword on the factory Kwacker!Swordy's launch into the very top echelon of world motocross this year has even surprised himself as the 24-year-old Scot - and his new boss Jan De Groot - wanted to consolidate his GP presence with his first podiums, maybe even a win and certainly top six in the world.But his campaign has gone from strength-to-strength. That maiden career podium came at round one in March as Stephen ignored a swollen ankle and blitzed through the pack in both motos to take fifth in race one and a startling second in race two, earning the bubbly alongside the devastatingly dominant factory KTMs around the rugged Zolder track in Belgium.A week later it got even better. At a muddy Bellpuig in not-so-sunny Spain, Swordy displayed true highland grit when he muscled himself out of a bottomless rut which would later claim two-time MX1 champ Mickael Pichon to again mount the podium and, more significantly, claim the red plate of the series leader.The impact of that honour should not be underestimated. Stephen was a foot taller from the moment he pointed the Kwacker onto the track for first practice in Portugal as the series made its third halt in as many weeks on the whistle-stop tour.His confidence brimming, Swordy gave the KTMs a run in race one and then ran them into the ground in race two for his career first GP moto victory. "That red plate made me realise that I should upgrade my target for 2004. And that first moto win was just the next step. Now I want overall wins too and I want everyone to realise that I am a genuine candidate for the title too!"The Dutch sand of Valkenswaard was always going to be the toughest task of the season but only positional changes elsewhere in the pack on the final lap of racing cost Stephen his fourth consecutive podium and the gap between the Scot and third place in the standings was already growing.And then there was Teutshenthal...So what about the man Swordy has to beat? Ben Townley arrived in Europe on a plane ticket he'd been sent after answering an internet search for talent. He was 15 years old, his parents and mates were on the other side of the globe and within weeks he was hurt. But his outrageous talent didn't go unnoticed.When he got back on a bike, it was a semi-factory SSX KTM and his second season saw him bashing bars with eventual champion Maschio and running down champion-to-be Ramon for his maiden GP win in Sweden. His third season should have brought the title but life-threatening internal injuries and a busted wrist cost him half-a-year and put those FIM gold hopes on hold.So 2004 has to be the season when it all comes together in Europe as a platform for a career in America - and BT has already won three of the first five GPs. The 19-year-old is hot favourite but he admitted in Portugal that he knows where the danger lies. "De Reuver doesn't worry me. He crashes too often. The main threat was always going to be Sword - he's so consistent and he's finally showing the speed in GPs which he's always had in Britain."Yup, the world is finally seeing the pace that's brought Stephen two consecutive British titles. And on a track on UK soil where he's already won and with the backing of the best fans in the world - that's you, screaming, chanting, airhorns blowing - the stocky Scot will grow another foot. He won't let you down. So don't let him down!The 'premier' MX1 class will follow MX2 and here too new life has been injected into the class as youth advances to challenge experience. Record champ Stefan Everts is still the man to beat as he heads the series with wins in Spain and Holland but the 31-year-old can't even rely on being first man home from the Rinaldi Yamaha team now that Cedric Melotte has replaced Marnicq Bervoets at his side.The 25-year-old from Namur - what a place to be born! - took the honours at round one in Belgium and ran away from the pack in the opening moto in Holland to force Everts to a tie-break on the day. These endeavours have been rewarded with second place in the series and the SX-style sections of the Gore Basin track will suit him down to the ground.Five-time world champ Joel Smets started the season in the doldrums as a wrecked knee sent him to round one with virtually no preparation but by round four he was on the podium, Suzuki's first with a bike over 250cc for 21 years. The title is gone which makes individual wins even more important.And wins can also not be too far away for Smets' team-mate Kevin Strijbos who has led races this year - in Spain he was 17 seconds in front at one stage - but is just lacking the stamina to keep it going to the chequered flag.KTM's Steve Ramon and Kenneth Gundersen have both had podiums but the biggest threat to the Yamahas comes from two old rivals working out of separate Honda trucks.Many thought Mickael Pichon would struggle after a knee operation kept him off a bike for five months but the Frenchman has already taken a 30th career GP win in Portugal. The 28-year-old Tiscali teamster is missing the points which a grounded bike (it took three grown men 20 minutes to extract it from the bottomless rut) and a malfunctioning gate cost him in Spain but there's still a long way to go in the 16-round series and MP is a fighter.The same goes for Josh Coppins, the CAS Kiwi who's overcome career-threatening injuries to return to the top. All was going to plan with podiums at the first three rounds but a DNF when his bike ran out of fuel - Smets had punctured the tank when he rode over the stricken bike - and a painful finger injury in Holland have left the 27-year-old playing catch-up.Then there's former British champ Brian Jorgensen, another of Honda's hopes. An up-and-down start to the season has left the Dane back in ninth in the points standings - but it was a lot worse until his double race win in Germany!While Josh is 'Britain's' only potential winner in the class, a third of the points scorers every week are based in the UK. Yoshi Atsuta took time to settle this year but is now regularly back in the top 10 and RWJ's James Noble was doing likewise until a hiccup when he damaged muscles behind the knee in training last month. Chris Burnham has adapted well to the Chambers KTM to also post top 10 placings when he doesn't crash, team-mate Mark Hucklebridge can be relied on to score even though he's yet to show his UK form in GPs and Stuart Flockhart is back on the scene after initially failing to land a GP start.Paul Cooper hopes to be back from the shoulder he wrecked in Portugal - just as he was starting to eat factory riders for breakfast - but the UK sensation of the year in the class has been Tanel Leok, Motovision's Estonian Express.The once crash-happy teenager, the second youngest rider in the field who will not be 19 until the Tuesday after the race, has finally got enough power to satisfy his desire after moving to the bigger bikes. He's now well-established in the top 10, both in individual motos and the series - and he already knows Gore Basin from a wild card ride last summer!So there you have it - the world elite, a host of home-based riders in both classes, a glorious track, off-track action all weekend and a British world title candidate into the bargain. What more could you ask?A Swordy win of course! So be there, play your part and tell your grandchildren about it in 2030!By Alex Hodgkinson