Stefan Everts Wins the First Round of the 2006 FIM MX World Championship in Zolder, Belgium

Bad weather set the stage for Saturday's race, with strong wind and low temperatures alongside an incessant rain. But all of this did not keep away 16,000 spectators who turned up Sunday morning in the pouring rain. Fortunately, the sun eventually came out in the afternoon and dried out the soggied track, which made the soil ideal.

In the MX1Class, the challenge started right away between the 9-time World Champion, Belgian Stefan Everts and his direct opponent, Frenchman Sebastien Tortelli.

On the sandy track of Zolder (Belgium), littered with enormous holes and big ruts, the two riders raced against each other in a spectacular duel, finishing off the day with the same score (47 points), each taking a moto win. But because Everts won the final moto (due to rules), the overall GP victory went to the Yamaha-Rinaldi rider who is now up to the incredible number of 88 GPs won in his career.

Sebastien Tortelli holeshot the first moto and set a fast pace from the very beginning. Everts was in second, off Tortelli's pace in the early laps of the race, but he gradually began to close the gap on Tortelli. Three quarters into the race, Everts slipped, but managed to get back on the bike without losing a position, or much time, but Tortelli now had a much better lead.

In the second moto, roles were reversed as Everts grabbed the holeshot, leaving Tortelli to play catch-up. Tortelli tried to take over the lead but Everts' riding was much smoother in respect to the previous moto, and also looked as though he'd figured out some better lines. Tortelli, at this point, tried harder to close the gap on Everts. He had reeled in the defending champ to within three seconds, only to crash and lose precious time trying to relight his factory KTM. Stefan took the checkers and Sebastien came in behind him, in second place.

From the looks of round one, we can say that this year's battle for the MX1 World Championship will be between these two riders. To get an idea of their speed and determination, take a look at the position chart for the first moto; they lapped everyone up to the fifth place.

It has to be said, though, that this event missed out on two other great riders: Joshua Coppins and Mickael Pichon.

Coppins unfortunately suffered a shoulder injury the week before the GP. He tried to race during Saturday's free practice session, but the pain was too much and he decided not to race. The Honda Cas rider is now looking at six weeks of rest; contention in the World Championship at this point seems compromised for the New Zealander.

Pichon's condition is getting better after a two-week flu; he raced even though he was ill. But in the second lap of the first moto, the French rider fell off his factory KTM while he was running seventh, and he decided to pull off. Considering his less-than-ideal conditions, he did not race the second moto.

Estonian rider Tanel Leok did pretty well even though he suffered from stomach pains as well as bad shoulder pains caused by a previous injury. He finished third overall with a 3-4 for the day. The factory Kawasaki rider started off eighth in both heats but managed to get on the podium for the first time in his career.

Stefan Everts
"I was making a lot of mistakes in the first race and was not riding smooth enough to really catch Sebastien. After that though, the ice was broken and I knew I had one more moto to make things better. I changed my position on the start line and got into the first corner ahead. I pushed really hard in those first few laps and Sebastien was with me for a while but I focused on my own riding and it worked. I was happy with the bike. We changed a few little things with suspension but the performance was great today and I felt comfortable. It is very early for the Championship. Sebastien is right there but Pichon missed a lot of points today, Josh (Coppins) is out and I expected the Suzuki boys to be closer, but there is still a long way to go (in the Series)."

Sebastien Tortelli
"It was a great weekend. We had a decent first moto and I was very happy. The second race was good also, I got into a quick second place behind Stefan and he was pushing hard. His speed was good but I was comfortable with it. Stefan is a strong rider and I knew I had to bide my time and see when to pass him. At one point I struggled to get through the lapped riders and he made a small breakaway. I caught him back and was close when I had an incident with another lapper who took away my front wheel while I was jumping. It was harsh but I suppose we have to get used to that because we are going at a great speed and there were not many blue flags on the track. Those guys are still fighting for positions and points so they are not just going to move over. I am happy with this first race. Compared to 1998 I have more experience and feel more prepared. I think it will be a great year for us, Stefan and I, but I will be stronger."

Tanel Leok
"My start was not that good in race one but I thought I was seventh or fifth or something, it was difficult to see my pit signals but then after a few laps I could see my pit board which read 'third' so I was happy as I had a big gap on fourth place so I wasn't under any pressure, I just settled down to ride my own race as Everts and Tortelli were too far ahead.

"Third place is good anytime, but with an injury, I couldn't believe my luck. Although I was struggling between the motos with severe stomach cramps, I don't know why but it might have been dehydration. My start could have been better but I was in third position but my stomach pain was so bad I had to back off and Strijbos passed me, I just tried to hang with him and try for the podium, that was making me work hard and ride through the pain. Compared with this time last year I feel we have taken big strides with the setup of the race bike and hopefully I can start to build and continue the season with results like this."

MX2 Class

The MX2 class (AMA equivalent of Lites) was far more eventful and dramatic as opposed to the MX1 class. The overall victory went to South African Tyla Rattray, who got third in the first moto, despite a broken front brake, and absolutely dominated the second moto.

The first moto was very eventful right from the start. Reigning World Champion, Italian Antonio Cairoli, immediately got out front with a good sprint off the line, but unfortunately the Yamaha-De Carli rider crashed during the first lap and the lead passed to the young French rider, Sebastien Pourcel.

Pourcel's advantage didn't last too long, however; after a few laps the rider and his Kawasaki were overtaken by the factory KTM of Marc De Reuver who now held the lead. Behind him was his teammate David Phillippaerts who had clawed his way up from seventh place, and in the 13th lap, moved into the lead.

Tyla Rattray started off in second, and in spite of not being in complete control due to damage to his front brake, he was able to keep up a good pace and finished third.

Without the shadow of a doubt the most interesting rider was Kenneth Gundersen. After spending two horrible years in the MX1class with various injuries to his knee, the Norwegian decided this year to return to the MX2 class on the Ricci Racing Team, which has him aboard an excellent and very fast Yamaha.

After the start he was in eighth place and then he smartly recovered. But what's really impressive is that he did it without his goggles that got fogged up after the first lap. He ditched them and then carried on the race without them. It's hard to comprehend racing on a sandy, wet track like Zolder without goggles and getting a second place finish.

As the gate came down in the second moto, it was Portuguese rider Rui Goncalves with the lead. Tyla Rattray rode smart and followed him for four laps, eventually overtaking Gouncales. Once in the lead, nobody even got close to Rattray, who rode to an unchallenged win.

After lack-luster starts, Cairoli and DeReuver start working through the pack together, coming from seventh to second and ninth to third, respectively. Cairoli was expected to perform better, but the Italian crashed his bike on Saturday and hurt his left leg. On top of that, he's never been too fond of this track, either.

Tyla Rattray
"We had a lot of rain and the track was very soft and rutty but overall it was a good weekend. I knew coming into the race that Cairoli, De Reuver and Philippaerts would all be strong but I just went out there and did my best.

"When my brakes failed in the first moto I could not believe it. It was really hard to then try and ride around that but I managed to take third. On the sighting lap of the second race I knew I was going to win; the track was drying out and I love those kinds of rough conditions. I did the double in 2005 and I know that I could have done it again today but there are many riders that would have pulled in without any brakes; I have to admit it was pretty scary at times! I won the race and got some good Championship points so, all-in-all, not a bad way to start the season".

Marc de Reuver
"I made a great start and pulled a gap over everybody but then began to crash! It wrecked my race and although I finished fourth I was disappointed. I could follow Cairoli OK in the second moto and the position was good enough for an overall podium and I am happy with second. I have chosen just to focus on the World Championship this year and the most consistent one of us is going to hold the advantage for sure".

Kenneth Gundersen
"This feels unbelievable. I have been out for so long. Last year I did some GPs but my leg was not good enough to ride. I trained a lot this winter and the way that this team have supported me is incredible. Yamaha and so many people have helped me and this came out today. In the first moto I felt like I could have won if I didn't have to throw away my goggles on the first lap; second place was good though. It took me a little while to get going in the second race and finally I ran out of time to take any more positions."

Antonio Cairoli
"The first heat was not so good because I crashed on the first lap and I lost a lot of time and positions to get going again. I was totally last and had a lot of work to do. I finished 15th and it was OK for training because I do not like this track so much! In the second race I started well but in the first corner someone touched me and it cost me a few places. I caught and passed many riders like De Reuver and Pourcel. Tyla is always very good at this track. My leg was OK and is only stiff when I am resting."

MX2 Class