The proceedings were marred by minor controversy when Moto1 victor Stefan Everts collided with former sparring partner Cedric Mellote in the second heat and crashed. The current MX1 World Champion was livid with his fellow Belgian and eventually could not start the final race due to neck pain.
Steve Ramon was not able to match the efforts of his new MX1 team-mate. The Belgian started the day with 8th place after a bad jump from the gate. He then stalled the 450cc SX twice, finally collecting 18th in Moto2. Despite a damaged throttle courtesy of an errant flying stone in the last race, Ramon limped home with an afternoon best of 7th. MX3 team-member Sven Breugelmans began the day well with a strong 3rd but then could not reach the same standing.
There was little to cheer for the Champ MX2 team as Tyla Rattray and Carl Nunn both endured difficult start to their 2005 campaigns. Nunn complained of arm-pump riding the 125cc SX and tangled with another rider in the last moto that resulted in a broken fuel cap and retirement. Rattray, in his first competitive foray on the 250cc four-stroke, was slow out of the gate. He crossed the line 15th in the opening sprint after crashing and then could only take 13th in the following race. The final moto witnessed a better performance and he breached the top six. Marc De Reuver elected not to ride at Valance and is still working his way to full fitness. MX3 World Champion Yves Demaria also decided to sit out the meeting.
Ben Townley: “It was good to win today but it didn’t really mean a great deal and we still have a lot of work to do. Mickael Pichon and Smets were not here and Stefan was out of it, so I was expected to be at the front. I wanted to get into a rhythm today and it was not that easy in the weather conditions. During the second moto when it started to snow I backed off because it became a little scary!”
Results
Moto1:
1. Stefan Everts
2. Ben Townley
3. Sven Breugelmans
4. Pascal Leuret
5. Danny Theybers
6. Cedric Melotte
7. Marvin Van Daele
8. Steve Ramon
9. Brian Jorgensen
10. Tanel Leok
Moto2:
1. Melotte
2. Garcia Vico
3. Martin
4. Townley
5. Julien Bill
6. Leuret
7. C. Pourcel
8. S. Pourcel
9. Boissiere
10. Nemeth
Moto3:
1. Townley
2. Melotte
3. Bill
4. Leuret
5. Jorgensen
6. Rattray
7. Ramon
8. Nemeth
9. C. Pourcel
10. Delepierre
Overall:
1. Townley 65 points
2. Melotte 62
3. Leuret 51
4. Bill 36
5. Theybers 34
6. Nemeth 33
7. Ramon 30
8. Rattray 29
9. C. Pourcel 29
10. Jorgensen 28
…
Info KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG – Photos copyright Mx2k.com
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