It was just prior to the final season of the great Stefan Everts career, we all knew that, and we all knew having come off World championships in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, it was going to take an almighty effort from anyone to stop “The King” retiring with his 10^th World motocross championship. We all knew he would not grace the beautiful circuits of Europe anymore, and we all knew, we needed to enjoy this 2006 swansong as much as possible.

What we did not know was that Everts former rival, Sebastien Tortelli would be returning to Europe after an injury riddled American experience. The two-time World champion had led the AMA 250cc championship twice, in 1999 and 2001, he had beaten the AMA King Ricky Carmichael early in both those seasons and was showing that same talent he showed in Europe, although injuries stopped his progress. In his final years in America Tortelli suffered knee and wrist injuries in 2003 and 2005, that made him unable to complete an entire season and it seemed his career was more or less over.

Yes, the Sebastien Tortelli that returned in 2006 wasn’t that same brave, young version that had beaten Everts in that epic Grand Prix in Greece in 1998, a GP win that led to the Frenchman winning his second World motocross championship, and left Everts a beaten man.

Despite all the trials and tribulations of both men, that battle of Megalopolis was etched into motocross folk law, and no doubt, leading into that 2006 season, Everts was excited to make amends for that Greek disaster.

Gary Freeman, without question one of the most talented photographers on the Grand Prix scene, like any great photographer spent the winter of 2005 trying to decide if he could put something together for his friends’ final season of racing. Having befriended Everts in the final years of the Belgians career Freeman didn’t want to do anything by halves and as the 2006 season moved a little closer, the owner of Redeye media came up with an amazing plan to close out his photographic relationship with Everts.

Freeman had a creative side we had not really seen in the sport and his talents quickly appeared as he shot one amazing photo shoot after another. Taking chances and even risking a rider’s appeal to the public with make-up artists, special wardrobes and anything to make his photo shoots very different from anything the sport has seen before.

Being a brave Brit, his idea to have Stefan Everts and Sebastien Tortelli meet at an old hanger of famous aircrafts was a masterpiece. The two had maybe met once or twice in a quick hello after Greece, but on this day, they would be spending hours together, checking each other’s body language, finding out where the mind-set of the other was. Had the King recovered from their last battle, was Tortelli in his mid-20s already done after years of injuries in America?

Freeman takes us through the shoot, in his own words and of course we just had to give you a look at the images that came out of that historical day in England, just weeks prior to that final season for both Everts and Tortelli.