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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126267
Formula 750 World Championship Series, Round Four: Steve Baker stretches point lead with third in France; Estrosi wins By Chris Carter - OJON, FRANCE,JUNE5 American Steve Baker extended his lead in the Formula 750 World Championship, but the Yamaha factory rider had to settl e for third best behind Fren chman Christian Estrosi and Swiss ac e Ph ilippe Coulon a t Dijon , France , the fourth round of the series. Estrosi disappeared int o the distance at a tremendous rate in th e first race , after passing early leader Christian Sarron after six laps . From then on , there was no- one else really in the rac e! Lap by lap he stretched his lead over Sarron , while Philippe Coulon, the other member of t he Marlboro team closed th e gap on Sarron. Baker, victim of a mediocre start was also beginning to im p r ove his positio n, aft er sha king off th e ea rly challenge from Bernard Fau and Mar co Lucchinelli , who in fact had been ahead of the pack on the ope ni ng la p . The race did n't come alive until th e halfway stage and the pit stops. First to take on fuel was Frenchman Michel Rougerie but it was a lengthy sto p . and he dropp ed from ni nth to 15th. But unlucky Christian didn't last much longer. For the third time this yea r the front wheel ' just slid away from him on one of the tight Oijon turns and he stepped off, angry , disappointed and upset , but unhurt . Estrosi was in and out before Coulon, the second place man had come into sight, and really Christian was very much in a class of his own . Only mechanical trouble . or a fall looked like stopping his runaway vic tory . With 30 laps completed. and 15 to go Estrosi was well clear of Coulon. while Baker. after a slick refuelling stop was just ahead of Lucchinelli and Fau. Sixth now was John Newbold , riding much more like his old self, while Rougerie in seventh spot was the last man , at that stage, not to have been lapped by Estrosi. Even Ago, now slipped back to eighth place 'was a lap down on the youngster from Nice . Shortly after Sarron's departure his Gauloises Sonauton team mate Patrick Pons was out , too. He had been circulating cornfortably in the seventh place before the pit stop, but soon after a sticking valve In the carburetor kept pumping fuel out onto th e rear tir e. _ _Aft~JIl Qr.c;. t han 2 \-2 ho u rs break the depl eted field was ba ck on In both 45-lap races Baker was the grid for the second leg. This time it relegated to third spot by th e brilliant looked , for a brief moment. as if Baker Estrosi and Coulon, who outshone the would make ammends for, what by his rest of the 33 strong entry. standards, must have been a disapFour lap s later Sarron , now down to pointing first race . Now Baker leads fellow American th ird place after being caugh t and He rocketed into the lead , but after Kenny Roberts , who has already given passed by Coulon . ma de his stop. It was up any in terest in the championship slickly done. but even so Fau . Bak er just a lap or two Coulon and Estros i were there on his tail . and on the third battle. to concentrate on regaini ng his and Lu cchinelli had gone through Ame ncan £rg~!! .• • _ . _ _ _ _ .befor e he rejoinedthe.Iray. _ lap they bo th swept past. Co ulon led till th e 12th lap . with Estrosi apparently happy to shadow him round, but then the Nice motorcycle dealer went ahead , and even during his pit stop he never once lost the lead from then on . Christian had broken the lap record in the first leg, but he went quicker still this time out to fix the record at 1m 27 .3s . Baker's third spot looked as though it was not going to be taken easily . Rougerie ,pulling clear of a group made up of Newbold , Fau, Agostini and Lucchinelli always had the American in his sights , and but for badly . blistered hands. and a motor that he cla imed was slow . he might have pulled another surprise. Newbold's misfortune came shortly after Ago bad stopped, and their abo sence left Bernard Fau , on form now , having a real dust up with Marco Lucchinelli, who had borrowed a spare ignition system from Warren Willing. Their dice lasted throughout the race. and was helped when they both rushed in. and out, together in their respective feul stops. Warren Will ing had thought . about going the distance , but decided against it , because he was so far in front of Teuvo Lansivuori, who was ha ving to fight to hold off Hubert Rigal , that Warren could have almost nipped down the road to Oijon for his petroill Victor Palomo. the reigning Formula 750 champion. back in action afte r hiS-Molo ' Journal 200 crash at Paul Ricard in April . thought he had hurt his back again when he crashed at I high speed in the second rac e. Fortunately he hadn't and was taken to hospital with a spot of concussion.