Classic Everts/Pichon Battle 2003

Must say I forgot how fast Pichon was after leaving USA and was very determined to win. His line selection was simply amazing that day and he was on rails. Watching that track reiterated how different GP tracks are from USA.

From 9'45, great display of riding by Pichon...

Thanks for posting, was great to watch that battle and hadn't seen it before.

wow, that was cool...Pichon was ripping on the last of the great 2-strokes!!

RIP Andrew McFarland

Awesome race,not suprised Everts did a wheel as it looked like they clashed,Beirer was often so fast but crashed a lot,unlucky not to take a title off Everts really

Nice find,thanks

Totally cool. Thanks.

Pichon is the man

I love that Euro style is/was so different. I don't want to get into what is/was better, it's just cool to watch races from overseas and have it be so distinctly different. I know Everts is known for passing James around the outside whilst firmly planted on the pegs, but Pichon did virtually the exact same thing to Everts in that race! Marvin Musquin (Washougal 2014) would make these guys proud.

2003 was a fantastic year. It was the last time 2 greats battled. Before 2002 Everts dominated the open class and Pichon dominated the 250 cc class. The 250 cc class however was regarded as higher then the open class. Most of the talent was in that 250 cc class.
When those 2 classes merged into the MXGP class in 2003 everybody was excited. Most people thought Pichon would take the championship. Most people were wrong. Everts won and that left a very frustrated Pichon who blamed the 2 stroke Suzuki. Pichon went to Honda in 2004 and 2005 so he could fight Everts with equal equipment but he did not succeed.
I remember being very surprised that Everts won. I did not expect it.

Now, in 2015 we again have 2 superstars that did not ride against eachother in previous years, going head to head. Who will come out on top at the end of this year ?

Pichon
Albertson
Townley
Langston
Tortelli
All left Euro for America and all were World Champs. I wonder how many world titles Everts would of had if these guys stayed in Euro.

Albertyn... Albertson. Same guy really. Hehe...

Damn that was entertaining - to say the least!

Great race. Man that two stroke sure looked like it was holding him back......

That was a great moto! Everts was trying to stuff him every chance he got! Loved Pichons inside banzai down that hill around the 12:00 mark! Damn!

A season full of joy until Everts decided to do the 125/mx2-class as well. If I remember Correctly Pichon won the opener in Belpuig, than Valkenswaard and also Teutchentel. Round 4 was Italy where he fell on the hardpack after a come together with Feddericci. They only did one moto this year, so Everts used the 125-class as a warm up race and therefore came better prepared into his 2nd moto.

Everts went on to win every moto in the 125-class, but was beaten by a small margin by Steve Ramon. Pichons season ended later with a wrecked knee and he was also kicked from Suzuki and replaced by Smets. He aso won 125, mxgp and 650 the same day at Ernée

They had some great battles that year until the accident though. I also remember Austria as really good.

I talked to Pichon in Sweden that year. He was really frustrated not so much by his twostroke but over how they prepared the tracks. He said they maid it like a freeway which favored the fourstrokes. A majority of fourstrokes also creates lines that doesn't really suit the twostroke.

Twostrokes however is, of course, a superior machine still today.