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/126760
title is almost impossible. Never beforeeven in '83, and that was already ulLra-competi tive as seasons go-has such an array of talented riders and evenly-matched machines been seen in a single class of GP road racing; the ad thing i that if the 350cc category hadn't been so fooli hly axed, fan could be treated to this nailbiting spectacle twice in an afternoon rather than just once. While reigning champ Carlos Lavado will defend his title on the factory-backed Yamaha, the big news· is that two-time former 250cc titleholder Anton Mang will be back to try to wrest it from him, mounted this time on a Yamaha-based machine rather than his famous Kawasakis. Mang's brief sojourn in the 500'cc class met with lillie success since he sat out most of last season with a skiing injury, but when he did eventually race he showed he'd lost lillie of his talent. With ace tun~r Sepp Schlogl at work on the engines, mounted ,in a special chassis reponed Iy a dead ringer of that of his old Green Meanie, Mang unquestionably will be the guy to beat. Lavado's sure to have good equipment LOO, but just as Johnny CecOlLO before him J have a feell"ng that South Americans are good at winning titles, not defending them. Personally, I'd have thought Carlos a much beller bet than Ferrari for the second Yamaha 500cc ride. One person who won't agree is Marc Fontan, sixth in the 500cc series last year but now moving down to the 250s to team up with Christian Sarron, runner-up LO Lavado la t year, on the French Yamahas. Marc remarkably scored points in every single GP last year on his V-4 Yamaha, yet there was no room for him on the Marlboro/Yamaha team in '84. See what I mean about Ferrari being lucky? The two Frenchmen make a strong team, but I really wonder if not perhaps t,oo strong for each other's g-ood when the chips are down. The joker in the 250cc pack this season is the new V-twin Honda, six months a-coming and still not raced in public a the season stans. Grandiose plans LO flood the world wi th 250cc Hondas have been transfo.rmed into a small batch of 30 bikes, only a few of wh i h will reach the G P scene, and at this stage it's not really clear who'll be riding them-maybe Roland Freymond or perhaps even Wayne' Gardner? Now 'there's a thought. Whatever the eventual outcome, Honda's curious volte-face with the bike left quite a few top riders forced to make emergency plans in tbe close season, among them Mang and Jacques Cornu. One can only assume that the bike still needs funher development before it's released to the public. When itdoes come it's bound LO add funher spice, but before that the first 250cc V-twins are already likely to have appeared, courtesy of Garelli and Villa. Twelve-time World Champion Angel Nieto's dearest wish is not LO equal Ago's record of IS World Champion hip titles, but to prove to the world he's not just a tiddler rider. To that end, Garelli engineer Jan Thiel is constructing a 250cc V-twin that the paniard will develop during the course of this season with a serious attack on the title in mind for '85. The ingredients are all there for a successful effon: ace rider, clever engineer (though Thiel's talents as a chassis designer do not perhaps match his engine development genius) and well-backed team. I'll take them to make their mark by the end of the season. The new Villa is a smaller effon, reputedly embodying- many innova(Continut:d to pagt: 30) THE1S1lM QlO2 WELCOMES DALLAS, TEXAS THE C'OTTON BOWl! -SATURDAY APRIL 14 8:00 PM ~, 'TOYOTA . ... .... . t;" r-ORDER EARLY FOR BEST SEATS!-, a, CAL TIIIJCI( OF !RJP&iLM TOYOTA TRUCK EARLY ENTRY AT 4:30 PM I I I I I ~ . EncDe a sail adlliesaed, ~ 1Il'IIlope, cerliliad chacIl or money ordar ."" pIyIilia 10: RAINBOW TlCKETlIASTER 1 985ll Nor1Il Cenlral ~, S. 260 I DaIas, TX 75231 Ajlril 1 wi. I Onloro otlhowllc:allwlndow. be hold I I /I Of' TlCImS I _ _ _ _ @ S111.OO I ft.-n AOORESS CITY PHONE (Include Area Code) T_ # of _ _ _ _ 1OdO @ 1 7.10 • ., _ _ _ _ @ S12.Gl1 _ _ _ _ IOdo @ ZIP STATE _ clWve per - • --- aMAlIA TO CHARGE BY PHONE ON VISA OR MASTERCARD CALL ·2141369-9000 METRO PHONE 263-9191 . . . ($1.50 _ cIwgJ ~ pIuIS2.llOhnIng"'~onIIr). 111.0O I ~~1~3 _ / Bel Ray/Kawasaki rider Jeff Ward wins Bel Ray Grand National Supercross at Talladega, AL The Lubrication Leader. Bel-Ray Company, Inc. Box 526 Farmingdale, New]ersey 07727 201-938-2421 _ . 25