Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126423
Frenchman Patrick Pons, by, virtue of a win and second place finish in the two 25-lap heats of the Molson Export sponsored Canadian Steve ~rvais picked up second overall in the event with second and third place finishes while Swiss rider Michel Frutsehi carded third. Yvon DuHamel, making his annual trek to Mosport for the F750 event, was riding a Yatpaha Motor Canada OW51 that American Ron Pierce had ridden to second place in the Daytona 200 earlier this year. Unfortunately, DuHamel lost his rear brake when a hose split while he was challenging for tbe lead in the first heat. The most popular rider at Mosport rode the final leg and again experienced brake and handling problems that left him. in the DNF column once again. Clouds blanketed the track early Sunday, but the sun came out and action got underway. On the first lap over the twisting 2.5 course it was American Bruce Patter· son - back in shape after' his bad crash in the Loudon Winston Pro Series National - taking the lead. Patterson stayed ahead for the next two laps un· til a fall put him out for the day. Patterson had been followed by Raymond Roche, Patrick Pons, Steve Gervais, Frank McTaggard, Michel Frutsehi, Yvon DuHamel and Marc Fontan. Pons went out front, Raymond Roche was second with Steve Gervais close enough to draft. Michel Frutsehi was running a few feet behind the trio, but did not seem to have the speed one - could have expected of the new F750 sensation. In this first heat, he experienced problems with the power of his mount. and was getting sprayed with petrol thanks to a faulty gas cap. Frutselii was soon pushed by Yvon DuHamel for fourth. DuHamel, who was in seventh position at mid-point through lap one was now moving up. 'T started easy, since I wanted to bring the tires right up to where they would stick to their best potential" said DuHamel.' When "Super Frog" felt his tires were up to their best operating temperature, he started moving through the pack. On lap four he tried to pass Frutsehi in Moss Corner, a tricky double apex hairpin. DuHamel was blocked, but tried again, and a few moments later he was right behind Roche. He then moved past into second place and moved up on Pons. Soon he was up Pons' rear fender and looking for an opening, which came soon as DuHamel leaped over Pons in one of the worst spots on the track. "He really had me on power," said DuHamel, "so I had to put all the pressure I could on him (Pons) in the corners I am fastest in. " On lap 18 the fans saw DuHamel round the track for the last time as his rear brake gave up on him. The best battle of the day was then over as Pons pulled out in front alone in full command of the race. Luckily for him, his head gasket waited for the 22nd lap to give under the pressure. The Frenchman slowed down but stiD protected bis 15 championship points. Eight seconds behind came Steve Gervais and Frank McTaggard both with solid and consistent performances. Roche and Frutsehi were fourth and fifth. Yvon DuHamel, tired but happy with his times in heat one, was resting with his family. "I didn't think it would be so easy to 'pass some of these French guys and a young lion like Gervais, especially since I was having a little bit of a hard time adapting to the bike," said DuHamel, 'Tm going to try my best in the second heat, but I won't fall - that's for sure." Times were not as easy for other riders. Bob Work was fLXing his rear brake for Number 17, and French mechanics were just about done with Pons' head gasket. A few feet down in the garage Michel Frutsehi, his leathers down to his waist, was fran· tically screwing in and out plugs, coils and all other ignition pam. "He's cltanging everything just to make sure. He was down on power, and I tell you it wasn't the rider," said one of the crew members. Then Frutsehi turned to him and said, "Try and get them to delay the start just a bit if everyone agrees." Nevertheless, there was minimum delay for the start of the second leg and 26 year old Frutsehi was there for the green flag. American rider Frank McTaggard took the lead in comer one, but it was short lived as the privateer from Michigan dumped his Yamaha in corner 2A, the same corner that look Bruce Patterson down in the first heat. Formula 750 Grand Prix at Zeltweg. For although continual rain cut the crowd to 8,000, the racing was seen by millions on television in Austria, Switzerland and in pam of Italy and Germany. It was the 25·year-old Austrian's CITst international win and he did things in style - finishing way ahead of his more famous rivals in both races a'nd clocking the fastest laps of the day for good measure. Second plac~ overall went to France's Patrick Pons who, despite the treacherous conditions, kept his Yamaha on its wheels to score a second and a third: the 22 points he earned closing the gap that separates him from championship leader Johnny Cecotto (Yamaha) from a yawning 50 points to an achievabl~ eight. Cecotto, along with several other top 750cc contenders was away competing in the Swedish Grand Prix and it was Finland's Markku Matiltainen (Yamaha) who set the fastest practic~ lap ahead of japan's Sadao Asami (Yamaha). Then the weather had been dry but on Sunday it poured with rain all day ,md the· FIM jury decided even before racing started, to cut the distanc~ of each leg from 28 to 21 laps in the interests of saf~ty. Jacques Cornu (Yamaha). reigning Swiss 250, 350 and 500cc champion, shot ahead from the start chased by Pons who soon took the lead. But the Fr~nchman's hopes of an easy win were shattered when Nenning went steaming by on the fOlUlh lap - his 750cc Yamaha clocking 150 mph through the speed trap despite the rainl Nenning pulled away to win by over half a minute and it was Cornu who took second place, re'passing Pons at the halfway stage. American Dale Singleton (Yamaha), having his first big race in rain, had been outclassed during practicing but he worked his way up to sixth place before he was forced to make a pit stop to re·fasten his helmet which had come loose. After that he was left way down the field and in the second leg he could finish no higher than fourteenth. Again Cornu and Pons made the best·stam when the'second race got away - but again Nenning. soon caught them. This time he stayed with Canadian F750 World Championship road race, grabbed the lead in the title chase from Johnny Cecotto who did not attend the event. Pons leads CecOttO 98-79 in point standings_ p;.trick Pons took the F750 point Iud with his Canada win. World Championship F750 Road Race SeriesRound 6 Pons grabs • POl~ts lead in Canada By Marc Lachapelle BOWMAl'IIVILLE, CANADA, JULY 29 World Championship F750 Road Race Series Round 5 New star is born in Austria; Singleton swamped ZELTWEG, AUSTRIA, JULY 22 18 Virtually unknown Austrian Werner Nenning (Yamaha) achieved instant fame when he won both legs of the Austrian Michel Frutsehi then took command, never to look back with Patrick Pons filling second spot. They had easily dispatched second and third running Gervais and Roche and were now running like wildfire in front, with only French rider Herve Guil1eux even close. For a few laps, Pons kept up and even closed in a bit on Fruuehi. due to a challenge from the bacl~..by Guilleux. In chasing Pons, Guilleux set the best time for the GP, at the same time breaking Mike Baldwin's one year old lap record with a scorching 1:29.162. It was all over for GuiIleux on lap 14 when he feIl chasing Pons. Yvon DuHamel was again moving up on the leaders. After staning in the back of the grid because of his DNF in the first heat and rounding corner one in tenth position. DuHamel gradually picked off riders one by one, eventually snatching fourth place behind the European trio of Frutsehi, POOl and Guilleux. DuHamel was getting down to lap times in the low 1:50's when his rear brake started acting up again. "The brake did it again so I decided to play it a little cooler and finish good, but then something else happened," explained DuHamel, "The steering damper the machanics had fLXed by putting 40 weight oil in began to let go and the bike started wobb1ins all over and I didn't have any choice anymore." He pulled in on lap 16. With DuHamel and Gui11eux out. not to count Roche who had abo gone down on lap five, Steve ~rvais saw the chance of a good showing. He put the pressure on and caught Pons a few Iapa from th~ end, not knowing the Frenchman was getting sprayed by boiling coolant from a once again blown head gasket. With two laps to go Gervais was closing on Frutsehi but half a lap from the end his engine started missing. Gervais rolled past the checkered going Somewhere around five miles an hour, with Pons already in the pits with the overall win. • Results F7!i0: 1. _ Pone (Yom! 1-2; 2. s_ GerVIIiI IVemI2-3; 3. Michel Ftutoehl IVoml 5-1; 4. Mere IVoml 6-4; 5. Ftri McT~ IVom! 3-ONF; 8. DIn 50<..,., IVoml t-li; 7. G4rv ColIIno IVom! U; 8. ... _ McKonnIIEgiD 11·7; 9. W_ NennIng IVom17· 14; 10. Gord _klejahn IVomI12-8. """* 125c:c HondI CheIIenge: 1. S-1Itogg; 2. Cliw NGA-Kien; 3. Keilh Brown; 4. G4rv~. e-oI'Cup Superbika: 1. t..1g _ ; 2. Devid Pork; 3. George Morin; 4. Fronk _ ; 5. Norm Murphy. Pons for a few laps, playing cat and mouse with the French racer. Then he cleared off to win by 25 seconds. In a dice for third place first Cornu crashed and then Matiltainen dropped his Yamaha when he collided with an Austrian he was lapping. With these two out, Australian Greg Johnson (Yamaha) took over to finish third ahead of Hubert Rigal (Yamaha) who rode consistently to finish fourth in both races. • Results . 1. W. NenI*1g IAuolria, Voml; 2. P. Pano _ . Voml; 3. H. RigII~. Vom); 4. J. Cornu ISwil_ , Vom~ 5. G. ~ ~ Vom); 8. G. IIonorlIlhaIv, VomI: 7. M. Fru-.:hI~. Vom); 8. R. Sc:hu_ lAuolriI, Suzl: 9. F. ~ lAuolriI. YomI: 1O.~. Rueilloull_. Yoml. Am .... 121 1IpoI: 1. NennIng. 52m 17.5a, 11I.80 mph: 2. Cornu: 3. Pone; 4. RigII:.5. Schuhz: 8. Fru-.:hI; 7.1Iolwe; 8. Agapion: 9. MatIkeinen; 10. Roche. F_Iop: Henning, 2m 24.31. 91.91 mph. 5ecoi1d .... 121 1IpoI: 1. Nonning. 50m 58.90, 91.28 mph; 2. Pone; 3. Johrwon; 4. RiglII; 5. K._ _; 8. RU4liIIeux; 7. _ . ; 8. ~; 9. Fru1ochi; 10. ARmi. F_Iop: Nenning. 2m 22.30. 93.39 mph. World Chornpior-.hlp Point S-.go: 1. J. Cocono IV_ _• Voml 79 1l\S; 2. P. Pano IFronco. Voml 71' 3. M. Fru10chi Voml 50; 4. S. A....i 1Swi_. ~, Vom) 43; 5. G. Honsford lAuoIroIio. Kawl 39; 8. G. _ . 1I101y. Voml 35; 7. J. Cornq ISwitzerlond v...., 34; 8. W. Nonning lAwc1rio. V....I311; 9. C. (Fr...-.ce. Yaml28; 10 V. FerTarj Utatv. Suzl 27 s-o.;