Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

ot:l 00 0') .-4 (Above left) Roberts' tactics included slowing down in hopes that another competitor would catch up and challenge Spencer for second. It didn'twork. (Above right) Pre-race favorite for the spoiler's role was Suzuki's Randy Mamola, but a fifth was the best the hard-charging Mamola could muster. Kalayama, who held fourth in lhe point slandings, fell hard in the Riz· ZUla curve, suffering mulliple injuries, including a broken back, He was laler flown LO Japan for further medical uealmen t. It was nOl a good sign for Honda and could only help the Yamaha cause, Kalayama's machines were lurned over to Frenchman Raymond Roche, who would eventually qualify eig!:uh. Fasl qualifier by half a second was Roberls alone minule 53.49 seconds, wilh Spencer clocking in all :54 even, Lucchinelli, an Imola resident. lhird at 1:54,65, Mamola fourth wilh a I:54.96. and Lawson al 1:55 flal. The pressure was clearly on Lawson LO help OUl the red-and-white Marlboro Yamaha cause. BUl qualifying only proved lhat lhey didn't have the right combinalion and so lhe nighl before the race they took an engine from one machine and sLUck il in lheframe from his olher machine lhen sent him out in the most imporlant race of his career. He went OUl in lhe 20-minule praclice session lhe morn 109 01 the race LO dial il in and had 10 make the besl of il. "We changed the shock and ride heighl," said Lawson. "On the warmu p I knew it was going to be good. " Among the various cognoscenli at lhe track, the allegedly informed opinion was lhal the onlv variable stopping Spencer from his (irst World Championship was the wealher. If il rained, lhey thoughl. someone, anyone. I would g l between him and Roberts (who everyone conceded would win the race) and Roberts would retire wilh his fourth crown. E~v, for one, didn'l agree. "We have a combinalion lhat we can PUl LOgelher for the rain and I think thal FredPie will do whatever it lakes LO gel the job done." Mamola was relishing his spoiler role lhe day before the race. "If I'm in lhe lead and five seconds ahead of Kenny, I'm ahead of Kenny. !L's lhe same wilh Freddie. I don't race for Yamaha or Honda. I'm going OUl lhere lO win for Suzuki. My feeling going in is I'm already defealed from whal I've been on all year. I'm nOl going LO lel lhem go." Spencer and Roberts both agreed lhal'their respeclive bikes had lheir advantages on diHerenl parts of lhe 3.13-mile long Dina Ferrari circuil. ''I'd ralher have mine through lhe chicanes and slow corners and lhe Yamaha through the fasl ones." said Spencer. "We're only going to be at a disadvanlage because we have lO work so much harder. I can do 53s but for how long? We can do 54s; lhal's no prootem. BUl II It rains, I wouldn't want LO be in Freddie's shoes," said Roberls. Another problem for the from· runners would be traffic. "If lhey screw u up going into the corners, lhen we're off the lrack. We have LO pass lhem going OUL There's only one line through most of these corners. And we'll probably Slart LO lap guys on the sixlh lap," Roberts said. Spencer agreed, adding lhallapped riders were a special problem for him because of the explosiveness of the Honda's power. "If we get behind someone and get off the powerband, lhe engine will bog and we have to downshifl to get it going again." Sunday's skies were periodically populated wilh lhunderheads and an occasional sprinkle fell. BUl when lhe 500s were called lO the line, lhe sun was shining brighlly and lhe temperaLUre was in the high 70-5. The crowd of aboul 100,000 was silenl as the slarter turned the 30second card sideways and exploded with enthusiasm as the green light sem the riders pushing. There were no surprises at the start with pencer taking his customary holeshOl and Roberts having LO push a bit harder LO get going in lOth. Behind Spencer were Lucchinellj, Ha-Iam, Roche, Lawson and Mamala. Tenth off the line, Roberts was fourth in the first corner, Tosa, a left· hand first gear uphill hairpin, passing Lawson along the way, "The clutch grabbed off the start and did a big wheel ie, then it bogged, and then it grabbed again," said Lawson. pencer's fastest lap was his second. lowering the track record LO 1:53,68. Roberts, cUlting lhrough traffic, was over lWO seconds slower, but on the fourth lap he gOl pasl Lucchinelli, and on the fifth lap, he did the best lap of the race, a 1:53.36. Lucchinelli was holding lhird ahead of Lawson and trying LO keep the leaders in sight while Mamola was sandwiched between Roche and Fontan. Roberts took the lead on the eighth lap and the order of the top nine didn't change again until the 13th of 24 laps when Spencer got briefly back in fronl. Butthe pace had dropped off LO 155s and 156s wilh Roberts uy· ing to keep Spencer back while Lawson caught up. "There was a point we were going so slow I thoughl he was going LO run inLO me. That's as slow as I could go and keep him behind me. A couple of times he gal by entering the chicane by outbraking me," said Roberts. Roberts had been bothered by an injury LO his right forearm and his fitness for a close, fast race on the LOrtuous track was in question. The slow pace decided that. though. "I could have gone forever atlhat peed, but no one else could go fast enough," said Robert . With eight laps to go, Lawson got past Lucchinelli and quickly opened up a gap on the fading !Lalian lar who had done his job well. "He just got tired. It would have been a good race. I was riding consistenLly and he stayed ahead of me. The rear tire came down a lol. It slid a lot. It had a tendency LO go off more lhan normal. And when I shifted into sixth it would stutter and pop, bUI the suspension was good and the engine was good. I just started out really slow," said Lawson. "At the beginning of the race I wamed LO put some distance between myself and Lawson," said Spencer after the race. "I knew Kenny would be up there. The lap boards were reading plus 8, plus 7, plus 6 and il got close atlhe end. I couldn'l go any slower. Any slower and I'd have been bauling with Lawson. I knew exactly where everybody was every lap of lhe race. " Of Lucchinelli's helping effons, he said, "I think Marco was trying. It'd be like me racing in Shreveport." Mamola was trying LO break away from his personal battle wilhout much luck. "I could beat Fontan and Roch on lap times, but lhey would gel me through the chicanes. Roche i the sort of rider lhat needs somebody LO drag him around. He was a liule bit hesilanl. That was the first time lhat he'd ridden the facLOry bikes. Going up the hill was the only place lO pass him." Mamola seuled into fifth two laps from the end and up front the lap boards were telling the sLOry that Spencer wanted to read. Lawson would close to six seconds behind Spencer, but to those watching it seemed much closer. But it wasn't enough LO keep Freddie from the \itle. Lawson's small consolation was his move into fourth in the final poim standings; making Americans 1-2-3-4. Roberts and Spencer both finished with wheelies, Roberts crossing the line 1.23 seconds ahead of Spencer. They continued aJ'ound the track on their real wheels. selling them down at the end for the podium ceremony which was more subdued than mosl. "For six monlhs I've been leading this thing. This is SOrt of an anticlimax," said Spencer. "It·s a relief that it's over. The last half lap I knew I wouldn't get him. If only I'd have gOllen going earlier." "We were rubbing arm a lot out there. Somelimes it was hairy. He wanled LO go around me on the outside and I could have moved out on bim. but you can do that anywhere. If you have to do that to win then it'S not worth winning the race," said Roberts. "Every time I picked up a second, he'd find some way LO make it up. " Asked about his constantly tated retirement plans, Roberts aid, "Unless they change the schedule and put more races in California, I'm sel. My kids need me now and I can't beaway from them for six months at a time." The question was put LO Spencer as LO when be knew he had the championship. "When I came out of the last corner on the slraightaway. I didn't want to do anything LO jeop· ardize it. It was exactly how I planned. " After his post-race press conference Spencer cleaned up and got ready to head off for the Honda victory party. Someone shook his hand as he was gelling in his car and said, "Congratulations, Champ." Kanernoto, who was getting in the car also, paused fora second and, with a smile, said, "I guess we'U have to call him 'Champ' now." Indeed you will,' bUl the Championship belongs to Erv also and, after all, Kenny didn't lose the Championsbip because he didn't have il. And as a testament LO the intensely competitive title, one Honda me· chanic remarked, "Who'd have thought thal you could win six races and still finish second?" Who thought. indeed? • Results 500cc: 1. Kenny Roberts (Yamk 2. Freddie IHonr, 3. Eddie Lawson (Yam); 4. Marco lucchinelli (Hon); 5. Randy Mamola (Su,): 6. Marc Fontan (Yam): 7. Raymond Roche (Han); 8. Boet Van Dulmen (Su,): 9. Ron Haslam (Han); 1D. Anton Mang (Sul). FINAL 500cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Spencer 1144): 2. Rabens (142); 3. Mamola (89); 4. Lawson 178); 5. Katayama 177): 6. Fontan (64); 7. Lucchinalli 148); 8. (TIE) Uncini/Ha.lam/Roche 122). 125oc: 1. Mauri'io Vitali (MBA): 2. Muller(MBA); 3. Aldrvandi (MBA); 4. Auinger IMBA); 5. Bianchi ISon(; 6. Woibel (MBA); 7. Von Kessel (MBA); 8. Per., IMBA); 9. KI.in (MBA); 10. Stra••r (MBA). FINAL 125cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Nieto (102); 2. Kneubuhler 176); 3. La'zarini (67): 4. Vitali (59): 5. Torma 152). 5Occ: 1. Ricardo Torma (Gar); 2. Stefan Dorflinger (Kre); 3. Lusuardi (Vii); 4. Timmer(Cas); 5. Klein IFKN). FINAL SOcc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Dorflinger IB1); 2. La...rini (69); 3. Lusuardi (38): 4. Spun (34); 5. Looyens,ein (24). SIDECARS: 1. BilandlWalti_rg (LCR): 2. Mich.,/Monchaud (LCR); 3. Sch_rzeliHuber (Vam); 4. StreuerISchnieders ILCR); 5. Jonesl Ayres ILCR). FINAL SIDECAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. BilandlWaltisperg (98): 2. StreuerISchneidersl72); 3. Schwarzel/Huber 167); 4. Michel/Monchaud (57); 5. Kumano/Kunio (39). 15

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