CAS Honda's Gordon Crockard returned to action after a three-week layoff through
injury and stepped immediately onto the podium taking third position at the Austrian
Grand Prix on Sunday, round six of the World Motocross Championship. The
25-year-old Irishman riding a Honda CR450F four stroke machine battled through the
dust to pull back from an average start and finish behind Belgium Stefan Everts
(Yamaha), who recorded his 59th Grand Prix victory, and Motocross Grand Prix Mickael
Pichon (Suzuki), the Championship leader coming a very close second as the battle for
the lead went down to the finish line.
Crockard, who broke his shoulder early in the season and then a knuckle just before the
Italian GP three weeks ago, is still lying in ninth position overall in the championship,
just four points behind teammate Yoshitaka Atsuta. The former Japanese Champion
recorded his best result of the season taking sixth position. Dane Brian Jorgensen was
lying in third position for nearly half the race distance of 19 laps, but could not hold off
the charging Ulsterman as Crockard took a big leap on a step up to get his CAS Honda
in front at the next right hand turn. Jorgensen finished in fourth place and retains his
fourth position in the championship.
Winner Stefan Everts competed in both the 125cc class and the MXGP class again,
winning both races and cutting Pichon's lead to only eight points. Once again the might
of the four stroke proved too much for the Frenchman's two stroke Suzuki. Pichon was
the early race leader, Everts passed him on lap five, and then Pichon came back several
times before the pair made contact in a very fast left hand turn leading into the rhythm
section. Pichon fell and Everts was away. Still Pichon fought back and the pair almost
crossed the line together, with a recorded gap of 0.350 seconds separating them.
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