Everts beats KTM armada on home turf.

Stefan 'Mr. 875' Everts continues to point his L&M Yamaha YZ500FM relentlessly towards a record 6th world title. His third win this year moves the champion into a 23 points lead over teammate Marnicq Bervoets in the prestigious four-stroke dominated 500cc class at the halfway stage of the series.

Joel Smets, a formidable player for the world title at the start of the season, again experienced hardship and finished a lowly 17th. Smets teammate Demaria looked set to repeat his victory of two weeks ago, but Everts beat the fast Frenchman in abreathtaking move in the final turn of the last lap. 53 and counting!

This great stunt made Stefan Everts' victory one of the most sensational of recent years. 'The best ever', in his usual smooth and smart style, survived a battle with three KTM's to scores his 53rd victory. "I tried to pass Demaria for the lead already in the early laps when I was 'the meat' in the KTM sandwich, because Smets and Garcia were right behind me. But I could never quite find the gap, and eventually Joel sneaked past me for a while."

With Bervoets battling through the pack after a disastrous start, the tempo of the leading four was so high that they already had a 17 second advantage after just four laps. "I was able to repass Smets again in the whoops after a couple of laps, and I tried to pass Demaria there too, but he knew where I would come and shut the door on me."

When Smets fell and Garcia started to fade, the pressure from behind was gone and Everts was able to ride relaxed for a few laps, composing himself for the final assault. "I tried again at the whoops on the last lap, but didn't make it, so I knew my last chance was in the final turn. I went into the berm early, turned really fast and had the gas on whilst Demaria was still turning."

The astounded Frenchman had no defence as Everts carried the momentum using the superior grunt of his Yamaha to surge past for a splendid victory. Bervoets had to be content with fourth place despite again showing tremendous pace: "I made a mess of the start. The front wheel came up and I was buried in the pack. I also had to be carefull with my clutch"

Still only 14th at the end of lap one despite several passes, Bervoets knew that the task ahead of him was difficult on a track with few passing opportunities and the race was eight laps old before he hit fifth place: "I was actually setting faster lap times than the leaders once I got a clear track, but they were long gone and the only place I could gain came when Smets crashed."