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/125832
] The First Ever J25cc Motocross ~ o ~ ... IU .&J o ... o - • • World Champion in 125cc motocross at age 17 - Andre Malherbe on the very special works Zundapp. Wo~d Champill1 Continued from page 18 described in Europe as "suave" which does describe his riding style if not his still-adolescent personality.) and Suzuki, in second, kept closing all the way to the finish. The white flag came out, then the checkered and the tmishing order for moto one was Malheme (Zunj' Suzuki (Yam), Schneider (Zun, DeRoover (Hus), Mingels (Bulj' Van der Broeck (Hus), Piron (Hus, Boven (Mon), Combes (Mon), Olsson (Hus). Fritz Schneider really did have this course dialed better than anybody and led up the hill into the tJrst turn when the gate dropped the second time. Behind him, with good starts for a change, were Michel Combes, an authentic French Montesa teamster, and Suzuki in third (On Yamaha. It's tricky to keep that part straight.) They held position for the first lap as Boven (Mon) and Mingels (BuI) engaged in a fierce dice for fourth in a Spanish factory rivalry model. Fifteen minutes into the moto, Schneider had a 60 ft. lead on Suzuki. Malherbe was even further behind the Japanese and not gaining. Mingels and Boven were definitely out to do each other in; both are Belgian, both on comparable Spanish machinery. While they were pre-occupied racing each other, another Belgian, DeRoover (Hus) passed them both. With 30 minutes gone, Schneider was still coming around fJrst, followed by Suzuki. The battle between Mingels and Boven was dampened somewhat when Mingels seized up the Pursang's motor. It ended definitively when the bolts holding the rear sprocket on Boven's Montesa sheared and he, too, was through for the day. . With only two laps to go, Tarao Suzuki's moto-Iong "full gas" charge continued, tmally taking him past Fritiz Schneider. On the tmal lap, Schneider saw that he couldn't repass Suzuki within the remaining three minutes (approximately) so he backed off, letting Zundapp teammate Andre Malheme ride past him into second and the 125cc Motocross World Championship - a half lap from the finish. It was one of the most striking examples of effective team riding seen in a long while. Schneider motored across third and third overall in the tmal 125cc world standings, having guaranteed a Zundapp factory win. . Finishing order for the tma1 moto saw Tarao Suzuki, out front and going away; then Malherbe, slipping by his teammate, for the Zundapp victory; Schneidet, DeRoover, Combes, Beaumont, and Olsson. Had Schneider not backed off, fast Tarao S. would have won with 3-} finishes. For virtually all the 19-20 year old riders, it was their first year in Grand Prix-type motocross competition. However, most of them will not be racing 125 GP's next year as they get "discovered" by the factories and many move up to the 250 class of international motocross. Notable exceptions may be Malherbe and Schneider as Zundapp doesn't export any motors over 125cc and appear to totally dominant in the class. U.s. fans will get a chance to see Suzuki on Ii monoshock Yamaha during the TransAMA series this fall. • '* Final Results 125cc World Motocross Championship: 1. Andre Malherbe (Zun) eelg.• 1-2. 2. Tarao SU2uki (Yam) Japn.• 3-1. 3. Fritz Schneider (Zun) W. Ger., 2-3.4. Michel Combes (Moo) F"rln., 8-5. 5. Nils Olsson (Hus) swed.• 9-7 .