Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126619
WORLO CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Lejeune (69); 2. Schreiber (61); 3 . Burgal (53); 4 . Gorgol(241; 5. (TIE) Dando Galeaui/Charle. ccu lard (16 ); 7. Thie rry Michaud (14 ); 8. (TIE) Ulf I(ar l· son /Jaime Sub ira (1 3); 10 . Yrjo Vest er inen (11). World Endurance R oad Racing Championship Series: R ound one Van Rooyen/ Bonke take boycotted Italian 24-hour By Lou Martin IMOLA, ITALY, MAY 15-16 The Dutch Kawas aki team of G errie Van Rooyen and Marko Bonke emerged th e winners in the first 24-hour World Championship end urance race ever held in Italy. It was a race full of surprises, beginning when th e major factory team s withdrew at the las t moment for reason of safety. The factorybacked riders, including Mi ch el Frutschi and Bernard Fau, both of whom had raced at the boycotted French GP th e pr evious weekend, said that th e circui t was not marked clearl y enoug h with reflectors for . nigh t rid in g. Even wi th addi tiona l reflectors, th e riders said th e course was still too dangerous because of th e many ch icanes, wh ich are extremely difficult to negotiate a t night. The riders wanted to run TwO sevenhour legs with th e bikes placed in a closed impound between them . The organizer of th e race actually agreed to this idea, but it was the FIM jury that took two days to co me to a decision, rejecting the pl an. Less th e facto ry teams, the race started at 3:21 p .m . on Saturday afternoon. The leader of the first lap was the Nico Bakker entry piloted by Dutch riders Pieter Blaauwboer and Gerard Flameling. The Honda Italy bike of Maurizio Massimiani and Oscar Laferla took the early lead, until they developed mechanical problems, gremlins that would strike at many other machines. A factory Ducati 650 Pan tah led at the end of one hour, and on to the eight and a half hour marker. Then a hole appeared in the crankcases, and crankcases are one of the few parts that cannot be replaced. The Ducati is a prototype with a triangulated space frame, 41.5mm carbs and a power output of 92 horsepower at 9500 rpm. It was a very quick bike while it lasted. Running second at that time was the Honda of Frenchmen Gerard Coudray, Wolfgang Gierden and Chateau. It then led until it crashed in the fastest part of the circuit. By the lOth hour, the Canon Honda of Dutch team J ohan Van de Wal and Ruud Van Leyden had the lead , which th ey held for th e next five hours befor e th e left end of th eir cra n kshaft fell off. A half hour push back to the pits and another half hour of welding had them back on the track, and oddly enough, they only dropped to third. Eventual winners Van Rooyen and Bo n ke took over the lead at the 16th hour and held on to the finish . They had a steady ride, goi ng from 17th at th e end of on e hour to 10th (four hours), fifth (seven hours )and second (10 hours). Van de Wal and Va n Leyden recovered from their downtime to take second awa y fro m the More/Boullioux team during th e final hour. • 11th ANNUAL RANDY MAMOLA CHAMPION SPARK PLUG 200 JULY 10-11, 1982 LAGUNA SECA RACEWAY MONTEREY, CA WINSTON PRO SERIES EDDIE LAWSON FO RMULA - 1 FO RMULA - 2 SUPERBIKE SIDECAR WES COOLEY SUPERBIKE FINAL ON SATURDAY!! WIN A YAMAHA 01-175 ON SUNDAY GENERAL INFO RMATION 408·372-1516 CAMPINGPERMITS & TICKE ORDERS 408·373·1811 (Visa & Masterca rd accepted; T Tickets may also be pu rchased at Ticketron, Bass, including Searsand R ecord Factory; and the LagunaSecaoffice, A P . Box SCRAMP, Monterey, C 93940. .O 25