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SMETS PENALISED IN FRANCE Joel Smets encountered a difficult French Grand Prix at a very hot and humid St Jean D''Angely for round nine of 17 in the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. The Belgian finished 10th overall after a broken exhaust in the second moto resulted in a one-minute penalty that dropped him to 16th. Over 20,000 fans endured almost unbearable French sunshine at the circuit located 150km north of Bordeaux and although thunderstorms coated the track again Saturday night, the dirt dried quickly in the morning forming a rough and very physical terrain. The Grand Prix was one of the most demanding and draining of the season to-date. Smets started well in both motos and was holding fourth in the first race but was unable to match the speed of Stefan Everts, Mickael Pichon, Ben Townley, Josh Coppins and Steve Ramon. He scored sixth in moto1 and was set up for another podium result. While running within the top five in the second race he tried an ambitious overtaking move on KTM''s Ramon that resulted in both riders hitting the ground. The RM-Z450WS suffered some damage in the spill and the exhaust silencer worked loose, eventually breaking off with two laps to run. The increased noise led to an infringement of the rules and a minute-penalty was added to Smets'' final race time. The Belgian has slipped from second to fifth in the World Championship standings as Townley, Pichon and Coppins climbed the podium. The 36 year old now stares at a 20 point deficit to Coppins in the current runner-up spot.
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