2005 FIM Motocross World Championships Round One from Zolder, Belgium

As usual the opening round of the 2005 FIM World Motocross Championship was marked by much excitement and anticipation. The surprising results of the '05 pre-season International MXs had many wondering if this was the year eight-time World Champion Stefan Everts would finally be beaten. And with last year's MX2 class champion Ben Townley making the jump to the MX1 class, who would rule the MX2 class? Judging by the results from round one in Zolder, Belgium this past weekend, Everts could very well be on his way to another title. The Yamaha L&M rider took the MX1 overall, and his 80th career GP win. South African Tyla Rattray has shown he has a strong season ahead after making a clean sweep in the MX2 class.

MX1 Class

When the gate dropped for Moto1, Suzuki Corona factory rider Kevin Strijbos grabbed the holeshot followed by Mickael Pichon, Ben Townley, Ken De Dycker, Joel Smets and Joshua Coppins. Strijbos still suffering from a twisted ankle relinquished the lead early and during the second lap Pichon passed him. Meanwhile Stefan Everts pushed hard to overcome a miserable start and managed to squeeze his factory Yamaha YZ450FM into third after four laps. He passed MX2 World Champion Ben Townley for second in lap seven then got around Pichon on the inside of a tight left hand drop off just past the race's halfway point. From there the Yamaha L&M rider went on to win the first Moto of the season followed by Pichon and Townley with fellow Belgians De Dijcker and Smets rounding out the top five.

In Moto2, it was former World Champion Joel Smets' turn for the holeshot. Honda Martin rider Mickael Pichon was hot in his tail, but the veteran Belgian rider was hungry for victory and eager to offset his horrible 2004 season. Despite Pichon's valiant efforts, he could not catch Smets, and again, the French rider finished second. Another poor start for Everts left him climbing up from a sixth place start. Whittling down the field lap after lap, he finally finished third–good enough to claim the overall MX1 victory ahead of Pichon and Smets.

Stefan Everts: "I felt strong in the first heat and I was able to control my race even after a bad start. I found a couple of really good lines around the track, but near the end of the race I had to dig deep to come back. This was probably the reason why I lacked the energy to push myself in the second race. I got stuck in fourth behind Barragan and when I found some good lines at the back of the track, I was finally able to make a pass on him. Obviously I'm happy with the end result today and hopefully I can still improve on my condition as the season goes on."

Mickael Pichon: "I was a little disappointed with the first moto because I had such a big lead after a few laps. We only had the factory Showa suspension from Japan two weeks ago and that hasn't left us with much time for testing, and coming to tracks like this without preparation doesn't make an easy race. The track was physically very demanding—after five laps my arms pumped up really bad. But I feel that two second place finishes here in Belgium are a very good result."

Joel Smets: "This is unbelievable. I cannot explain my feelings. After spending days in intensive care and with all the pain in my knee, leading this race for 40 minutes on a very physical track reminds me of all the work I have put in and why I get up every day to do more. I can usually talk from morning to night but right now I can't think of anything to say. This is one of the happiest days of my life. After all that happened last year, this is like winning my first GP."

Ben Townley: "Everyone says I should be happy but I feel that I should have been on the podium. I crashed twice today. The second one was a stupid mistake; the front wheel just washed out. The first one was just a racing incident with Pichon; maybe I should have waited and taken him in a better place. I have to work on my starts; they are letting me down and making my races harder. Overall, it was a good weekend. We still need to work on a better set up and we will progress from here."

MX2 Class

Factory MX2 rider Tyla Rattray shook off the effects of a several day hospitalization due to a leg infection to sweep the MX2-class opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championships. The South African was fastest in every practice session on Saturday aboard his KTM 250F. He won his qualification heat, posted the best time in morning warm-up and then produced two flawless performances during Sunday's motos. It was his fourth career success.

Like his Yamaha L&M team mate Everts, Cédric Melotte also suffered two bad starts, but finished number two overall with two second place finishes. Returning to FIM Motocross GP, American Mike Brown finished 11th overall. The RWJ Honda rider was holding fourth place in the first race but arm-pump caused him to slip back to 18th.

Moto 1 saw Australian Andrew McFarlane take the holeshot on his Yamaha followed by Melotte, Rattray, Alessio Chiodi and Mickael Maschio. After only a few laps, Rattray took the lead and ran away with the win. Italian Antonio "Young Goblin" Cairoli recovered from an early mistake to climb up from tenth to fifth in the end.

Another Yamaha rider, this time Cairoli, holeshot Moto 2, but Rattray quickly overtook him for the lead. Melotte made a great recovery from his bad start for the second time and crossed the finish line in second place. McFarlane and Frenchman Sébastien Pourcel each earned a third position and both scored 35 points, but a better second heat result put Pourcel on the podium alongside Rattray and Melotte.

Tyla Rattray: "I'm really happy with my win today, it's the first time that I won two motos. I was really confident with my bike and with the track this weekend, and even with a bad start in the first race I got the win. It has been a difficult GP for me, I was in the hospital for four days before the race due to a leg infection, but the result is great."

Cédric Melotte: "I came from third to the lead in the first race, but I got awful arm pump and I just had to let Rattray go. I completely missed my start in the second race and it was hard to find the right rhythm and to see properly through all the dust. Last year I won the MX1 GP here, but I'm not disappointed with my second overall. I hurt my shoulder during a practice crash in the week before this race, so my mission to limit the damage was successful. I knew before the season [began that] Rattray was going to be strong, but my goal is to be consistent throughout the year."

Mike Brown: "In the first moto I got a good start and was right up there but then my arms got tight and I must have just been a little too excited. It was not the moto I planned and I took a pretty bad result but everything is new and I think I was just too excited trying to win. I think the more I ride the better I will be. The second moto was not so bad. I got up to third or fourth and started to get tight again. I tried to relax and my arms eased up in the last 10-15 minutes so I could get going again. There are plenty more races to come."