TODAY’S BIRTHDAY BOY: HE’S FROM THE SOUTH…WAY DOWN SOUTH

Greg Albertyn turns 52 years old today.

South African Greg Albertyn and Belgian Stefan Everts had a fierce rivalry in the early part of their careers, with Albertyn usually getting the upper hand. Albertyn won the 1992 FIM 125cc World Championship and moved to the 250cc class 1993 and won the 250 World Championships in his first attempt. He successfully defended his 250 title in 1994.

Suzuki team manager Roger DeCoster hand picked Albertyn to race in America in 1995. But, Supercross racing was difficult for Albertyn, and as he crashed more than he podiumed., his injuries hampered him for the outdoors where he was expected to shine. He did score a handful of podiums, showing his potential. 1996 was more of the same, with Albertyn only scoring a handful of top ten finishes in Supercross. However, in ’96 he stayed injury-free, and scored his first win at AMA 250 National win at Unadilla .

In 1997 Greg teamed with Jeremy McGrath at Suzuki and Albertyn greatly improved his Supercross skills. He won the Supercross season opener in Los Angeles, and scored many other podium finishes. The won the Hangtown National. In 1998 Suzuki believed that he should have been the 250 National Champion when he was beaten by Doug Henry on the Yamaha YZ400 and ran an ad calling Greg the 1997 Two-Stroke Champion.

1999 would be Albertyn’s best year in America. In one of the most competitive AMA National Championships ever, Albertyn bested Kevin Windham, Mike LaRocco, Doug Henry, Ezra Lusk, Jeff Emig, Sebastien Tortelli, Mickael Pichon, Jimmy Button and John Dowd to earn his first AMA title. It was the first premier-class championship for Suzuki in almost 20 years. Unfortunately, Greg broke his femur at the 2000 Atlanta Supercross. He returned to defend his 250 National title with the rod still in his femur and was competitive, but could not hold off the emergence of Ricky Carmichael. Albertyn announced his retirement at the end of the 2000 season.