Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Eddie Lewson leads fellow Americans Randy Mamola (6) and Freddie Spencer (3) in the second leg. Their overall finish was reversed. down when he was hit on the short "(straightaway following Stowe by 1 iss rider Peter Huber at approxi1 ately 100 mph. Brown died instantly 12lmd Huber died in a nearby hospital soon afterward. It was the worst acci'll-(lent in the history of the British GP, ~ ut race officials didn't stop the race ~ r two more laps, causing concern ./"and anger among the riders. ,,~.>l 'What we couldn't figure out was .~. hen they were going to stop it," 'cberts, a noted safety advocate, said. . Mamola added, 'The first time we " I ent by them 1 wanted to stop. There ~ whe a couple of people there, but ·!hey couldn't get to the injured rid· ers. As we came through again there b was junk everywhere. I came in on pit fJane and pulled back out. It should a nave been stopped directly. It's a sad rtping because the ambulance couldn't (get to the guys. In my estimation they threw the flag too late. I'm sure they , did what they could do, but we went 1 past the accident three times." Mamrf bla was so angry that he dented his ~ ,gas tank by pounding it with his fist. After a delay of over an hour. the Il Tace was restarted with most riders on -I new rear tires and all opting to stay lion slicks. Roberts' fast lap before the delay was 1:28.93 averaging 118.49 'mph and he set out from the start of tile second leg with no delay. By the end of the first lap he was out front never to be headed. Except for a scary '111oment when he got up on the painted white curb, it was a virtuoso 'performance by an acknowledged master. "I gassed it earlier in the second leg because I knew that they· could stop it after nine laps. I got sideways on one of the white lines and it slowed me down a bit. But we had the tire problem covered and the bike problem covered," said Roberts. Quickly, theSpencer/Mamola/Law- son trio separated themselves from the rest of the field with Haslam battling Fontan, and Katayama and Jack Middelburg dicing. Spencer fell back into the pack behind and found himself in fourth place on the eighth lap as the drizzle began anew. At the halfway point things were still too close to call, but Lawson seemed to be dominating in second with Mamola holding off Spencer who was missing the midrange needed to get off the corners. "If I didn't get a drive off the corners they could get by me. I went from second to third to fourth to third. At different times I tried to get away, but it was the lack of midrange power. On top speed we were about even but by then it's too late to get by them. We found out that we'd stuck a ring and that's what hurt us. I didn't want to get into a last lap thing, but they kept hanging in there. There was nothing I could do," said Spencer. Roberts was five seconds clear of his pursuers by now and in a rhythm that couldn't be stopped. He kept ticking away and set the new lap record of I;28.20 at 119.4 7 mph in the second half. It was over two seconds faster than the previous mark held by Graham Crosby. With the three Yanks pushing each other around for second, the baltle behind went almost unnoticed. But 15 seconds back, Katayama and Fontan were having at it with Haslam the first Brit to show. Fontan would get the best of the duel and take the fifth spot, but Katayama would retain his fourth place in the point standings. The race wound down with Lawson mastering the course and his countrymen and taking an impressive second. Mamola stuck with it and finished a persistent third on a new hybrid-engined machine, which is a possible answer to the recurring power problems. And Spencer nursed his Honda to a fourth on the tails of Lawson and Mamola. To say Roberts was jubilant at winning his third Grand Prix in a row would be like saying the Queen likes crowns. The "King" likes them too, and "King Kenny" responded to the screams of the 60,00o-strong crowd with a wheelie across the finish line and on every straight section of the track, setting his front wheel down in a puff of smoke like a jet landing, only to loft it once around the bend. "It all went fine today," said Roberts at the post-race press conference. "Freddie's had his good days and I've had mine. It'll be tough to get this finish in Sweden, but we'll work on it. " Second-placed Spencer spoke of his day. "At the beginning of the race, before the rain delay, things were going good. Then after it and I was in there with Kenny and Randy and Eddie, I said to myself This is going.to be a long day.' "I felt comfortable out there all the time. All I was thinking of was keep· ing ahead of the other guys. To come away from here with a second place was pretty much what we expected." "When am I going to have my day?" Mamola asked after the race when the moderator mentioned the successes of his fellow Americans. "You make it sound like a four-rider team. We want to beat each other in the worst way. We all started in dirt tracking and that helped us understand suspension and gearing. That's how we were brought up. Some of the riders here start slower and race at the end. That kind of racing is gone. "Today my tires were sliding some and nobody wants to slow down. In two corners on the traCk I could get on the power faster and get a better drive than Freddie and Eddie. If they were ahead they'd get too much·distance on me for me to outbrake them and vice versa. You could see how fast the Yamahas were. It was unbelievable. Kenny went by me so fast I didn't even realize it." About the Anderstorp circuit of the Swedish Grand Prix the .following week, Mamola said, "It might be a Honda race next weekend. I think they have a really good chance on the short circuits. I think the Hondas and Suzukis handle better than the Yamhas. " Possibly the best comment on the race came from fourth-place finisher Lawson. "I never rode so hard in my life for fourth place. The more I ride the better I feel and at the end I can pick it up a little. When it started to rain I slowed and Freddie slowed, and Randy slowed. Then I gassed it and I said, 'Well, it's OK' and so we took off after Kenny. I don't have the experience these- guys have in the rain." • Results 500cc: 1. Ke.nny Robens (Yam); 2. Freddie Spencer (Han); 3. Randy Mamols (SUl); 4. Eddie Lawson (Yam): 5. Marc Fontan(Yaml; 6. Takazumi Katayama (Hon); 7. Ron Haslam (Hon); 8. Boet Van Dulmen (Suz); 9. Barry Sheene (SulI; 10. Keith Huewen ISuz). 500cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Spencer (117); 2. Robens (115); 3. MamolaI79); 4. Katayama 167); 5. Lawson 162); 6. Fontan (51). 25Occ: 1. Jacques Bolle (Yam); 2. Thierry Espie (Cha); 3. Christian Sarron (Yaml; 4. carlos Lavedo (Yam); 5. Martin Wimmer (Yam); 6. Reinhold Roth (Yam); 7. Teruo Fukuda (Yam); 8. Thierry Rapicault (Yam); 9. Didier de Radigues (Cha); 10. Graeme McGregor (EMC). 250cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Layado (90); 2. De Radigues (651; 3. Sarron (58); 4. Espie 155); 5. Guil· leux (51); 6. Wimmer (441. 125cc: 1. Angel Nieto (Gar); 2. Bruno Kneubuhler (M8A); 3. Hans Muller tM8A); 4. Willy Perez (M8A); 5. August Auinger (MBA); 6. Fausto Gresini (Gar); 7. J.C. Selini (M8AI; 8. Henk Van Kessel (M8A); 9. Maurizio Vitali (MBAI; 10. Pier Aldrovandi (MBA). 125ccPOINT STANDINGS: 1. Nieto(l 021; 2. Laz· zarini (67); 3. Kneubuhler (61); 4. Tormo (48); 5.Vitali (45); 6. Wickstrom (35). 21

• Cover