Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

o 00 O'l ~ King Kenny sweeps through a bend ahead of Mamola and Cecotto. World Championship Road Race Series: RoundS Mamola tops Roberts in British GP By Mick Woollett SILVERSTONE, E.!"lGLAND, AUG , 10 " I knew it was going to be tough. I just hoped I could hang in there and tha t my arms a nd legs-would last. I went as fast as 16 I co uld all the wa y a nd it all wor ked o ut JUSt perfect fo r m e ," said a delighted Rand y Mamola as he brushed the sweat from his frec kled face afte r winni ng t he 500 cc British G rand Pri x a t Silversto ne at th e rccord ave rage spee d of 114 .68 mph . . Mamol a ha d just fought and won a battle with fellow tr em endou s Ame rican Kcnny Roberts ( Ya ma ha) a nd wit h ta lented Ital ian Marco Lu cch inelli (Suzu ki) to score his seco nd Grand Pr ix win of rhe vear and to keep himse lf in th e hu m ' for t hc 500 cc W o rld Championsh ip . Now , wit h j ust the Ge rman Grand Prix to go , Rob erts leads by 79 poims 10 Ma m ola 's 66 . So to snatch the title fro m h is Cali fornian co mpatriot the Suzu ki rider ' has 10 win a t rhe Nurbu rgri ng whi le Rob erts fail s 10 score. Tires played a vital ro ll' in their batt le. Marn ola 's Dunlops finis hed in fine shape but Ro berts , who o pted to rid e his "old" works Yamaha with a ll four carburetors at the rear of the engi ne a nd the square rube alloy fra me, was slowed to wa rds the end by a wea ring rear Goodyear t hough he is too loyal 10 h is majo r spo nsor 10 co m pla in : " No problems. It was a great race. I enjoyed it: ' His co nso la tio n wa s a new 500cc la p record at 1m 30 .7s , 116 .17 m ph . Poor Lu cch in elli was not so re tice nt abo ut his rear Michelin that fin ished in tatter s. " You ask if I have trouble .. .j ust look at tha t:' sai d lh l' Ita lian po in tin g to a gaping split in Ihl' offsi de of his rea r tire wher l' the wea r ha d to rn and split t he ru b ber. Until four laps from the end Mamola's T exac o Heron T eam Suzu ki teammat e Graeme Crosby look ed set fo r fo urt h plac e as he battled his way a head of Graziano Rossi on the second ' Nava O lio Fiat Suzuki with Dutchman Wil Hartog (Suzuki) sixt h . Then a rear wheel puncture slowed the dashing New Zealander and dropped him way down the field whil e Hartog's Suzuki lost power and eventually seized on the last lap, th e rear cha in sna p pi ng when th e engi ne locked . These m isfort un es pr omoted J ohnny Cecotto (Yam aha) 10 fifth , the Ve nezuela n getting the better of Fra nco Un cini (Suzuki) on the pe nu lti m a te lap with Kork Ba llington on the bi~ Kawasaki in sevent h spot. But number seven was ou t of luc k. Despite the fa ct that Yamaha had a t last lent h im some factory b its a nd pieces Barry Sh eene wa s in trouble right from the start with a bi ke t ha t ste adil y lost power. He had started the pra cticing well bu t then hi t mis -firi ng problems that were only t ra ced to a fa ulty ignition set u p d uring the fourt h an d fin al training session. leaving hi m no time to really set his new Ha rrisframed machine up , " It's like last year. I'll j ust have to gu ess a nd hope it works o ut : ' sa id Barry before the race. Un fo rt u na tely the race did not tu rn out to be a repeat of last year's as far as Barry was co ncern ed and after running seventh in the early stages he eventually retired after 20 of the 28 laps . The weather was perfect as the sta rstu dd ed field lined up on the grid with no hint of ra in that ru ined th e race in 1978 and threatened last year. Roberts had set the fastest lap during pract icing, fractionall y bettering his own lap record , But Lu cchinelli had been o nly a spl it seco nd slower just ahead of Rossi, Marnola . Unci n i, Crosb y, Ce cotto a nd Hartog - a sing le seco nd coveri ng th e fastest eig ht ! Again the pa ce was j ust too hot fo r th e facto ry Hondas. "T a kazurni Ka ta yama managed to q u al ify in thirt y-first pla ce bu t Gra m , a fter a spill in t ra in ing, d id not m ak e it among the fastest 40 and was a no n sta rter. Fro m th e start Mam ola shot a head and within four la ps he. Ro be rt s a nd Lu cchinclli ha d pu lled ahead of Rossi, lI artog and Crosby t ho ug h just a few seco nds cove red the six of th em u mi l t he seco nd ha lf of th e race . In it iall y Sh ee ne held seve nt h spo t bUI the Icadi ng pa ck drew steadi ly away a nd wh..n U nci ni passed him o n lap six it was o bvious tha i it was not goi ng to be his d a y. The acti o n up fro nt was fa m asilc with th .. lead cha ng ing hands tim e and tim(' aga in . Coul d Ih.. s....m ingl y invincibl .. Rob ..rts b.. beat en ? Rob erts too k the lead o n la p 10: Mam ola was ahea d aga in next time a ro u nd ; th en it was Rob erts aga in! BUI Mamola foug ht bac k and riding wilh Iremendous dash he began to inc h a way from Rob ert s who had his work cu i o ut 10 keep LUC<'h ineli i at ba y unt il the Italian's tire . sta rted to shred. Behind th e Sh een e -Un cin i d ice was invo lved in a Ball ington tremendous scrap with Dutch TT winner Jack Middelburg (Ya m a ha), Cecouo , Patrick Pons (Ya m a ha). Michel Rougerie (Suzuki) and Bernard Fau (Suzu ki) . Bu t on lap four th e group had split when Pons d ropped it at Beckens and Rougerie cr ash ed into him . Later Fau stopped with gearbox trouble and Cecouo broke away wit h a late dash to ca tch an d pa ss Unci ni . Swiss Philip Coulon (Suzuki) . who had come through from a slow start to join the fun , got the better of Middelburg who was nearly caught in the closing stages by Da ve Potter ( Yam a ha) who won a race-long duel with Dale Singleton (Ya m a ha). Just behind him John Newbold (Suzu ki) pipped Crosby , riding in on a flat tire, for twelfth place. It had been a tremendous ra ce and few will begrudge Texaco Heron Team Suzuki and Randy Mamola a superb win that turned the tables on last yea r when Roberts and Yamaha beat them and Barry Sheene after a sim ilar stirring battle. Results 500cc: 1. R. Mamo la IS uz): 2. K. Rober ts IVaml; 3. M. lucehinelli (S uzl; 4. G. Rossi (S uz); 5. J . Ceeono (Yam) ; 6. F. Uncini ISuz); 7. K. Ball;ng to01 (Kawl ; 8. P. Coulon (Suz); 9. J . M;ddelburg IVam): 10. O. Pettee IVaml. ROCO'd lap: K. Roberts (Vam), 1m 30.70, 116 .17 mph. Old rOCO'd: K. Roberts (Yam) 1m 31.38s. 115.31 mph. W orld Championsh ip Point Standings: t . K. Roberts USA (Vam). 79 pa;nlS ; 2. R. Mamola. USA ISuz) 66; 3. F. Uncini. Italy (Su d 46 ; 4. M. Lucchinem.ltaJy IS ud 44 ; 5. G. Rossi. Italy ISuz) 38; 6 . J . Cecono, Venezuela IVaml 26. 35Oa:: 1. A. Mang (Kaw); 2. J . Ekerold (Yam); 3. E. Saul tVam): 4 . J . F. Balde (Kaw); 5. T. Roger s (Yam); 6. K. Huewen (Yam); 7. T. Head !Yoml; 8. T. Espie (Yam): 9. J.L. TournadreCYam}; 10. W . Villa (Yaml. Rea>< lap: A. Mang (Kaw) 1m 33 .7. 112.35 mph. d Old recor d : K. Balling t on (Kaw) and T. Herron CYam}. 1m 33.Ss. 112.30 mp h. World Championsh;p Point S tand ;ngs: 1. J . Ekerold. S . Ah-ican (Vam ) 47; 2. A. Mang , W. Germany IKawI 330; 3 . J . c eec trc. Venezuela IVam ) 27; 4. E. Saul. France IVam) 24: 5. J . F. Balde. France (Kaw ) l B; 6. W. Villa. Ital y (Yam) and M. Man eoni, Italy (Yam) 16; 8. P. Fernandez. France (Yam) 12; 9. J . Sayle. Aus tral;" IVaml l 1; 10. C. Perug;ni. ltaly CTRMI 10 . 25Occ: I . K. Bamngton IKawl; 2. A. Mang IKawI; 3. T. Espie lYaml ; 4. E. Stollingat' (Kaw l; 5. H. Muller (Yam); 6. S . Tonk;" ICon anl ; 7. G. McGregor ICotton); 8. R. Freymond IVaml 9. C. Wm;"ms IVaml: 10. T. Rogers IVam). Record lap: A. Mang (Kaw) 1m 34.98 see, 110 .94 mph . Old rOCO'd : K. Bamngton lKawl1m 35.11 sees. ll 0 .7B mph. World Champ ionship Point Standings: 1. A. Mang, Germany (Kaw) 103 ; 2. K. Ballinglon . South Afr;ca (Kaw) 60 ; 3. T. Esoie. France (Yam) 48 : 4 . J .F. Balde. France (Kaw) 37; 5. R. Freymond. Sw;tzerland IMor135 ; 6. C. tevecc. VenezuelalYaml29. 125cc : 1. L Regg;an; (M;n); 2. B. Kneubuhl ... (Morl; 3. P.P. B;anch; (MBAl; 4. I. Paiazzese IMor); 5. E. Lozzar;n; IIPREM; 6 . H. Bartol IMBAl: 7. H. Muller (MBA); 8. P. Herouard IMBA); 9. H. Van KessJe ICOndorl; 10. M. Golbit IMBAl. 125cc World Championship Stand;ngs: 1. P. B;"nch;. Italy IMBAl 80; 2 . A. Nieto. Spai n IMin) 66; 3. K. Regg;"";. Italy (Min) 63; 4. B. Kneubuhl.... Swnzerland (MBAI 55; 5. G. Bertin, France IMotobecanel 51; 6 . H. Muller. Switzerland (M8 Al 45. S",,,,,,,,: 1. D. JonesIB . Ayres (Yaml; 2. J . Taylor/B. Johanason (Yam): 3. G. O'Oe IiIK. Will ...... (Varni; 4. P. V Cernpbel R. Goodwin (Yam); 5. O. GroasleylS . Atk;"BOnIVaml; 6. E. S treuer lR. Brou- (Yam); 7. W. OtvmannIE. Schmitz (Yam); 8. B. HoIzerlK . Mei rhans CYaml: 9. M . KumanoiG. Buchner (Yaml ; 10. J . Barker/N. Cutmore (Yam) . Record lap : Jones/Ayres 1m 34.4&. 111.52 mph . Old rea>

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