For 50 years it was the most important stop in the FIM Motocross World championships. Between 1957 until 2007 the Namur circuit was the crown jewel in the FIM World Motocross Championship. Many beautiful circuits around the World have something special, but NO circuit could come close to Namur when it came to mystery and atmosphere.

Namur, the circuit on top of the hill, way above the ancient city of Namur was something very special and you can be sure, the echo of motocross bikes probably still ring through countryside, and for anyone who has visited this seemingly mythical place, our memory bank is full of emotion and maybe even some sadness.

A circuit where you take a long climb up a cobblestone road, arriving and this coliseum like stadium, a place it would be easy to imagine some roman solider fighting a lion, or Roman emperor Nero barking orders. This wasn’t just a motocross track; it was way more than that.

Used for major motocross events since the 1950’s the circuit started on the esplanade in front of the that coliseum type stadium, then drops off and swoops through the woods, under ornamental metal bridges, past massive drop offs to emerge in front of the Old Cafe Monument, where fans would be swelling up as much beers as possible, before the riders would climb a steep hillside, back up alongside the ancient fort’s moat to emerge from the darkness of the woods out onto the esplanade again. I can’t even imagine what this place was like for the riders, but for a fan, WOW!!!

For me personally, I remember my first trip to Namur, unfortunately long after the legendary 1970s or 1980s when names like De Coster, Mikkola, Malherbe, Carlqvist, Thorpe, Geboers and Jobe won at Namur, but still, it was a memory I will never forget.

I had only been living in Europe for six months and often travelled to Belgium with my then Dutch wife and our small baby for camping trips. With the Belgian Grand Prix around the same time as one of our trips I decided it might be a great idea to attend the Grand Prix at this place called Namur.

It was 1993 and Jacky Martens would win the GP on the way to his first and only World 500cc championship. I knew this wouldn’t be my last trip to Namur, and while I did miss those great 1970s and 80s events at this circuit, I didn’t miss another until the final one in 2007. I got my taste of what Namur was like, maybe not in its greatest era, but watching Stefan Everts devour the toughest motocross track in the World wasn’t a bad experience as a motocross fan.

There is a history to this event that doesn’t just read about the castle on the hill. The story of Namur goes back to 1951, when Team Belgium won their second Motocross des Nations. That legendary event had only started five years earlier in 1947, and as Belgium and Great Britain battled for the MXdN trophy, that fifth stop of the MXdN at Namur was the birth of the most sensational and mysterious circuit in motocross history.

Not surprisingly Namur became the regular stop for the Motocross des Nations when held in Belgium, running again in 1956, 1959, 1965 and after a long break, finally in 2001.

But let’s look at some things that happened at that circuit, that stand out. The first Grand Prix in 1957, won by Swedish legend Sten Lundin. For the next 50 years, Namur was the place for 500cc motocross in Belgium, just taking three years off in 1959 when it went to the Jupile circuit, 1965 at the Tiegem circuit, and 1984 when the GP circus visited Aye.

Of course, there were two kings of Namur, the first Roger De Coster, who won at the circuit in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1976. Seven victories and the greatest record at the Namur circuit.

Stefan Everts would come along 20 years later and make his debut as a wild-card rider in the 1998 500cc GP and straight away took victory ahead of fellow Belgian legend Joel Smets, who was the defending 500cc champion at the time. Everts would put together seven wins at Namur, six GP wins and a Motocross des Nations overall victory in 2001.

The love affair Everts had with Namur is just ridiculous, Everts also won his 50^th GP at Namur and was greeted by Joel Robert, who Stefan had joined as the greatest winner of GPs, 50 each and big smiles and celebration at the Citedelle that day. He also won his 99^th GP and his 10^th and final World championship at the Namur circuit, on his final visit. Similar to Geboers, Everts would retire just weeks after his Namur victory. Hollywood couldn’t write it any better.

Of course, another Belgian legend Eric Geboers won his fifth and final World championship at the Belgian Grand Prix at Namur, then to the surprise of the massive crowd in attendance announce his retirement. On Aug. 5, riding before hometown fans on the Citadels circuit at Namur, Belgium, Geboers clinched his fifth world title on his 28th birthday and then told the massive crowd in attendance his career was over.

Swedish legend and multi-time World motocross champion Hakan Carlqvist of course stopped for a beer on the way to one of his three victories at Namur, and even Antonio Cairoli got involved, winning his first ever Grand Prix at the circuit in 2004 and then again in 2006.

That 2006 victory by Cairoli and a GP overall by Everts in the MX1 class would be one of the last times we would visit Namur. Fitting that the two most successful riders of all time, Antonio Cairoli and Stefan Everts were two of the last men to stand on top of a podium at Namur. On that sunny day in August 6, 2006, we waved goodbye to Everts Namur experiences, and one more GP was run in 2007, with Sebastien Pourcel and Davide Guarneri would take victory, before we closed the door on Namur and motocross. 

Namur won’t be back, not in this day and age of environmentalism that is closing motocross tracks throughout Belgium and around the World. 13 years since we last visited and 13 years we have missed you Namur.

In many ways Namur should remain that mystical place from our history books, a the place you rose out of the city and up to this historical battlefield, a place our motocross legends performed at the very highest level and mere men were made kings.

De Coster: The first time I went to Namur I rode my bicycle from my house in Brussels. It was like 45 miles and I was 13 years old. My parents didn’t know I did that, it was the year Rene Baeten won the World Championship, it was so exciting, just like Stefan said. I hadn’t travelled much, I didn’t know where the racetrack was, went by the sound, the guys were practicing, and you heard the 4-strokes echoing through the woods and when they shut off it was like a really unique sound. Also, the smell, everyone used Castrol oil and I can still imagine that feeling today, it was some great memories. Then to race at Namur and to win there, really great memories. After that first visit to Namur I always dreamt I wanted to race there, and then I got to race there and I always thought it couldn’t happen, it’s too big a thing to achieve to win there. One thing told me I could do it, and another thing told me I couldn’t do it. It all happened, and I am very thankful. Namur, it is kind of like Monte Carlo for Formula 1 or Wimbledon for Tennis, it was the kind of place with all the history. Such a different course to what we were used to. Some riders looked at it as a dangerous track, but other riders looked at it as a place where you could make a big difference.  If you set-up your bike correctly that could make all the difference. I loved Namur, the feeling, and the ambience.

Everts: Whenever I went to Namur, I had goose bumps for two times 40 minutes, none stop. As for the records, I knew who had the most wins and I knew it was Roger and it was one of my ambitions to break his record, I thought I had broken it, but you (Geoff Meyer) just told me he has seven. What a great day. I never dared dream of becoming world champion here at Namur. It has always been a very special place with a special atmosphere. It is a unique track that is hard and demanding. Both races went pretty well. At one point there was a difficult moment for me in each moto because the terrain was so bumpy, slippery, and so rough. I had to be really careful because this is one of the hardest circuits in the world and you can only really appreciate it if you get out there and try forty minutes. The motos worked out well though and I am so happy for my 99th victory and the championship. I had such an exciting feeling going out on the track and unfortunately it is my last time here, but I cannot think of a better way to go out. What else can I say?

Geboers: Especially that last round I can still remember well. It was a real goose bumps moment. I got tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. After all, I knew what that last round meant: fifth world title, but also quitting the sport for which I lived day and night until then. It was already a done deal for me to retire. I had a tough winter. The motivation was gone, yes even at the age of 28. I saw it as a great challenge to charge me one more season and go for that world title. I dreamed of quitting at the peak of my career. I succeeded in that. I also never regretted quitting so early. I was mentally exhausted, the drive to win was gone. After the GP I was flown by helicopter to the studios of the BRT. Then I said on TV that I would stop. When I returned to the Citadel, everyone was dumbfounded. There was a real funeral mood. It hurt me afterwards that I disappointed my fans that way. The Citadel is a very mysterious experience for both rider and public. As a motocross rider you look forward to it. You only drive on such a track once a year. You make your way through the trees; the audience can almost touch you and back on the Esplanade you hear the cheering of the people. For the spectators it is anything but a clear course. You don't see the engines for two minutes, but then suddenly a deafening noise rises. The tension is cutting.

Lackey: Namur was always a problem race for me, I knew there were always problems with the Belgian fans there, but it was totally different with big jumps and jumps in the woods, you can never go back to how Namur was in my day, it’s just changed, everything does. They had the race at Namur in 2004, and they had a practice for the fans, Eric Geboers organized it, and we got to ride around the GP circuit. I came over with some friends who had always wanted to race that circuit, and we rode it, although I must say they changed the circuit a little and I was a bit disappointed with that.

Carlqvist: I have dreamed about it for five or six years now (stopping for a beer), but I couldn’t do it when I was a factory rider in case, I lost the race. I said to my brother, ‘If I am leading by more than 20 seconds, you buy the beer’. He was standing on the fence with it. I stopped in neutral and took the beer in my left hand. My face mask got in the way, but I took half the beer. The spectators were screaming like hell!

Citadel of Namur

The Citadel or Castle of Namur is a fortress in the Walloon capital city of Namur, at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers. It is originally from the Roman era but has been rebuilt several times. Its current form was designed by Menno van Coehoorn and improved upon by Vauban after the siege of 1692. It has been classified as a Wallonia's Major Heritage site.

The original citadel dates to 937. It achieved its present extent between 1631 and 1675, when the city was under Dutch control. This section was called "Terra Nova" to distinguish it from the smaller Médiane fort built adjacent in 1542 and ensuing years. A variety of subsidiary positions were built in the 18th century. It was disestablished as a military post in 1891, superseded by a new ring of forts around Namur that were calculated to prevent the city from being attacked with artillery. This ring became the Fortified Position of Namur in the 1930s. The Citadel was used as protected space for the PFN command post.

Roddy Brooks lead image