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/126772
l/) ~ II: CD >I{ ~ > z z w :r > CD l/) 5 :r 0.. Freddie Spencer switched back to a three-cylinder NS500. and won in West Germany. (Above) Eddie Lawson. Spencer and Randy Mamola turned in another 1-2-3 USA sweep. (Below) Team Marlboro Roberts riders Alan Carter (14) and Wayne Rainey pursue Thierry Espie in 250cc action. World Championship Road Race Series: RoundS Spencer fops Lawson in Germany By Henny Ray Abrams NURBURG, WEST GERMANY, MAY 27 In a stunning technological leap backwards, World Champion Freddie Spencer parked his NSR500 V-4 Honda and rode an updated version of last year's works three-cylinder to 18 victory over Marl boro Yamaha' 500cc World Championship I Hondaleader RandyLaw on and point Eddie rider Mamola in the innaugural Grand Prix of Germany on the new, shortened Nurburgring. Honda's Ron Haslam was fourth and Total/Honda France's Raymond Roche was fifth. Lawson, however, still holds a commanding lead in the point standings with 69 points to Roche's 43 and Spencer's 42. Mamola lies fourth with 32. The decision to park the troublesome four-cylinder was made by Spencer and his chief mechanic Erv Kanemoto alter recurring problems slowed him in Friday's two qualifying sessions. A late/night dash was made to Honda's racing headquarters in Aalst, Belgium, nearly an hour's drive away and former Honda rider Marco Lucchinelli's 1983 R 500 was picked up and brought to urburgringwhere it was updated with a 1984 engine and various other parts. In the final practice session on aturday, Spencer easily earned the pole position with a blistering one-minute, 42.75-second lapat 128.06 mph. Lawson was second fastest a bit over one second ba k. Heron Team Suzuki's Rob McElnea wa a surprising third with Mamola and Haslam filling out the front row. The 250cc race was decided in the final corner when, much to the dismay of his 80,000 countrymen, Gt:rmany's Manfred Herweh overshot the bend on his Massa Real HR250 allowing SonaulO Gauloises rider Christian Sarron to take hi Yamaha lO his second win in a row and handing second to a miling and thankfuJ Martin Wimmer on the Mitsui Marlboro Yamaha. Fourth went to HB Yamaha's Anton Mang with World Champion Carlos Lavado, on the Venemotos Yamaha, fifth. Back to back in sixth and eventh were the Marlboro Team Roberts Yamahas of Wayne Rainey and Alan Caner, the victims of a wrong tire choice. Californian Dave Busby also had problems and finished 27th. arron strengthened his points lead to 19 over paniard SilO Pons, 54 lO 35. Mang holds third at 31. Garelli's multi-time World Champion Angel ieto kept his perfect record intact by winning his third straightl25cc GP. MBA's Luca Cadalora came second with Eugenio Lazzarini, NielO's teammate, third. NielO leads Lazzarini in the title race 45 points to 32. The 80cc race was won by Zundapp's Stefan Dorflinger with the Huvo Casal or Pier Paolo Bianchi second and eel Real's Gerhard Waibel third. Bianchi leads Dorflinger 50 lO 46 in the poi nts chase. DULchmen Egbert SLreuer and Bern Schieders won their econd Sidecar race followed, Lhis Lime, by the hair of Frenchmen Mi hel/Rese with Steve WebsLer and Martin Hewiu of Eng- land in third.The Dutch team has a perfect 30 points for their two GP wins over the 20 of Germans Werner Schwaerzel and Andreas Huber. Although the "Ring" has been redesigned to a length of 2.8 miles from almost 15, one thing that hasn't changed is the weather. Qualifying on Friday was done in mostly damp conditions with the temperature just over 50 degrees. Saturday wa beuer, but barely, although the track tayed dry long enough for arron Lo improve his best lap time for the pole. Wimmer and Herweh followed with Rainey fourth and Carter eighth. Busby was 44th. "I never reaJly got a fast lap in," said Rainey. "There were a coupLe of accident and they parked an ambulance on the fastest line through the last corner." Race morning brought no surprises. A steely, smoky gray sky covered the area with only occasional splashes of brightness. The stands, capable of holding 120,000 spectators, were a patchwork of orange and yellow rainsuits anticipating the worst. All of the riders on the front row for the 250cc GP had slicks except for Rainey, who chose intermediates. "They told us they wouldn't stop the race if it started lO rain and I had a feeling that it would," said Rainey. "After the warm-up laps I talked lO the Dunlop guys and they told me the slicks didn't work well in the cold so. I stayed with the intermediates. " The deci ion was almost irrelevant as the 45-rider field hit the Castrol Esses at the end of the 760-yard front straight. Between the left and right hand bends that make up the chicane, a multi-rider crash occured and Rainey was right in the middJe of it after amid-pack start. "A rider went down on my right. I hit him and I thought I was going down," said Rainey. "Then I fell to my left and another rider hit me so I just held the throttle wide open and lOok off. I had tire marks on both sides of the bike and my boots." Wimmer was out front followed closely by Sarron, Carter, Herweh, Lavado and Thierry Espie. Herweh, Sarron and Wimmer quickly split from the rest with the trio of Lavado, Espie and Carter following. Rainey was rindingout his intermediate tires were heating up and he cut through the field lO seventh by lap five. Rainey caught up lO and passed teammate Carter six laps later, but knew his chances for a top placing were slim. ''I'd go into the turns doing a big dirt track slide trying to catch the riders in front of me, "said Rainey. "I couldn't get any acceleration though as my tires weren't ticking." Just pa t halfway, Rainey briefly took fourth, but dropped back to ixth where he would finish. Wimmer was leading narrowly a the laps wound down and on the neXl to last lap Herweh got by giving Wimmer a friendly tap on the arm as he passed. Wimmer was dropped to third by Sarron and then Henveh gave the win to Sarron in the last turn. "I went into the turn far lOO fast," said Herweh. "When I braked on the wrong line, Sarron and Wimmer got ahead of me. I thought I had a good chance to win." Sarron won by a. scant 0.13 second over Wimmer. "Herweh's bike had a little more power than mine a did arron and I thought for sure I was going lO geL third," said Wimmer."I'm happy to get the poinLs for second." Mang, Lavado and Rainey were 15 seconds back with a liLLIe over one second overing the three. "The front tire had no tread left at