Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

IAbove left) Heikki Mikkola roosts KTM rider Jean Jacques Bruno in Denmark. where he won both motos. IAbove) Brad Lackey posted a 2-3 score on the fast. dusty track to stay within 10 points of Mikkola in the standings. IAbove) Gaston Rahier won both 125cc motes, while Gerard Rand Ibelow) could only finish one mota. World Championship SOOc:c: MX Series· Round four Lackey continues to pressure Mikkola By Chris Myers N ISSEBJ ERGET, DENMARK. MAY 7 World champion Heikki Mikkola rocketed to two straight moto victories on Sunday in the super-fast, super-dusty Danish Grand Prix. Riding the works OW39 Yamaha, Mikkola stretched his championship lead from two to 10 points over Brad Lacke whose second and third y, places over the bone hard , dry Nissebjerget circu it som e 50 miles south of Copenhagen made him all run~er-up: However, t~e F1yin~ Finn certainly did not have It a ll his own way. In the second moto he lost his lead .after shooting up ~nd over th e top of one of the many built up berms and onl y regained it when new leader. Dutch works Su zuk i rider Ge rrit Wolsink. spun out half way through th e race. At the flag Mikkola's advan tage was slender · just over on e second as Wols ink made u p for h is mist ake. m:er 10. Graham No yce's works Honda spor· ted a new heavv duty chain guard made up by mechanic Bill Buchka to cure the chain problems that ha ve plagued him this yea r. But his performance was d ismal: In the first moto he slipped down the field to fin ish nin th and pulled out of the second moto after a few laps complaining about th e performance of his rear shocks . Five-time World Champion Roger DeCoster rode magnificently. but despite a fine th ird place in the first mota he slipped even further down th e championship table to 51 points behind Lackey. A disappointingly small crowd turned out at the narrow , twisty circuit where riders hit top speed in top gear down the very long start/finish straight that forms part of a long track course. Lackey was first away in mota one with Mikkola right on his tail and . Belgian works KTM rider Andre Malherbe third ahead of Noyce and West German Fritz Kobele. Mikkola , fastest in timed pract ice. had the feel for the track right aW .I\, and took the lead afte r j ust one la p . M ~l h e r be then dro pped back nd Mikkola pulled away for the .first .few laps a s DeC ost er , down In six t h pos ition . got int o his stride a nd closed on Kobel e . Wolsink was eig ht h at the start. After three laps DeCoster passed Kob ele stayed fif th for a whil e closi ng ha rd on Noyce . By la p n ine , he was pas t and Wolsink ca me up with him to sixth behind No yce . But now Noyce was slipping badly. First Wolsin k ca me p ast . t he n W est Ge rman Herb e rt Schmitz. At the checker ed flag Noyce was way dow n in ninth place . DeCoster challenged fellow co un tryrnan Malherbe hard and was u p be hind La ckey in th ird p lace at th e ha lfw a y st ate : La ck ey, howeve r. began to find his seco nd wind and closed th e gap on Mikkola from a maximum of 16 seconds ea rlier on to six and a half a t t he flag . Desp ite stayi ng hard on his tail DeCoster had to be content with th ird place a t th e end . Wolsink passed Malherbe four laps from the flag, but he was over 40 seconds behind Mikkola and we ll behind DeCoster. Fifth was Malherbe ahead of Schmitz and Belgian works KTM riderJaak Van Velthoven . Young Belgian semi-works Suzuki rider Andre Vromans started well , but then crashed and finished well down th e field . Eighth was Swede Hakan Andersson on the works Husky. Malherbe charged away from th e start of the second moto and kept the Mikkola menace a t ba y for two laps. In third , with a good st a rt was Wolsi nk , ahead of Schm it z and La ckey. It was on ly a matter of tim e be fore Mikkola steamed pa st Malherbe on th e straight to t ak e the lea d easi ly. Wol sink was having far and away his best rid e th is yea r . He closed o n Mal herb e and after four la ps pulled past to open u p the advantage. T he n , incredibly, Mikkola ma de a mistake - he overs hot a berm - and Wolsink , amazed at h is good fortune , zipped past while the Fin n struggled to rest a rt his mot or. Wolsink's lead was five seconds, bu t th en he sp u n ou t comi ng ou t of a bend and while he sort ed himself out Mikkola was th rough to th e lea d ag ai n . Down in fourth place now , Wolsink had Schmi tz a nd Malherb e to pa ss. bu t he lost no time ge tti ng back into th e swing of things. Within two laps he was runner -up a nd grad ua lly closed the ga p on Mikkola . But th er e ju st wasn't enough time a nd he fin ished j ust over one seco nd be hi nd . Brad Lackey overs ho t a berm in th e closi ng stages of the race to lost" his third pla ce to DeCosrer. Then it was DeCoster's turn to su ffer bad luc k as his throttle began to Slick. T ha t gave La ckev the cha nce he needed and he regained th ird pla ce . and runner- up spot overa ll at the flag despi te a late cha llenge from DeCoster as his th rott!e clea red . A lone ly fifth at t he flag w~s Ma lherbe and sixt h way a head of Vromans was Van Velthoven. Swedish fo u r -stroke Yamaha rid er Bengt Aberg pu lled out of bot h races co m plai ning that his physica l co ndition was not good - he is sti ll mendi ng a fter break in g two ribs in Switze rla nd a few weeks ago . Fellow Swed e Hakan An dersson d ro pped out aft er a very bad start with a Hu sq varna th at was well down on po wer. • Results Overall: 1. Heikki Mi kkola (Vaml; 2. Brad Lackey l Hon); 3. Gerrit Wolsink (5 uzl; 4. Roger DeCoster ISUl ); 5. Andr e Malh erbe IKTMI ; 6. Jaak Van Velrhcven (KT M); 7. Herbert Schmitz IMa il ; 8. Fritz Kobel e IMa il; 8. AndreVromans ISuz); 10. Hakan And ersson {Husl; 11. Graham Noyc e IHonl; t t . Kim Mort ensen (Rola X, Kramer): 13. Frank Svend sen tHus). F"nt Mot o : t . Mikkola ; 2. Lackey; 3. DeCoster; 4. Wolsink; 5. Malherne; 6. SChmitz ; 7. Van Velthoven; 8. Andersson; 9. Novce; 10. Kobele. Second Mota: 1. Mikkola; 2. Wol sink; 3. Lackey; 4, DeCoster; 5. Malherbe; 6. Van Vetthcwen; 7. Vromans; 8. Kobele; 9. Morte n sen; 10. Sv ends en . ~ip Standing s : 1. Mikkola 11021; 2. Lackey 1921 3. ; 1 611; 4. Malhert>e 1481; 5, Wolsink 1 461; DeC"",., 6. Schmitz 138; 7. Van Velthoven 135 8. Vromans 124; 1 1; 1 Andersson (24 1 10 . Noyce 0 8 1. ; World Championship 125cc MX Series· Round five Rahierback on fop in France By Jack Bumicle VESO UL , FRANCE, MAY 7 Suzuki 's Gaston Rahier re emerged as leading contender for the 125cc World Cham pionship title in France, as suming authoritative control of both motos on a bone-hard,

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