Posted: Tuesday, 29th June, 2004 : 5:23 PM - - 4,361 Reads

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Just two weeks after joining compatriots Jeff Leisk and Chad Reed as the only Australians to have won a world motocross race, McFarlane, on the Bike It Dixon Yamaha YZ250F, maintained his new-found intensity to claim the honours in race two by 4.052sec over 2002 world 125cc champion Mickael Maschio (Kawasaki). Earlier, McFarlane was – literally - embroiled in a rolling scrum for the lead in the opening MX2 race against fellow antipodean Ben Townley (KTM) before he had to retire with a damaged front wheel.

	Andrew McFarlane. Photo Roddy MacLeod

“I was confident before the opening race that I could do a good job and I felt my speed was right,” said 27-year-old McFarlane. “I got a good start and the made a small mistake in the whoops. When Townley tried to pass me he touched the plastic of my form guard and the material ran into the wheel.

“I was how it was ruining my wheel, so I pulled in. I really wanted to make my mark in the second race because I knew I had the speed to run with Townley and I was upset about the first race.

“Townley then pulled out with technical problems, but Maschio passed me when I made a small mistake. I pulled everything together at the end and it worked out.”

The victory was McFarlane’s third in four races, which saw him draw equal with Leisk on world championship wins – a huge turnaround for the Brisbane rider after an inconsistent start to the year.

Despite the catalogue of wins – only Townley has won more races in 2004 – McFarlane still remains in fourth on 285pts, with Briton Stephen Sword (Kawasaki, 306) now in his sights. Sword failed to garner any points in Belgium after a bad crash in race one, which saw South African Tyla Rattray (KTM, 331pts) move up a spot after second and fourth place finishes.

In MX1, Frenchman Mickael Pichon (Honda) took maximum advantage of pole position for one of the few times this year with a win in the opening 18-lapper, before the irrepressible Stefan Everts (Yamaha) chimed in with a victory in race two.

The latter is now a whopping 102pts (443 to 341) in front of Pichon as he zeroes in on an unprecedented eighth world title.

Meanwhile, Brian Jorgensen (Honda) and Kevin Strijbos (Suzuki) completed the podium in race one, with Pichon and Steve Ramon (KTM) performing likewise in the final instalment. Of the duo, Ramon is the best placed in the championship, fourth on 317pts, behind New Zealand’s Josh Coppins (Honda, 337).

Round 11 of 16 will be held at Uddevalla in Sweden this weekend.

Main Photo: Andrew McFarlane
Credit: Roddy MacLeod

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Bike	Laps	Gap
1	Pichon, Mickael	FRA	Honda	18	0:00.000
2	Jorgensen, Brian	DEN	Honda	18	0:06.908
3	Strijbos, Kevin	BEL	Suzuki	18	0:08.951
4	Coppins, Joshua	NZL	Honda	18	0:13.460
5	Ramon, Steve	BEL	KTM	18	0:14.673
6	Everts, Stefan	BEL	Yamaha	18	0:16.365
7	Leok, Tanel	EST	Suzuki	18	0:42.091
8	Seguy, Luigi	FRA	Yamaha	18	0:51.539
9	Breugelmans, Sven	BEL	KTM	18	0:59.062
10	Freibergs, Lauris	LAT	Honda	18	1:12.185
11	Burnham, Christian	GBR	KTM	18	1:27.607
12	Kovalainen, Marko	FIN	Honda	18	1:30.853
13	Hucklebridge, Mark	GBR	KTM	18	1:34.787
14	Bill, Julien	SUI	KTM	18	1:35.822
15	Dobes, Josef	CZE	Suzuki	18	1:42.877
16	Theybers, Danny	BEL	Yamaha	18	2:00.621
17	Dini, Fabrizio	ITA	KTM	18	2:11.369
18	Oddenino, Enrico	ITA	TM	18	2:25.374
19	Noble, James	GBR	Honda	17	1 lap(s)
20	Godrie, Christof	BEL	Honda	17	1 lap(s)
21	Boller, Andreas	GER	Honda	17	1 lap(s)
22	Traversini, Thomas	ITA	Aprilia	17	1 lap(s)
23	Beconini, Manuel	ITA	Yamaha	17	1 lap(s)
24	Segers, David	BEL	Yamaha	17	1 lap(s)
25	Melotte, Cedric	BEL	Yamaha	9	9 lap(s)
26	Seronval, Steve	BEL	Yamaha	6	12 lap(s)
27	Burkhart, Luke	NZL	Suzuki	5	13 lap(s)
28	de Dijcker, Ken	BEL	Honda	4	14 lap(s)
29	Atsuta, Yoshitaka	JPN	Honda	3	15 lap(s)

MX1 Moto 2

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Bike	Laps	Gap
1	Everts, Stefan	BEL	Yamaha	18	0:00.000
2	Pichon, Mickael	FRA	Honda	18	0:04.331
3	Ramon, Steve	BEL	KTM	18	0:21.405
4	Coppins, Joshua	NZL	Honda	18	0:31.787
5	Strijbos, Kevin	BEL	Suzuki	18	0:42.923
6	Seguy, Luigi	FRA	Yamaha	18	0:51.208
7	Leok, Tanel	EST	Suzuki	18	1:06.475
8	Jorgensen, Brian	DEN	Honda	18	1:18.733
9	de Dijcker, Ken	BEL	Honda	18	1:22.741
10	Bill, Julien	SUI	KTM	18	1:26.374
11	Noble, James	GBR	Honda	18	1:33.737
12	Dobes, Josef	CZE	Suzuki	18	1:37.974
13	Breugelmans, Sven	BEL	KTM	18	1:40.015
14	Freibergs, Lauris	LAT	Honda	18	1:41.726
15	Burnham, Christian	GBR	KTM	18	2:10.877
16	Theybers, Danny	BEL	Yamaha	18	2:19.641
17	Dini, Fabrizio	ITA	KTM	18	2:23.840
18	Kovalainen, Marko	FIN	Honda	17	1 lap(s)
19	Godrie, Christof	BEL	Honda	17	1 lap(s)
20	Atsuta, Yoshitaka	JPN	Honda	17	1 lap(s)
21	Boller, Andreas	GER	Honda	17	1 lap(s)
22	Beconini, Manuel	ITA	Yamaha	17	1 lap(s)
23	Segers, David	BEL	Yamaha	16	2 lap(s)
24	Hucklebridge, Mark	GBR	KTM	11	7 lap(s)
25	Seronval, Steve	BEL	Yamaha	11	7 lap(s)
26	Oddenino, Enrico	ITA	TM	9	9 lap(s)
27	Traversini, Thomas	ITA	Aprilia	3	15 lap(s)

MX 1 Round 10 Overall Results

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Bike	Race 1	Race 2	Total
1	Pichon, Mickael	FRA	Honda	25	22	47
2	Everts, Stefan	BEL	Yamaha	15	25	40
3	Ramon, Steve	BEL	KTM	16	20	36
4	Coppins, Joshua	NZL	Honda	18	18	36
5	Strijbos, Kevin	BEL	Suzuki	20	16	36
6	Jorgensen, Brian	DEN	Honda	22	13	35
7	Seguy, Luigi	FRA	Yamaha	13	15	28
8	Leok, Tanel	EST	Suzuki	14	14	28
9	Breugelmans, Sven	BEL	KTM	12	8	20
10	Bill, Julien	SUI	KTM	7	11	18

MX 1 Championship Standings after round 10 (Belgium)

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Total Points
1	Everts, Stefan	BEL	443
2	Pichon, Mickael	FRA	341
3	Coppins, Joshua	NZL	337
4	Ramon, Steve	BEL	317
5	Melotte, Cedric	BEL	291
6	Strijbos, Kevin	BEL	255
7	Leok, Tanel	EST	228
8	Jorgensen, B.	DEN	204
9	Smets, Joel	BEL	175
10	de Dijcker, Ken	BEL	160
11	Burnham, C.	GBR	139

=====================================================================

MX2 Moto 1

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Bike	Laps	Gap
1	Townley, Ben	NZL	KTM	18	0:00.000
2	Rattray, Tyla	RSA	KTM	18	0:08.318
3	Pourcel, Sebastien	FRA	Kawasaki	18	0:13.119
4	Dement, Jeff	USA	Honda	18	0:14.587
5	Maschio, Mickael	FRA	Kawasaki	18	0:24.710
6	Caps, Patrick	BEL	Yamaha	18	0:32.635
7	Leok, Aigar	EST	KTM	18	0:40.264
8	Stevanini, Christian	ITA	Honda	18	0:42.357
9	Dobb, James	GBR	Honda	18	0:43.905
10	Nunn, Carl	GBR	Honda	18	0:46.846
11	van Daele, Marvin	BEL	Suzuki	18	0:53.304
12	Philippaerts, David	ITA	KTM	18	1:00.296
13	Nagl, Maximilian	GER	KTM	18	1:04.235
14	Chiodi, Alessio	ITA	Yamaha	18	1:07.497
15	Boissiere, Anthony	FRA	Yamaha	18	1:08.845
16	Seistola, Matti	FIN	Honda	18	1:12.722
17	Goncalves, Rui	POR	Yamaha	18	1:12.952
18	Priem, Manuel	BEL	Suzuki	18	1:37.057
19	Pourcel, Christophe	FRA	Kawasaki	18	1:47.116
20	Church, Tom	GBR	Kawasaki	12	6 lap(s)
21	Cairoli, Antonio	ITA	Yamaha	9	9 lap(s)
22	Sword, Stephen	GBR	Kawasaki	8	10 lap(s)
23	Monni, Manuel	ITA	Yamaha	8	10 lap(s)
24	Barragan, Jonathan	SPA	KTM	7	11 lap(s)
25	Federici, Claudio	ITA	Yamaha	6	12 lap(s)
26	McFarlane, Andrew	AUS	Yamaha	5	13 lap(s)
27	Tarroux, Jeremy	FRA	Suzuki	2	16 lap(s)
28	Swanepoel, Garreth	RSA	KTM	2	16 lap(s)
29	Guarnieri, Davide	ITA	KTM	2	16 lap(s)
30	Bartolini, Andrea	ITA	Yamaha	1	17 lap(s)

MX2 Moto 2

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Bike	Laps	Gap
1	McFarlane, Andrew	AUS	Yamaha	18	0:00.000
2	Maschio, Mickael	FRA	Kawasaki	18	0:04.052
3	Dement, Jeff	USA	Honda	18	0:16.810
4	Rattray, Tyla	RSA	KTM	18	0:26.469
5	Caps, Patrick	BEL	Yamaha	18	0:32.233
6	Pourcel, Sebastien	FRA	Kawasaki	18	0:48.350
7	Cairoli, Antonio	ITA	Yamaha	18	0:51.344
8	Priem, Manuel	BEL	Suzuki	18	0:53.204
9	van Daele, Marvin	BEL	Suzuki	18	0:55.246
10	Goncalves, Rui	POR	Yamaha	18	1:01.639
11	Chiodi, Alessio	ITA	Yamaha	18	1:03.285
12	Seistola, Matti	FIN	Honda	18	1:04.957
13	Monni, Manuel	ITA	Yamaha	18	1:06.406
14	Barragan, Jonathan	SPA	KTM	18	1:07.421
15	Boissiere, Anthony	FRA	Yamaha	18	1:08.369
16	Nagl, Maximilian	GER	KTM	18	1:09.972
17	Pourcel, Christophe	FRA	Kawasaki	18	1:15.481
18	Stevanini, Christian	ITA	Honda	18	1:20.035
19	Nunn, Carl	GBR	Honda	18	1:20.151
20	Swanepoel, Garreth	RSA	KTM	18	1:32.313
21	Dobb, James	GBR	Honda	18	2:05.564
22	Leok, Aigar	EST	KTM	12	6 lap(s)
23	Allier, Tomas	FRA	Kawasaki	11	7 lap(s)
24	Philippaerts, David	ITA	KTM	10	8 lap(s)
25	Tarroux, Jeremy	FRA	Suzuki	10	8 lap(s)
26	Federici, Claudio	ITA	Yamaha	8	10 lap(s)
27	Leuret, Pascal	FRA	KTM	7	11 lap(s)
28	Bartolini, Andrea	ITA	Yamaha	6	12 lap(s)
29	Sword, Stephen	GBR	Kawasaki	5	13 lap(s)
30	Townley, Ben	NZL	KTM	1	17 lap(s)

MX 2 Round 10 Overall Results

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Bike	Race 1	Race 2	Total
1	Rattray, Tyla	RSA	KTM	22	18	40
2	Maschio, Mickael	FRA	Kawasaki	16	22	38
3	Dement, Jeff	USA	Honda	18	20	38
4	Pourcel, Sebastien	FRA	Kawasaki	20	15	35
5	Caps, Patrick	BEL	Yamaha	15	16	31
6	McFarlane, Andrew	AUS	Yamaha	0	25	25
7	Townley, Ben	NZL	KTM	25	0	25
8	van Daele, Marvin	BEL	Suzuki	10	12	22
9	Chiodi, Alessio	ITA	Yamaha	7	10	17
10	Priem, Manuel	BEL	Suzuki	3	13	16

MX 2 Championship Standings after round 10 (Belgium)

Pos	Rider	Nat.	Total Points
1	Townley, Ben	NZL	377
2	Rattray, Tyla	RSA	331
3	Sword, Stephen	GBR	306
4	McFarlane, A.	AUS	285
5	Maschio, M.	FRA	247
6	Cairoli, A.	ITA	235
7	Chiodi, Alessio	ITA	209
8	Nunn, Carl	GBR	191
9	Caps, Patrick	BEL	181
10	Leok, Aigar	EST	167

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