Preview - Grand Prix of Austria.

The 2003 FIM Motocross World Championships reach the halfway stage this weekend at the Grand Prix of Austria, round six of the twelve round series.

This year's event represents the third occasion that the Karntenring circuit has hosted a Motocross Grand Prix and is heavily supported by Austrian manufacturer KTM.

The Motocross GP class continues to become more competitive with each race that passes. Initially, the three consecutive victories at the start of the season by World Champion Mickael Pichon on his 250cc two-stroke Suzuki, appeared to be setting a tone for the season.

However the last two Grand Prix held inside one week (Italy and then Bulgaria) only 11 days ago saw double 500cc World Champ and factory Yamaha rider Stefan Everts claim a brace of winners trophies and the first success in the inaugural year of the 250cc/450cc mix that is the MXGP class for a four-stroke machine.

While Everts has staked a worthy claim for the title in the last three weeks by cutting down his points deficit to Pichon from 25 to 11, the latter has had to be content with two fourth positions and for the first time in over two and a half years the Suzuki man has missed the podium for two races in succession.

The Frenchman has blamed the track preparation for part of his problems, claiming the GP circuits are too easy due to 'over preparation'. He claims that the smoothness of the surfaces gives the four-strokes an advantage.

Joel Smets is the third candidate for possible overall success having remained hovering at the top of the standings since the start of the year on the KTM 450. The Belgian has recorded five podium results on the trot and now lies only three points away from Pichon.

The current Championship positions could easily be swapped and changed this weekend; Pichon needs to reassert some authority (despite four-strokes taking 11 out of a possible 15 podium positions so far), while Everts is in the midst of a strong run and Smets is perfectly poised to snatch his debut MXGP winners garland.

The KTM rider may be assisted this Sunday by 2001 125cc World Champion Jamie Dobb who has been handed a factory 450 machine for the rest of the year in an aim to kickstart his season after a slew of lacklustre results on the 250cc two-stroke (see separate story).

The highest placed two-stroke rider aside from Pichon is Kawasaki's Kenneth Gundersen, lying in sixth and the only other 250 rider to stand on the podium to-date. Brian Jorgensen celebrated his first podium since 2000 with an impressive ride on his Honda 450 in Bulgaria and as a consequence moved up to fourth in the Championship.

On previous form Pichon was won every time he has raced at the Karntenring, while Stefan Everts has decent memories of the venue having secured his first 500cc Championship crown in 2001 with second position and then winning a thrilling final corner dice with Yves Demaria 12 months ago.

Also tipped to feature will be Smets, who defeated Everts in '01 and Dobb who claimed his 11th GP win last year in the Austrian 125cc event (the last British rider to win a GP).

Meanwhile, the 125cc World Championship is echoing the closely fought contest of 2002 in which the title pursuit stretched until the final round.

At present the top four riders stand within four points of each other with both factory KTM riders Marc De Reuver and Steve Ramon tied at the top of the table. 250cc Yamaha man Andrea Bartolini is one point behind the pair in third while defending number one Mickael Maschio is breathing down the trio's necks in fourth place.

The eighth-litre class has witnessed four different winners to-date (two trophies being picked up by Maschio) with only Jamie Dobb and Erik Eggens triumphant in the category at the Karntenring.

Stefan Everts has weighed in with one GP victory and the first ever in the World Championships for a 250cc four-stroke machine under the new rules. The Belgian and 125cc title winner in 1991 is competing in two classes on a race-by-race basis.

Erik Eggens is hoping to have the KTM 250cc four-stroke back in action this weekend at a circuit where he scored one of his three GP wins back in 2001.

In the 650cc class, Joel Smets notched another podium double at round five in Bulgaria extending his collection of champagne bottles to ten this season.

While the Belgian has been nothing short of perfect with five wins from five races and a haul of 125 points means the KTM man enjoys and unrivalled superiority across the whole of the World Championship show.

Nearest, and probably most frustrated, is team-mate Javier Garcia Vico who has earned five podiums scoring 2-2-2-2-3, and with only Cedric Melotte and Roman Jelen for company. The Spaniard is trailing Smets' victory juggernaut by 17 points.

After searing heat in the last two races the weather conditions for the weekend are forecast to be warm once more but with a cloudy outlook.