Motocross Illustrated

single rider. I don’t have to say because he
has passed that he was my hero, but I did
have that moment in his workshop and in his
backyard and I never forgot that experience.
He was somebody who always gave 100%
and he wasn’t the sort of guy you tried to
back into a corner, because he would come
out fighting. He always gave it everything he
had in the sport of Motocross and also after
his injury and sickness he never gave up.
Around the time of the Motocross of Nations
in Lommel I gave him a call. That was really
an emotional phone call. I knew he has been
through a tough period in hospital. I thought
let’s give him a call and cheer him up a bit
and when he picked up the phone he sounded
so strong and I was surprised. I told him
I thought it was a good idea to call you and
he was excited that I was with the riders and
he gave the riders advice on what we need
to do. He was really enthusiasm and quickly
gave the boys a motivational talk; it was really
a special moment for the riders and for
Georges.
I remember in the later part of his career
when I was also racing. We had battles, but
never anything dirty happened between us,
he was always a clean rider and I felt he
had started to respect me as a racer also.
The season he won his last championships
I finished fourth in the points and we had a
mutual respect for each other.
We always stayed in touch, I wasn’t visiting
his house all the time, but we had a good
warm contact and then he started getting
in trouble with his health and I really felt for
him, all these things happening after his
career and I tried to support him with phone
calls or a sms message or something like
that.
Georges was also a guy who missed the racing,
we talked a lot about time I would have
to retired and I noticed then how emotional
he could be, but that motivational speech to
the riders before the Motocross of Nations he
was just tough and to the point.
I had a lot of talks with him over the years
and I remember how determined he was and
how much the sport meant to him. I had spoken
to him not long before he passed and I
had the feeling he was going to win this fight
also, but unfortunately he didn’t.