Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Daytona '8J. The foreign invaders By Chris Carter Graeme Crosby had the chance to climb on board the special, lightweight GSIOOO Yoshimura Suzuki that he and Wes Cooley will ride in this year's Daytona 200 when he flew out to Japan last November to try the new Suzuki Grand Prix bikes: "This bike is good enough to win the 200 on," said Crosby when he returned, and who are we to argue with him? Cenainly the combination of either Crosby or Cooley on one of the big four·strokes must rank as a strong contender for number one spot. Crosby is considered by many people to be the best four-stroke rider in the world, and based on his 1980 record that must be close to the truth. A debut win at Daytona in the Bell Helmets Superbike 100 was followed up '\'ith some tremendous rides at the Isle of Man IT races. where he finished second in a highly controversial Formula One IT to the Honda of Mick Grant. Later in the year Croz won the Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod. and with Joey Dunlop relegating Grant to third place, the New Zealander clinched the TT Formula One world title. He didn't win the British Formula One crown, though, that went to Grant thanks to some early season problems through a mixture of minor mechanical problems and clashes with the GPs in Europe. But in July, Croz and Cooley went to Japan and won the Suzuka 8 Hour race, and even in the British MCNDuckhams Superbike championship rounds, still dominated by the twostrokes from Yamaha 'and Suzuki, Crosby thrashed his GSIOoo round to make life difficult for the others. Yes, Crosby rules the four-strokes. But winning the Daytona 200? Well, that's seems like a tall order. Crosby's rIval for most of the season has been Grant. Now, ironically, the pair are virtually teammates both riding Yoshimura Suzukis this year. The relationship between Crosby and Gram was more than just cool after the Isle of Man IT when Mick was accused of using an oversize fuel tank on the winning Honda. Since then the pair have become much better friends. and with Honda deciding that they did not want Grant for the coming season it has created a situation where both men, for very different reasons, are keen to win any race, but equally important, determined to beat Hondal Grant has raced at Daytona before, , of course. He is old enough, and wise enough to know what is needed to win the race. Whether his privately owned Yoshimura Suzuki, built in England with help from Suzuki GB, is good enough remains to be seen. One thing is cenain, though, and that is there will be no repeat of the IT fiasco for the Yorkshireman. He phoned me at Daytona several weeks ago specifically to check the maximum size of the fuel tank. The othu. competitive four-stroke entries in the ~aytona 200 from overseas comes In the shape of Moriwaki Kawasakis to be raced by Britain's Roger Marshall and Australian Wayne Gardner. Marshall, until this se;son a key figure in the very successful George Beale Racing·team in England on 750 Yamahaa and 1000 Hondas. had one of his best-ever seasons in 1980. Right until the very end he was in with a chance of winning the Formula One Series, the MCN Duckhams Superbike championship and a three round televised event at Donington Park. As it turned out Roger did not win any of them, but for a privateer to challenge so strongly the works backed teams is impressive. Roger has switched to the Moriwaki team for this year, and it could turn out a shrewd move. World-wide, Yoshimura has established them· selves as number one in engine preparation. and that means that Moriwaki must try even harder than ever to ovenake them. At the age of 29, Roger, a married man with a young son, turned full time professional last year, and the freedom of full time racing improved his results. He could be a top six finisher at the very least. Wayne Gardner is a much youn~er man. At 21, Wayne is one of Austraha's top riders, putting the icing on a promising career by winning last year's Castrol Six Hour race on a Honda. The race, for strictly controlled stock production bikes is the biggest race Down Under and is well worth winning in terms of financial and material assistance. Wayne made history by being the youngest rider in New South Wales to be granted a Grade "A" licence, the top sphere in Australia, and has won a lot of fans and a lot of races since then. It is too much to expect him to win, first time out. But he too is another newcomer to keep an eye on. Another newcomer who makes his Daytona debut this year is Italian Graziano Rossi. From out of the blue a telex to Daytona International Speedway a week ago announced that Rossi would race the new, four cylinder Morbidelli in the 200. Last year Rossi, a former school teacher of pre-school children was in the factory Suzuki backed team of Robeno Gallina. But a few incidents in the season, not the least being when he brought down teammate Marco Lucchinelli in the 500cc event at the Belgian GP at Zolder early in the race, did not impress the Japanese factory. The final straw came when Rossi, one of the most vocal critics of the Nurburgring circuit for last year's West German GP, pulled out of the race in protest after just a few laps. Morbidelli wanted him though, and Rossi, who made his name riding the very fast 250cc Morbidelli in the 1979 season returned to the fold. One of the most colorful characters in the sport, Rossi will brighten up Daytona, but the question mark over the reliability of the new machine makes victory doubtful. It would be a surprise if either of the two Sonauto-Gauloises entries Christian Sa,n:on and Marc Fontan.. win the Daytona 200 either. Sarron, a great friend and teammate of the late Patrick Pons, has been sadly out of touch for some time, thanks to a string of very nasty crashes. The death of Pons was a tremendous blow to the slightly· built, sensitive Christian who is physically far removed from his paddock nick·name of Tarzan, and it will be some time before he will be back to his best, 1 suspect. Sarron's new teammate, Marc Foman is a very talented rider, and the current Endurance World Champion. But there is a world of difference between Dayto'na and the Bol d'Or! Lack of experience at this sort of racing will prevent Fontan being a serious contender. Another Frenchman, Bernard Fau, on the other hand is a very experienced Daytona runner, and if the Parisian sponsorship deal this year is big enough to provide him with good machinery he could be a good outside bet. Just as experienced, and just as talented is little Japanese ace Sadao Asami. He is always a man to watch, no matter what the race, or machine. He will go the distance and lap quick enough to be in the hunt. Dutchmen Boet van Dulmen and Jack Middelburg are both very successful Grand Prix competitors and on their day can beat anyone. Middelburg destroyed the opposition, Mamola and Robens included, at last year's Dutch IT at Assen, but somehow 1 cannot see Jumping Jack. now Suzuki mounted for the season, winning Daytona's big one. Van Dulmen, on the other hand is a much better prospect. Boet was thire last year. and complained after the race that he had made a mess of the race tactics. He waited too long for the big guns to fall out, and was slow to quicken his pace when Freddie Spencer retired. This year Boet could well improve on third place. In Friday's Bell Helmets Superbike 100 mile race the overseas challenge is not so strong in depth, but is still' good enough to make life difficult for the American fancied riders. Crosby won last year and surprised a few folks. But he is the first to admit that things went well for him. "Last yea r there were only two or three really strong challengers, and breakdowns went in my favour. This year the entry list is much more impressive. I'm not going to say I can win, but I think unless I do something silly, or luck is dead against me, I'll be in the hunt," says Craz. Roger Marshall and Wayne Gardner wheel out their Moriwaki Kawasakis, and they too will add a spot of zest to the proceedings. From Japan two riders Nobuo Kubo and Takumi Ito will race their Team Honey Bee Hondas. I've never heard of either of them, but from the Land Qf the Rising Sun that means precious littlel But perhaps it is the ranks of Saturday's 250cc International Lightweight race that the foreign entries look most intriguing. Little needs saying about West German Anton Mang. Second in last year's race and the current 250cc World Champion, Toni will ride the latest factory Kawasaki. Last year's bike was a 1979 machine much worked on by his mechanic and tuner. But the Kawasaki team have taken him back to their ranks and he will be on very latest "Green Meanie" this time. The favorable European results for the Rotax powered Cottons were not enough to StOp the small British factory going bankrupt in a big way in the winter. But out of the ashes rose the Armstrong Engineering backed machine built in Bolton by CCM, the MX people. A trio of Armstrongs fly out for their first taste of international competition, and what a christening for any bike. They have yet to be raced. and must compete against the latest offerings from Kawasaki and Yamaha] The riders, fonunately, are tried and tested. Steve Tonkin, a fiery lad from the wilds of Cumberland, is the reigning British 250cc champion, and though he has never been to Daytona before, his all out style could put him in the reckoning in Saturday's race. Clive HoTton. the 30-year·old from Darby, has been one of Britain's best 125cc and 250cc GP racers for the past few seasons. Jeff Sayle, a wily old Aussie, had a tremendous run of success in Britain last year on his 350cc Yamaha, and was a regular points scorer in the World Championships. All three have the skill to do well, if the bikes are competitive! Horton and Sayle are not the only regular GP contenders, though. Didier de Radi~~es is one of Europe's most promtsmg riders. The Belgian was one of the three riders involved in the tragedy at Mosport a couple of years ago during the Formula 750cc race, but since recovering he has rapidly made a name for himself. Dutchmen Klaas Hornamdt and Peter Looyestoijn are also GP regulars with plenty of successes. Klaas in particular is a good 250cc competitor, and must be in line for a top six place. Ulsterman Graham Young was another man to chase all over Europe last season. Lack of cash, and unbelievable bad luck made it a year to forget. but Graham has overcome his disappointments, and found new backers. Conor McGinn and Jackie Hughes are good road racers back home in Ulster, too, but Daytona is a tough task for anyone, and only Donny Robinson is likely to find his form. Donny has replaced Ron Haslam, now full time Honda factory rider, as the number one in Mal Carter's Pharoah team. He is fast, brave, and ambitious. Manin Wimmer is recognized as Germany's most promising youngster. A stylish young rider, Martin made his international debut in Europe last year and made steady progress. A Daytona outing will be good experience, but do not expect too much. If anyone wanted proof that life does begin at 40 then Barry Smith is living prooL The Australian was a star on the GP trail in the sixties, and raced for a number of factories. including Bultaco, and won a couple of GPs. Then he went back to Australia. opened up some motorcycle shops and seemed happy to retire. But the racing bug was still in him. He returned to Europe in 1979, won the Formula 3 world title, and was back again last year only to break his leg badly in a rare crash at the Dutch IT. Now 41-years-old Barry is back for another full season. Watch out you youngstersl Peter Balaz makes his Daytona debut this year. and though the Czech international will not pull up any trees. its good to see one of the Iron Curtains countries' best men venturing out into the West. Finally, keep an eye on Eduardo Aleman. who with his brother Alejandro from Venezuela make up the small South American contingent. Not in the Johnny Cecotto mold, maybe, but Eduardo is good and will be in the hunt. • 19

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