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/125871
lap, the other damper collapsed under the strain. As Roger turned in, Wolsink took over and looked as if he would pull away. Bu t on the same lap, Van Vel thoven saw his opportunity and leapt past Weil. For nine laps they held their positions, but in the closing stages the Belgian was pulling everything out. With his height, a n d his long arms and legs , he is the most incongruous sight on a monoshock Yarn, particularly when he literally picks it up and throws it around. Wolsink was a marked man . As they came closer together, Van Velthoven made a suicidal effort to nip inside at the entry to the flat out main straight, handlebars almost locking together. But Wolsink coolly held him off, leaning back on him, keeping from being run into one of the fence posts. With two laps to go, Wolsink suspected that his rear shocks were collapsing, and the thought unnerved him jus t en ough to make the difference. As they crested the h ill , Van Velthoven sailed into the lead, and the Dutch dentist abandoned any hope of catching him by the flag . Weil was third, afte r despera te at te mpts to catch him by Arne Kri ng (H us) . Kring's rear mud gu ard was rip ped off by the back whec::1 because his seatwas too low . Willi Ba uer (Ma i) was o ut early when the rea r of his frame broke up, and Ake Jonsson (Vam) rode in a solitary fifth . Brad just fai led to make sixth, as Botchkov slowed up in the final half of the race. Coming up. from a bad start, La ckey got around Welshman Andy Roberton for seventh but, not realizing how far up he was , didn't put enough effort into his final run. Banzai artist Tarao Suzuk i went from 125 to 250 to 500 internat io nal classes and here zaps Jimmy Aird (CCM) on t he monoshock Yamaha. The young Japanese pilot only knows about two throttle positions: on and off . World C hampionship Motocross Suzuki suspension probs yield Ymh a a a'sfirst 500 GP win Second moto By Martin Christie a Fastest in timed practice Sunday morning was Mikkola at 2 :4 2 , followed by Bengt Aberg on a standard Bultaco engine bolted in to a new Pomeroy replica frame, after ruining the big end of his fac tory motor in Saturday's p rac tice. . Fourth f aste st o n the 1.3 m ile course w a s ' B ra d La ck ey , tangling with Botchk ov during train in g, an d coming off best ove rall, though the Russian's opening lap was quicker. Fifth was DeCoster. But in the race, it was the lanky 23-year-old Belgina, Jaak van Velthoven , who was the sensation of the day, putting in a personal best in the last two years, and giving Vamaha their first World Championship win of the season in either 250 or 500 class. Big Jaak loved the tough, twisty cou r s e set in undulating English parkland. . "This is the first real motocross of the year," he said, "all the others have been road races in comparison ." First moto Brad Lackey (Hus) and Bengt Abert (Bull were among the fastest and most sty lish in t imed practice; didn 't do too bad ly in the GP motos, either. 42 muscles. DeCoster had to win to have a chance of catching him and the strain was evident in the three-time World Champion before the GP. Rival fo r the runner-up spot, Adolf Weil, was tig ht-lipped, too. His Maico sported yet another variation ' of th e front forks with internal springs. And the re was S uzuki's N umbe r Two, GC1 Tit Wolsi nk, now se ttled in on the 398cc m o to r, and co nfiden t that he has th e best handling bike he 's eve r ridden . He's h appily putting it on his former Maico teammates. Mikkola was quickest o u t o f the start gate and continued first along the uphill straight. But as the pack bunched up in the top hairpin, he was rammed, bending his brake pedal into a useless position . lie stopped at the pits after half a lap, attempting to straighten it. but failing to do so, he set off again a long way behind the field and only struggled on for one full tour before withdrawing. Slopped also was Bengt Aberg, straightening the Bul after a fall. lie restarted behind Mikkola, and despite losing second gear, and riding wi th badly swollen left knuck les after a practice crash, pressed on to finish an eventual ninth. Meanwhile, out front, Roge r was turning it on, chased by Wolsink, Weil, and Van Ve lth oven, But after only five laps, DeCoster was turning and looking anxious ly at h is rear suspension. One rear shock had snapped just below the m oun ting poin 1, an d within one more Both Wolsink and DeCoster had new shocks for the second race, and they were the first two away from the gate. Aberg had a new motor, borrowed from Englishman Malcolm Davis, and he had a good start too, mixing with Weil and Bau er for fourth. _ Mikkola was b ack in the middle of the pack pushing hard, but he got no further than the second turn this time before disaster struck. As he tried to sweep around the traffic. some slower riders tangled, the pack burst its scams, and he and Christer Hammargren (Kaw ) were barged right off the track, uprooting stakes and getting tangled in the ropes . Somehow Mikkola kept his engine running, extricated his front wheel and, pushing off illegal assistance from the Van Velthoven family, re st ar te d half a lap behind in a see mingly hope less position. At th e lead, the tw o Suzuk is were going strong. Wo lsi n k lead ing and determine d to recover from his first race disappoi ntment. But it was not to be. On the second lap, his ~arbox broke up, and he came to a crunching halt after just one more tour. That left a duel between DeCoster and Van Velthoven . Except for the agonizing pain from the torn blis ters on hi hands, Van Velthoven looked like he might have caught the reigning champ . But, under pressure, Roger just kept a healthy distance from his fellow countryman and Jaak wisely settled for second rather than risk a crash. We il was out soon, after tangling with Aberg and breaking th e tip of his b rake pedal off, and the Swede could hardly hold the pace with his hand inj ur y . After passing Bauer for third and keeping it half the mo ta, he was overhauled in one of the most incredible rides of the season. On lap nine, th ere was Mikkola, right on his tail. In 20 minutes, the Flying Finn had made up 20 places with a display of cunning and courage that was difficult to believe. Though he go't by a slowing Aberg for third, he was just too far adrift to make up ihe 25 seconds separating him from the two leaders on the last few laps. Willi Bauer t railed in to the pits in the first'moto with rear frame and fen der dragging . The pipe stayed on, though . He i kk i's determination and his tactics had shown Arne Kring a way through, too. ~Iikkola barged through the field with Kring in his wake. Brad, blinded by dust inside his goggles, pulled over to let Heikki go by, only to find Kring and Ake Jonsson following through on the same line. He had to pull his goggles down , and in that state was unable to stay with the battle in front of him. He produced some entertammg an tics for the crowd, stepping off on one of the dusty hairpins like a cowboy, spinning the bike round on its side, keep ing the moto r running, and remou nti ng to hold seventh place, after finally getting one position back from Jonsson. K rin g gOI up to fourth, despi te losin g it in a big way while driftin g onto the m ain s tr aig ht; cartwhee ling an d breakin g • off ano ther rear fen der. Results MOTO ONE: 1. Jaak Van v e u n c ven (Yam) Begt. 2 . Gerrit Wo lslnk (SUZ) Nettt , 3. Adolf W ei! {Mal} W . Ger. 4. Arne Kring (H us) Swed . 5 . Ake Jonsson (Yam) Swed , 6. A n atoly Botchkov tcz) USS R:. 7. B ra d Lackey (Hus) USA. 8. AndY Robe r ron (Hus) UK. 9. Bengt Aberg (Bul) Swed. 10. Ma lcolm Davis (Bul) UK (250cc ri der , no p t s. ) II. Seroe B aco u (Mal) Fra . MOTO TWO: 1. Roger DeCoster (SUZ) Bef.g. 2 . Jaak Van Vet t ttoven (Yam) 8 e 19. 3. Helkkl MikkOla (Hus) Fin . 4 . Arne Kring (H us) SW8d. 5 . Willi Bauer (Mai) W. G er . 6. Bengt Aberg (Bul) swec. 7 . B ra d Lackey (Hus) USA. 8 . Ake Jonsson (Yam) Swed. 9 . Tarao Suzuki (Yam) .Jpn .. (250cc rider, no 01$.). 10. ~ndy ROberto" (Hus) UK . 11. Arne Lodal (Mal) Den . " Hello, Do you speak English?" Brad settles in between Arr il and Elaine before assaulting the English countryside .