Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

, , • ,jo . ' • s King Kenny. But Roberts' hard riding cost him dearl y in terms of tire wea r. With the rear Goodyear beginning' to. pla y up . Hansford , still rid ing at his old pace, ca ug ht him agai n. an d went Da 2: on to a ve-ry co nvi nci ng win. t 00 t:O') ~ 0 ~ >ro ~ the Spanish SOOcc GP. (Right! Gregg Hansford moves up on an ailing King Kenny. (Left) A superbly-judged race gave Suzuki and Pat Hennen a win at World Championship GP Road Racing Series - Round two Hennen wins 500 G ~ takes points lead By Chris Carter MADRID. SPAIN , APR. 16 Pat Hennen, riding a superbly-judged race, gave Suzuki victory in the 500cc event at the Spanish Grand Prix at jarama on Sunday, but with Kenny Roberts, Takazumi Katayama and Johnny Cecotto filling the next three places , the message from Yamaha was clear. This W Id Ch . hi b I ' or amplOns p att e IS . 8 fa r from over t . " For Hennen It .was a victory In a race where he used ~IS head, and took advant age of the CIrcumstances. For Roberts ru nn er-up spot was poor com pensa tion for a displ ay of rid ing that left his rivals struggling in his wake and saw him , at one time, a full 10 seconds up on He nnen, till th e thr ottl es on the Yamaha started sticking ope n. For Barry Sheene, championship points for fifth place were enough to keep him in the title chase, just behind Hennen but if Barry was lulled into a false sense of security after Ven ezuela , this race will hav e told him that it is going to be a fight to the finish . Roberts was superb, and in a class of his own for 27 of th e 36-lap affai r. It didn't take him long to shake ' off th e shadows of Hennen, and Italian Marco Lucchinelli on the privateer Suzuki of th e Cagiva team . . Sheene was not at his best. and in th e first half-a -dozen laps of the ra ce he lapped at something like five seconds slower than his best practice performance, to give him too much of a handicap. After seven laps Roberts had almost a five seco nd lead on Hennen and Lu cchinelli, bu t six laps lat er " Lucky" was out. He d ecided to go ar ound Alex IJeorge, who was ueing lapped , wh ile Hennen went for the inside line, and the Italian touched the Scotsman . Marco was unhurt in the fall except for a grazed arm , but the Cagiva mach~ne was well modified! . Third n?w was Takazumi Katayama , with Cecotto, Sheene and Baker still battling away . Barry was 17 seconds down on King Kenny a nd t he ch a nces of him winning, or even ' grabbing a plac e in t he first three. now looked slim . But once Barry had passed Cecotto he slowly began to whittle Katayama's lead down, a fraction of a second a lap . With less tha n 10 laps to go Barry had the "Zoom ing Taxi" in his sights, but a spot of bother with th e front brake cost Sh eene a lot of ground , and he lost contact wit h Katayama. Cecotto made his mo ve soon after , and passed Sheene to grab fourth spot , but Johnny stood no chance of ca tching the leading tr io. while Sheene could not afford to ease off at all Steve Baker was alwa ys snapping at his heels . . But the 25 ,000 crowd , basking in the Spanish sp ring sunshine just outside Madrid were not really wat ching th is scrap. They had their eyes on the drama for the lead. Roberts , with the race apparently in his pocket, was in trouble. The throtties on his new four-cylinder Yamaha were sticking open from time to time, and round the twists and turns of Jarama that was beyond a joke! H e began to slow, as he used discretion to make sure he didn't fall and loose everything. "The rear tire was beginning to give out a bit, but that wasn 't my big worry ," said Kenny after the race. "I just wanted to make sure I rode the bike back on two wheels into the pits at the end. With those throttles sticking wide open it was not funny . There's no cut-out on the bike, you know." All the effort of those early laps disappeared in just a few minutes, and Hennen was suddenly right on Kenny's rear wheel. "I thought of sitting there till the end of the race. but we were both wobbling round 50 slowly I was afraid someone might catch us," said Pat. He was nearly right. Katayama, catching sight of the ailing Roberts three laps from the flag, put on a real spun to close the gap. and he crossed the line just 1. 6 seconds down on Kenny, while Hennen, having made his move, was over seven seconds ahead of Roberts. That Cecouo, Sheene, Baker scrap went the full distance, and only a little over two seconds separated them at the line , with Cecotto fourth , Sheene fifth and Baker sixth. If Roberts hadn't had his problems it's unlikely that Hennen would have caught him, though Pat says firmly that he would have been able to close the gap, at the very least. Yamaha can be well pleased with the day's efforts, and they might have done even hetter if Ikujiro Takai, on another fact ory four-cylinder , had not touched a tailender after 14 laps and crashed, breaking his right collarbone. The little Japanese ace had made a sluggish start, but by then had got the Cecotto, Sheene , Baker trio in his sights. Roberts was angry and disappointed after his 500cc setback, but he had no time to dwell on it. The 250cc race, fourth and final event on the program , was next. Kenny made a bad start, but he hurtled through to catch early pacemaker Gregg Hansford , who had been given permission to ride by the ob stinate Spanish federation just before the start of the final da y's practice. Hansford's Kawasaki , it seemed, couldn't hold the rapid Yamaha of Roberts' runner-up spot was enough to keep him in the lead of th e 250cc world championship battle, although , if Hansford keeps up this early season form , and there is no reason why he shouldn't, it will be an exciting contest. The Australian chopped no less tha n three seco nds off the 250cc lap record . The reigning- 250cc cha mpion Mario Lega wasn 't disgr ac ed , either. The works Morbidelli was fast. Quick enough to keep him ahead for almost a lap, and his chance of a top three place was lost only because of a sticking throttle problem, that reared its head on the third lap. Wi th Lega dropping back, Kork Ballington on the Life Kawasaki swept into third spot, but he was well down on the leading pair. But his lonely ride came to a rude end when Franco Uncini on the Venemotos Yamaha caught him . Franco went ahead to grab th ird spot , with Kork a good fourth. Mick Grant looked as though he might follow him home, but Jon Ekerold's determination won through . The Yorkshireman, showing flashes of his old form after three early season crashes, had to be happy with sixth place on his Life Kawasaki, and he wast By comparison th e 50cc a nd 125cc races were fa irly tame. But the 125cc event had its moments, and from a British point of view it was a great sue cess. Clive Horton, the dedicated Derby rider in his European GP debut , grabbed fourth place ahead of many much quicker Morbidellis, and his riding, throughout the race , earned him many new fans . Biggest shock of all, though was the performances of the new Motobecane. It was a rocket, and with a better rider than Thierry Espie it would have been an even greater threat to eventual winner Eugenio Lazzarini . Wodd Champion Pierpaolo Binachi, on tile Kawasaki, crashed without serious in jury on the first lap. Pier Lu igi Conforti's hopes of taking third spot ended when his Morbidelli stopped in the closing stages, and Harald Bartol, the Austrian engineer, grabbed a place on the podium, • Results SOCc I1 B laps 38.05 miles): 1. E. Lazzarini IK ried): 2. Torma IBull; 3. P. Ptisson (ABA: 4. W. Muller (Krel; 5. C. Van Dongen (Kra); 6. D. D. CDnIi IKrel; 7. T. Tommer (!(re); B. R. Gali IBull; 9. A. Pero IKre); 10. J . J. Mira 1 0er1;f t . J . Nevan81eIBull 12. J . Hun..u IKrel. ; Fastest Lap: E. Lazzarini IVan Veen Kreidler) 1m 52.56.67.65 mph. 125cc 127laps: 57.08 miles): 1. E.Lazzarini IMor: 2. ) T. Espie (Molo-Becane): 3. H. BartollMorl: 4. C. Horton IMor): 5. F. Agoatini IMor); 6. J .L. Guignabodet (BanI; 7. MA Cortes (Morl;8. T. NoblesseIMor): 9. B. Carlsson (Morl: 10. P. Ptisson IMorl; 11. J . Van Z..broeck IMorl; 12. L PalazzeselMorl. Record Lap: E. lJIzzarini (Morl;1m 43.90. 73.25 mph. Old record P. Bienche IMor) 1m 44.55, 70.63 mph. 250cc (30 laps: 63.42 milesl: 1. G. Hansford IKawI; 2. K. Roberts lYam) 3. F. Uncini (Vam): 4. K. Ballington : (Kawl 5. J _ Ekerold (Vaml: 6. M. Granl (Kawl; 7. O. : Chevallier lYaml: B. T. Herron IHerron/Bartoll: 9. R. llu incey (Vaml 10. C. Mortimer lYaml; f t . A. Meng : IKaw); 12. V. Sou...n IVam}; 13. P. Korhonene lYaml: 14. L van Breda IVaml. Record Lap: G. Hansford IKawl; 1m 36.90. 7B.54 mph. Old record T. Ketavama lYaml 1m 39.90. 75.02 mph. 500cc (36 laps: 76.11 milesl: 1. P. Hennen ISOl); 2. K. Roberts lYam}; 3. T. Katavama IVaml; 4. J . Cecotto lYam); 5. B. Sheene ISuzl; 6. S. Baker ISuz); 7. T. Lan"YOUri ISOl}; B. C. Estrosi ISOl) 9. W. Hartog (SuzJ: 10. : S. Parrish ISOl); 11. B. van Dulmen ISuz); 12. J.P. Orban ISOl); 13. T. Herron ISOlI 14. M. Rougerie ISOl); : 15. L van BredalYam): 16. B. Kneubuhler ISuz): 17. C. Padg8lt lYaml: 18. A. GeorgeISuz } . Record Lap: K. Robarts IVaml 1m 34.5s. 80.54 mph. Old record P. Read IMVI 1m 43.11, 73.82 mph. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTSTANDINGS SOCc: 1. E. Lazzarini 1151; 2. R. Torma (12) 3. P. ; Ptisson 110); 4. W. Muller1 5. C. van Dongen 161: 6. D. 81: Cervi IS!. 12Scc: 1. E. Lazzarini 1271; 2. P. Bianchi 1151; 3. T. Espiel121: 4. V. Loon 11 01 5. H. Bartol110). : 6. C. Horton IBI; 7. F. Aleman IBI. 25Occ: 1. K. Robarts (27): 2. K. Ballinglon 1161; 3. G. Hensford 115 4. C. Lavedos 11 2): 5. O. Chevallier 11 01; 1: F. Unc ini (1 0). 500cc: 1. P. Hennen (27) ; 2. B. Sheena 1211: 3. S. Baker115}; 4. K. Robarts (12); 5. T. Katavemal10); 6. S. Parrish 19 ).

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