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/126041
I " In t l' rn a t i() na I d a t{'I i 11 {' eWolsink nabs season opener; :~ ageless Weil :c takes second ~. O'l C'J 0.. < By David Maltais .PAYERNE, SWITZERLAND, APRIL 4 Dutch champion Gerrit Wolsink pounced upon the opposition at the season's 500cc GP MX opening round in Switzerland by winning both motos and collecting 30 valuable · points towards the World Championship. The biggest surprise threat to Suzuki's Wolsink came from transplanted Dutchman Pierre Karsmakers of the U.S.. who posted fastest qualifying time with his Honda on the hilly ,rough Circuit de Combremon t. Kar smakera : finished second in the opening moto, but could only manage 23rd in the second. 37-year.old Adolf Weil. aboard a Maico, put together 6-2 moto finishes to stand second in points behind Wolsink . 1st Moto Karsmakers jumped the gate of the first heat by jumping -h is front wheel over the bar before it dropped. Four-time World Champion Roger DeCoster and his works Suzuki were in second place after the first lap and the two were battling side-by-side. Third m an was the, grand old man of motocross, Adolph Weil, and right behind him was Wolsink. Weil fell on the fourth lap and Gerrit moved up to third. On the 12th lap of the 20 ·lap moto Pierre got enough ahead of Roger to put a lapped rider between them. As Roger swept into a comer in hot pursuit of Pierre, the slower rider, Swiss champion Josef Loetscher, did not give way to DeCoster. As Roger gassed it to move around him on the outside the rider darted into his path and forced him off the track where he crashed heavily, injuring his left arm, Gerrit had been pushing hard and as ' they came around on the 14th lap Wolsink had stormed past Pierre. Wolsink pulled away from Karsmakers and by the end of the moto he had an eijth t-second lead over Pierre. Bengt Aberg, aboard a 370cc BuItaco equipped with forks in the rear instead of shocks, finished third behind Wolsink and Karsmakers after having diced with Wolsink during the early laps of the moto. . Husqvama mounted American Brad Lackey was a heavy favorite to do well in the race after his overall win in St. Anthonis a few weeks before. Bad Brad started out in eighth position and began working his way up through the pack and got up to fifth before his Husky threw its chain. Brad put it back on and got hauling again only to have the chain go astray again. Too . far behind. he retired from the moto to save everything for the second bash. After the front three crossed the line with only nine seconds separating them, the rest of the field came across with fourth place man, Puch mounted West German H. Schmitz. Taking seventh was 19·year old Britisher Graham Noyce, aboard a Maico. Noyce had fifth sewn up until his right leg caught between the fender and the rear wheel of his bike, and he was forced to stop to get it out. Fifth and sixth positions went to KTM mounted W ,illy Bauer and Weil. 2nd Mota 14 Attrition was the name of the game in the final moto wi th Bengt Aberg being the first to retire when his transmission failed on the initial lap . Swed e Ake J onsson put his Maico out - , Adolph Weil pushed his Maico t o second overall in the Swiss GP. Wei! is 37 years old. front for the first three laps before Wolsink took over and pulled away from the field. Gerrit rode superbly and by the finish had built up a nineteen second lead over runnerup Weil. Brad Lackey started out the moto in seventh place, moved up to third on lap seven and stayed there until the tenth lap when the big end bearing went out. Roger DeCoster stopped on the eighth lap and retired because his injured arm hurt so much that he couldn't hold on . to the handlebars. Pierre Karsmakers had a frustrating second moto, finishing in' 23rd due to a race long problem caused by his front brake cable snagging on his lIonda's triple clamp. The guide was replaced by mechanic Steve Whitlock, but Pierre later complained that his shocks had gone bad. B e h ind Wolsink and Weil at the checkers was Graham Noyce, who . now stands in third place in the point . standings . British riders also took fifth and seventh positions on the final moto as CCM mounted Vic Allan and Vic Eastwood did England proud. Ake Jonsson finished fourth arrd that performance combined with a ninth in . the opening moto ties him with. Aberg for fifth on the points table behind fourth pla ce point man Karsm akers . • Results 1st Moto : 1 . Wols ink ; 2. Karsmakers ; 3 . Aberg ; 4 . Schm itz ; 5 . Bauer ; 6. Well; 7. Noyce ; 8. Sigm a ns : 9. Jonsson; 10 . LOdal ; 12. EastWOOd . 2nd Moto : 1 . WOlsink; 2 . Well ; 3. Noyce; 4 . Jonsson; S. Allan; 6 . Sigmans ; 7. Eastwood; 8 . accnkev: 9. Lodali 10 . DeRoover. 500cc GP Point Standings; 1. G . Wolslnk (Suzl 30 : 2. A. Well (Mall 17; J. G. Noyce (Mal) 14 i •. P. Karsmakers (Hon) 12; 5. B. Aberg · (Bul) lOlA. Jonsson (Mall . to; 7. H. Schmitz (Puc) ; a , F. Sigman, (MaillS : 9. V. Allan (CCM) 6/W. Bauer (KTM) 6. Dutch dentist Gemt Wolsink grabbed off 30 big GP points.