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/126259
(Contin u ed f rom page 1') Johnny Cecotto leads Baker. Roberts. Evans and Katayama on the opening lap of the first 100 leg at Imola. ' r---------~ I I I SUBSCRIBE OW! I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I . I •I I I I MAIL TO: CYCLE NEWS. 2201 Cherry Ave. Long Beach, CA 90801 or call (213) 427-7433 CYCLE NEWS (1 year!. $15. D 50 ISSUES CYCLE NEWS (2 years). 27. D 100 ISSUES CYCLE NEWS (3 vears) .. 37.50 D 150 ISSUES Please send me the 0 EAST or 0 WEST ed ition. This is a Renewal , _ 0 Please bill me , 0 I enclose check or money order , . . . . . . . . . . .. 0 Name (Please pr int legib ly) Address City . . State ZIP Please loll In your complete account number and card expiration date below: ~ I ..::!!!!!!=~ Card expires L; Date of this order sutnect to and In eccoecence With th~ agreement QUV rmn. I ; g -------- ignature 48 '---'L..J-,-J--l.....L..L...l....;L..JL1.....l. .L..L.l.. The Iss ue' of the card .cenn fled on tms rte m IS au thonzeet to pay the amount shown as TOTA L up on proper c resema lIon I peomrs e to pay such TOTA L lt og eth pl WIth any u thet cne- ces du e tner eo nr the use of suc h card settled for second spot ," said Kenny af'ter the race. Baker, who saw how Kenny's rear tyre slid out on the turns knew j ust how hard he could go, was quick enough to establish a comfortable lead. even before Kenny's first pit stop. Like most com pe titors the Yamaha pair needed two refueling stops. . Barry Sheene's hopes of a good result had looked dim even after practice. Down in 20th place the new 650 Suzuki fours had many teething troubles, but it wasn 't mechanical trouble that finall y put the 500cc W orld Champion out of the running. But an electronic error. The electric scoreboard over the start and finish line showed Barry the message "Stop 7" and he pulled int o the pits to find why he was being pulled out of the race . His puzzled mechanics took the opportunity to refuel him and he went out for another lap , but by now.it was a hopeless task , a nd he stopped for good . His teammates had little better luck. Steve Parrish , feeling unwell for more than 24 ho urs had his Suzuki seize. and Pat Hennen stepped off his ma ch ine at high speed at the chicane on the first la p when he found his Michelin rear tyre wasn 't yet as warm as th e Goodyea rs of Roberts and Baker in th e lead. He was unhurt but sad to lose what looked like a possible leaderboard spot. Mick Grant was right out of luck, too. The Kawa saki rider had been th ird for a few laps , until caught by a group made up of Philippe Coulon, Takazumi Katayama , Johnny Cecotto, Gregg Hansford. Ch ristian Estros i, Michel Rougerie and Gia com o Agostini. Grant was still there , in the thick of the ' action in fifth place when his machine stopped, out of fuel on the 15th lap. two before his scheduled stop . " I'm really sorry , because I had the right tyre on , and the bike was going really well, despite being a bit • overgeared, thanks to a strong head wind ," said Mick. His teammate Barry Ditchburn was not going well , though. He stopped after two third the race had gone with the m achine not going well. Hansford , on the other 'Kawasaki mus t have been int o his pits six tim es during th e race for fuel, adjustments and the chance to wipe his visor, but on a day when many stopped in this .two hour long grueller, the Australian , still in pain with a cracked bone in his foot from' a crash in practice, kept going to finish . His fellow cou n trym a n Warren Willing kept at his job, too , and he was rewarded with sevent h pla ce, as one by one the stars fell ou t. Ron Has la m took a tumble on the fourth lap, and was ta ken to hospi ta l for a check up, a nd Frenchma n Michel Rougerie trying to ride round Pa trick Fernandez went down too. He was unhurt, but his bike was so badly damaged that it ruled him out of next week's Spanish F750 round. French fans among the 10,000 spectators had plenty to cheer about, and to groan over. Apart from Rougerie's tumble, poor Patrick Fernandez ha d anything but a fairy tale debut on Victor Palomo's machine" and then Christian Sarron, looking more stylish and assured with every outing went out ' with a seized engine on the Gauloises Sonauto machine when lying sixth, after 30 laps. Wi th Philippe Coulon narr owing the gap between himself and Roberts to just eight seconds in the closing stages, and Christian Estrosi,on the other Marlboro-Mashe-Total Yamaha taking fourth spot, despite a spirited ride by Giacomo Agosti ni the locals went out ha ppy to their four hou r long traffic jam. Johnny Cecotto did his obligatory four of five la ps before pulling into the pits with an unspecified mechanical trouble. He was in fifth place at the time , but unlikely ever to improve 01), that. , Other notable retirements included ' Takazumi Katayama who stopped just after starting the thirtieth lap, in fourth place and Franco Bonera went out with a sick motor two laps earlier when sixth. Dutchman Boer van Dulm en finally ch arged home in sixth spot, but he was sure he would have been even higher up the final results if his mechanic had not been knocked over by another competitor during a refueling stop. The fuel went everywhere, and Boet wasted' valuable seconds cleaning his visor and mopping down his machine. Bu t no one could live with Baker an d Ro berts . As Ken ny said with a grin just before driving off to catch his plane back to the Sta tes, "Those damned Yankees keep winning everythin g, • d on't they?" Results 1. Stove Baker (Yaml; 2. Kenny Roberts lV aml; 3. P. Coulon IY aml; 4. C. Estroai IYaml; 5. G. AgoatiniIYam); 6. B.•van Dulmen (Yaml; 7. Warren Willing (Yam); B. Gerard Choukroun lVam); 9. A. Toracca IYam); 10. M. Ankone IYam); 11. Bernard Feu IYaml; 12. Grogg l-4ansfOfd IKaw); 13. T. Lansivuori IYam); 14. HoM! Moinaau IYam); 15. Dominique Perne! lVaml; 16. John Newbold IYaml; 16. John Newbold IYaml; 17. J.C. Chemarin lVam); lB. Pi. . For_ lVam); 19. Laslie Van Breda lVam); 20. Pierrel.onget lVaml.