Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

LaPorte, mallSng up for his second row start behind the Russian Yuri KhudiaItov, in sixth. O'Mara was on the move to his eventual 11th place. Sun lost his chain again on the 13th lap and was relegated to 20th. Hansen had a seemingly secure second in hand when he threw his machine into the weeds near the end of the moto. ". came down off the compression dip and" the throttle was wide open.• threw the bike into the bank, picked it up and took off without losing a spot," said Hansen. Assorted other problems struck the Honda team. ". got hit by a Russian and lost three or four places," O'Mara said. "Then I tried to pass Van den Broeck (riding for Belgium instead of Marc Velkeneers) and he held it on for me, but he went off the track." "I got hit in the neck with a stone and couldn't breathe," LaPorte said. Towards the end of the race Carlqvist came up to lap Sun, but Sun didn't let him easily past. They raced for the finish where after Sun stopped, "Carla" came skidding up to him, hit his bike with his rear tire, and kicked atSun. "i thought that when he looked back he saw who it was and didn't want to let me past. It was no problem though since we were just racing and he never saw me, "Carlqvist explained. "Our top three scores add up to 19 points and the British have 18. But with their fourth score it's 29 to 28. They only need two good scores in the second race. If they have two guys in the top 10 they're almost assured of a win unless you guys are above them," DeCoster explained to the team. "There is another 40 minute race. Stay quiet and drink cool," advised Thurr Coen, the Belgian Bel-Ray representative and planning coordinator for the team in Europe. The bikes were put "into the "Parc Ferme" impound area to await the start of the second moto. The skies were an ominous dark gray necessitating a tire choice. . "The riders are all a little different, " head mechanic Dave Arnold said. Arnold, who was DeCoster's mechanic on the G P circuit in Europe last year had the decision to make. "We sent two riders out with Pirellis and two with Dunlops. If the track stayed hard and dry we'd use the Bridgestones. Also, we were testing the Ohlins shock unit and found it works better on the hard surfaces. " Second Moto Panic struck the American camp when the rear 5.00x18 knobby on !:!ansen's machine lost pressure just 15 minutes before the stan of the second moto. A quick tube change put him back in the program as the skies grew hauntingly darker. A few mil'!utes later a thunderstorm hit, but was soon over leaving the track with a slick coating of mud: Carlqvist, third in the 500cc GP standings this year, went right to the front and swept around the uphill hairpin at the end of the start chute. Deutschland's Walter Gruhler, whose rear. tire went flat in the first moto, was second with Holland's KTMmounted Gerard Rond third ahead of England's Dave Watson, subbing for the injured 250cc World Champion Neil Hudson. LaPorte was the topplaced American in 10th with O'Mara next in 16th. Hansen and Sun were mired in traffic around 25th place. On the third lap Sun went down. "The bike slid out and I went over the high side. The bike landed on my foot and twisted it.• rode in, but I figured that finisliing 25th wouldn't do the team any good. It's the same foot ~hat • hurt before. I think I'll just rest and let it heal 100%." Sun was to have his foot X·rayed after the race. The omen proved true as on the 00 (j') (Clockwise from top left) Hansen wu second in moto one. Sun relnjured his ankle. laPorte was second in moto two. O'Mara rode a 600 well. fifth lap a steady shower drenched the track making traction elusive and causing a iot of skittering on the part of the big-bore machines. "The track was very slippery," Vromans said. "You couldn't pass. You had to drive slowly and look for good lines." Thriving on the bad conditions, Carlqvist took off. "The more difficult it is, the better I like it. I like the rain and the mud," he said. British racing luck wasn't with them as Graham "Rolls" Noyce punctured a tube on his works Honda limiting him to a crawling pace. The next best placed Briton, besides fourth place Watson, was Thorpe in ninth. Teammate Geoffrey Mayes had fallen and was well back in the field. And the Americans kept coming. LaPorte moved past Torleif Hansen, Watson, arid Gruhler and set his sights on Rond. "The sign board kept saying 'Need points,' then would give my position and 'Must pass.' It's hard to tell what position you're in out there," LaPorte said. "I was worried about my goggles fogging up also.:' After a concrete road section there is a drop-off Jump followed by another uphill jump, then a hard right-hander. "After the jumr. he went wide, and I dove under him, ' LaPorte said of his pass on Rond. "AliI knew was to ride my hardest." With second in hand American fortunes were looking up. And while LaPorte dispatched with one Dutchman, O'Mara took care of another when he scooped Wolsink out of 11th. Every spot was vital and Hansen was' only a few behind fellow southern Ca~ifornian O'Mara. "Mter a last place start it's hard to move up." The drama was unfolding in the mechanic's area as they kept a running tally of the team scores. With five minutes to go the two Englishspeaking teams were tied. A minute and one pass later, and the Americans were ahead by a single digit. "We took the lead two laps from the end of the 40 minute mark. All hell broke loose where we were," mechanic Brian Lunnis said. Carlqvist was easily the. best and earned his 1·1 win. Unfortunately, his fellow countrymen could not back him up, and the Swedes ended up fifth in the standings. "I had two good starts. If everything goes right 1 can do well here. I won the 250cc GP here in '79," the individual winner said. LaPorte, Rond, Gruhler and Ludwig Reinbold were the next to cross the finish line ahead of Englishman Dave Watson. Two back was O'Mara with Thorpe two behind him, but three ahead of Hansen. Although the numbers looked promising for the Americans, no one was really sure who had won. To add to the drama the announcer read oue the names of.the lower placing teams first. When he got to second place and announced "Great Britain, 43" it was sheer bedlam for the four young Americans, their team and their many supporters. America became only the sixth nation to win this event. "I think it's maybe more exciting to me than when I won this myself," DeCoster said.. "The only thing. could do was help them learn the tracks and get the organization together. " "Between races Thurr, Roger and myself sat the team down and told them 'Hey, there's another race to go. Take it easy and do your best, '" Team Manager Handsfield said. And they_ certaillly did their best. ''I'm a little more used to the 500 s now. The rain made you ride real cautious. I'm very proud of what we've done," O'Mara added. "After a last place start I think I ended up around 10th somewhere," Hansen said as he reached for the champagne. "Give me a little snort of that stuff." Throughout the time spent here it was obvious that the team effort was truly paying off. The team of American Honda and Bel-Ray, both domestically and overseas, put together a program that let the riders concentrate just on riding. "This was intense. I don't think I've ever worked this hard for two weeks," Dave Arnold said. "We had to build the 500 s in the middle of the week and let these guys practice on them. It was our job to keep these guys welltrained and occupied. Mentally. alert. The Bel-Ray folks made it a lpt easier with the tents and buses. It was perfect." The final word went to the multitime World Champion who had represented his country, Belgium, in a winning fashion in this event seven times. "It's allover," DeCoster said. • Results MOTO 1: 1. . - e.tqIriot; 2. Dannie ttor.wo; 3. DIIIid T1lOfpe; 4. Anchlhomeno; 5. .Mi ~ 8. e;,-.. Nov<:e. MOTO 2; 2. Domy Gorood Rand;1. . - e.tqIriot; 5. Ludwig Uf'l>m; 3. 4. _ Gruhla-; _ _, 8. DeveWIIlOon. 19

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