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/126765
World Champion Fast Freddie Spencer and contender Eddie Lawson share the victory stand as spectators crowd around. (Below. leftl Lawson chases Ron Haslam early in the race. (Below. rightl Mid pack start: Keith Huewen (161. W. Migliorati (321. G. Reiner (331. M. Papa (301 and Gary Ligham (561. World Cbamploaablp Road Race Series: Roand Z Spencer romps in Italy By Ian Norris MISANO ADRIATICO, ITALY, APR. 15 World Champion Freddie Spencer scored his ninth Grand Prix victory when he easily won the Italian G P at Misano. The Honda factory rider finished 20 seconds ahead of fellow American Eddie Lawson, b U t Lawson retained his lead . , in the World Champwn powt standings. 6 Spencer, who did not compete in the first GP of the season in South Africa last month due to injuries suffered i.n a practice accident, set the pace on the final day of practice on Saturday by postinga I minute, 21.45 second, 95.48 mph lap of the 2.1 mile long circuit. The time was well inside the lap record which he set in 1982. Spencer, riding the.new V-4 Honda, was nme-tenths of a second ahead of Marlboro Yamaha's Lawson. . ~ surprise on the grid was Australia s Wayne Gardner on a BrllLshentered Honda. Gardner, well-known in British raci.ng circles. is a newcomer to the Grand Prix circuit, having competed in only one previous event. He logged a I:23.20 second lap on Saturday to qualify third fastest behind Spencer and Lawson. Rounding out the top 10 quali[i- who had entered the race with a machine lent to him by Honda Great Britain. Gardner's effort was a longshot effort to attract sponsorship for a full season's racing. He surprised the experts with his third fastest time in practice and from ninth position on the opening lap of the GP the Aussie progressed through the field to finish fourth, behind Roche who finished some 27 seconds behind runner-up Lawson and ahead of former World Champion Franco Uncini by 12 seconds. The partisan crowd of 60,000 witnessed their hero Uncini, riding the Gallina RG500 Suzuki, make an astounding recovery from a poor stan. Uncini was close to last off the line, but picked 0(( two or three riders a lap until, by the 10th lap, he was in 10th position. By lap 17 Uncini was seventh and the crowd was in a frenzy. Chants of "Uncini! Uncini'" echoed through the loudspeaker sys.tem. ers, in order, were Ron Haslam, Franco Uncini, Raymond Roche, Leandro Becheroni, Didier De Radigues, Sergio Pellandini and Boet Van Dulmen. When the green £lag was waved on Sunday, Spencer made a slower start than usual and was fifth at the end of lap one, but after three laps he went through to take the lead ahead of early pace-setters Reinhold Roth of West Germany and Haslam of Britain, both on Hondas. From then on the young Louisiana resident was invincible. Lawson climbed up to second place on the sixth lap, but couldn't make any impression on the leader, who was extending the gap between them at the rate of a second per lap. When he was 20 seconds ahead, Spencer settled into a rhythm and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Lawson was also unchallenged, but behind him the Slar was Gardner, ' .. .... .- ••••••••••• ••••••••• I I • ,