Pichon aiming for four as GP series hits Bulgaria.

World champion Mickael Pichon heads to Sevlievo, Bulgaria this weekend hoping to win four consecutive 250cc Grands Prix for the first time in his career and place one hand on the 2002 title.

Round seven of the 12-race FIM series heads to Bulgaria for the first time since a 250cc event was held at the Samokov circuit in 1983. Bulgaria's finest MX hour arrived in 1980, when Dimitri Rangelov steered his Husqvarna to third in the 250cc Championship - he was also the victor in Samokov in '83 - but the recently built Sevlievo racetrack, a two-hour drive from the capital city of Sofia, will be a new experience for every rider in the 125, 250 and 500cc classes.

Pichon, fresh from victories in France, Italy and Austria, and also wrapping up his eighth French title in an Open National race last weekend, leads the 250cc standings by 22 points from factory Honda rider Josh Coppins, who has claimed four successive podium appearances. Pichon has been a dominant force so far in 2002, winning all but one of the six rounds and securing pole position in every qualifying session except the opening GP in Valkenswaard.

The only other rider to stand on top of the podium so far is Kenneth Gundersen. The Norwegian Kawasaki representative triumphed in Teutschenthal, but enters this weekend suffering from a back problem he sustained while competing in the German Championship last week. Fluctuating results mean that Gundersen lies fourth in the points table. KTM rider Collin Dugmore is also doubtful for the race in Sevlievo after a crash at the same German National.

The KTM duo of Jamie Dobb and Gordon Crockard approach Sevlievo with renewed vigour. Dobb won the Austrian 125cc GP in a one-off appearance, and Crockard gave the new Austrian factory 250 its first top-three finish also at the K?rntenring.

Open-class world champion Stefan Everts has a 100 per cent podium record to date this season, which includes three wins - the toughest occurring two weeks ago in Austria when he gunned his factory Yamaha past the KTM of Yves Demaria in the last corner of the final lap. Joel Smets' 17th-place finish after a fall at the K?rntenring is slowly seeing the door close on his championship aspirations, as he now trails Everts by 52 points.

The Belgian, who won the first two races of the year, is fifth in the table and has been caught and passed by his team-mate Demaria, who scored an excellent win in Italy and has two second positions in the last three grands prix. The Frenchman is fourth in the points, 50 behind Everts, while another KTM rider, Javier Garcia Vico, holds a career high of third in the championship with six races left to run.

Mickael Maschio's impressive charge in Austria from last place to sixth means that he only lost one point of his 125cc championship advantage to rival Patrick Caps, who crossed the line in fifth. The gap stands at 15. Austria represented only the second time that Kawasaki's Maschio has not sampled podium cava this term. Mark de Reuver is unlikely to race because of an ankle problem picked up in the Dutch Championship last weekend, while double GP winner this year KTM's Steve Ramon damaged his foot while racing in Belgium.