Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Christian Sarron (2) Manfred Herweh (7) and Thierry Espie in the 250cc race_ Sarron lost a carbo Espie crashed. Herweh finished third. Kenny Roberts (right) gives Wayne Rainey some advice on the grid as mechanic Bruce Maus (left) listens in. 14 lap hadn't been met. With only one session on Friday many thought Spencer would put the NS500 threecylinder on the track, but it wasn't to be. He couldn't improve on his time and turned in only two laps at speed during the 50-minute rain-plagued session. Late in the practice, as the track became mosBy dry, Mamola turned in a 2:16.76 for the 3.87-mile circuit, averaging just under 100 mph. Not to be outdone, Lawson, on only his fourth lap at speed, dropped the mark to 2;14.94 and took the pole position. Next to him on the front row were Haslam, Mamola and Roche. Spencer was on the second row for the first time since August of 1981 when he raced the ill-fatedNR5oo . four-cylinder four-stroke at Silverstone. Next to him were the Elf Johnson/Chevalier Honda of Didier de Radigues and Team Heron Suzuki of Barry Sheene. "I knew I could go faster," Lawson said of his one quick lap. "When I came in and they gave me that time I thought they were mistaken. I felt like I was just riding around. It felt comfortable. " Spencer wasn't comfortable. "In the last session we were trying a different tire. We just ran out of time and we had a small problem with the ignition. It was very strange because the bike was reacting differently than ever before." Braking the heavier NSR was one area where Spencer was encountering problems. "I was witb Raymond Roche and we both got on the brakes and I was almost talking to the corner worker. If the track was wider I could do what the bike needs to go faster. Here, there's only one line." Mamola was confident he could go faster, and although he was offered the four-cylinder he stuck with the lighter and more maneuverable three. "It takes a while to get used to the four and if I spent time trying to learn on that I'd be going backwards almost. I tried the four a little in France and Yugo, but here the thr~e's the beller bike." Of that, there was no doubt. Haslam tried the four and put it back on the truck. Spencer would have liked to qualify the three-cylinder, but the weather killed his track time and he had to stick with the four. There was also a belief among many that the Honda powers-to-be were discouraging Spencer from back peddling to the three. "It's a tough situation we're in," said Spencer. "In the last two races we could have gone faster on the three, but the four was ade- quate. We have to win and we have to finish. We know the track here is hard on the bike and we know we have to go [aster. We believe that the four is a little more reliable." Spencer didn't get the holeshot, as Mamola LOok that with Haslam, Sheene, Spencer, Lawson and Roche in pursuit. By tbe horseshoe on the first lap, Lawson was up to fourth with Spencer already in the lead and Australian Wayne Gardner moving to fifth. On the first complete lap Spencer held a three-second advantage on Lawson, in fifth, when timed on the back straightaway. It was a 4.4 second gap on the second lap, but then Spencer's day ended. "I was in sixth gear when the cap came off," Spencer said. "It backrired and I sort of moved over. I thought maybe it was the crank. I pulled in and put the cap back on, but when I went back out it wasn't running right. It may have hurt the coil when it backfired. That happened once before." Mamola took over the lead with Sheene a resurgent second in a pack with Haslam, Lawson and Roche. Haslam felt his crankshaft begin to weaken on the fourth lap and didn't think he'd finish the race. Mamola and Roche began to pull out a lillIe breathing room on the pack behind which became one less on the eighth lap. Sheene coasted to a stop near the back of the paddock, parked his Suzuki on the fence, and walked away after his engine "blew into a thousand pieces." On the same lap, Lawson moved past Haslam and set out [or the RocheMamola duel at the front. On similar machines, Mamola and Roche were fighting tooth and nail the full length of the circuit. Mamola would set up wide on the corners, hit the apex, and power out. The erratic Roche would dive under Mamola entering the comer and square itoH dirt-track style before turning up the gas. It was a great race and the crowd was held spellbound, althou~h unaware of Roche's problems. "The gearing was too short," the diminutive Frenchman said. "I was turning 12,000 rpm and Mamola and Lawson would go by but I was passing them everywhere. My bike weighs about 135 kilos (297 lb.) and it as heavy in the corners to throw it back and forth." Lawson ~etthe quickest lap o[ the race on the eighth circuit with a 2: 15.75 LOur while running third. At the halfway point, Mamola, Roche and Lawson crossed the start/ finish line one behind the other with a gap of eight seconds back to fourth place Haslam, who had an equal distance on Wayne Gardner. Tadahiko Taira, Yamaha's Japanese 500cc champion and fifth place finisher in this year's Daytona 200, held a steady sixth in his first-ever GP. Mamola's faceshield was fogging up. "The shield began to fog up with about 10 laps to go," said Mamola, "and I began to think I wouldn't win. It was fogging up only in spots, like a snail was crawling from side to side across il. " Soon after the halfway point, the leaders hit traffic. The Hondas work traffic better with greater acceleration and nimbleness. The heavier Yamaha of Lawson is less maneuverable and once in traffic could pressure Mamola or Roche, but couldn't pass. Unable to pass Mamola's Honda, it appeared Lawson was frustrated by a less-than-perfect engine with possible carburetion problems. According to the official lap charts, Lawson last held second on the 18th of 20 laps. With Mamola and Roche fighting so intensely, it looked like Lawson was silling back waiting for them to make a mistake and it almost happened in the final chicane 50 yards from the finish line. "Randy went into the corner first, but I went under him to the inside of the chicane. I hi t some sand there and lostthefront end. I just turned up the gas and it straightened out, but Randy was right next to me. I could have put him off the track, but I backed off," said Roche. "On the last lap, three turns before 'the end I knew Roche was going to pass me," said Mamola. "I changed my brake marker in the chicane and he was using the road underneath me. I knew he had to go underneath me and when we came out of the chicane Roche hit the dirt and we came together. I had my line going off the track all picked out, bull went around him." The margin of Mamola's first Grand Prix win since Hockenheim in September 1982 was a scant 0.27 seconds. Lawson was J .97 seconds behind Mamola in third and Haslam was a lonely 46 seconds back in fourth. Gardner finished over a minute behind the leaders and 10 seconds ahead of Taira. "I flicked it so hard it was bouncing trying to SLOP," said Mamola. A side eHeCl of the leaning over was that he wore completely through his boot and ground down part of the little toe on his right fool. "You get no rest here. You're turning left to right all o[ the time. I don't know if Raymond was as tired as me. I was pulling him in certain places where he couldn't get me back," said Mamola. Lawson wasn't talking after the race. Why the reticence was a point of much debate. Possibly it was a reaction to what might have been had Spencer not broken down. His third would have been a second consecutive fourth to his placing at the Yugoslav GP in Rijeka two weeks previous. And the point gap would have been only 10 on Spencer instead of 27. There were some who believed he was taking it easy and collecting his 10-point ~ift and that he didn't want to be Involved in a RocheMamola accident and had backed off. But Lawson is more competitive than that and would like nothing more than to win and he hasn't in the four races since the Austrian GP. All roads point to machine trouble since it appeared not to be the tire problems which plagued him in Rijeka. Lawson's strength this season has been his consistency. He is the only 500cc rider to have scored points in every grand prix. After qualifying Lawson had said, "If we can do well here and in Belgium then maybe we can have some breathing room." It appears that, barring a DNF of his own, he has all of the room that he needs for his world championship. • Results 500cc: 1. Randy Mamola (Han); 2. Raymond Roche (Han); 3. Eddie lAwson (Yam); 4. Ron Haslam (Han); 5, Wayne Gardner (Han); 6. Tadahiki Taira (Yam); 7. GUltav Reiner (Hon); 8. Takazumi Katayama (Han I; 9. Reinhold Roth (Honl; 10. Eero Hyvarinen (Suz). • 500cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. lAwson (99); 2. Spencer (72); 3. Mamola (69); 4. Rocha (65); 5. Haslam(51); 6. Sheane (26); 7. van Dutmen (19); 8. de Radigues (18); 9. Roth (141; 10. Pilllandini (131. 25Occ: 1. Carlos IAvado(Yaml; 2. J. Cornu(Yam); 3. M. Herweh (Rea); 4. Anton Meng (H8); 5. G. Bertin (M8AI; 6. T. Fukuda (Yam); 7. S. Minich (Yam); 8. S. Menen. (Yam); 9. A. Wett. (EMC); 10. K.T. Greessel (Rom). 250cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Sarron (72); 2. Herweh 155); 3. Meng (54); 4. IAvado (51); 5. Pan. 141); 6. Cornu (381; 7. Wimmer (33); 8. Rainey (29); 9. Carter (17); 10. Fernandez (16). 125cc: 1. Angel Nieto (Girl; 2. Eugenio Lazzarini IGir); 3. Han. Mueller (M8A); 4. J.C. Selini (MBA); 5. S. Caracchi (MBA); 6. A. Auinger (Monl; 7. B. Kneubuehler (XM); 8. H. Van Ke.sel (MBA); 9. N. Robinson (MBA); 10. S. Straver (MBA). 125cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Nieto (75); 2. IAzzarini 1561; 3. Muller 127); 4. Caracchi 122); 5. (TIE) Auinger/Selini(21); 7. Kneubuehler (19); 8. Cadalora (1 B); 9. (TIE) Vitali/Gre.ini 1'6). 8Occ: 1. J. Martinez (Der); 2. H. Spaan ICa.l; 3. H. Abold IZun); 4. G. Waibel IRea); 5. W. Heykoop (Cas); 6. Pier Paolo Bianchi (Cas); 7. G. Looijestein ICas); 8. H. Mueller (S.cl; 9. T. Timmer (Cos); 10. P'. Rimmelzwaan (Har). 80cc POINT STANDINGS: 1. Dorllinger (611; 2. Abold 1601; 3. Bi.nchi 1551; 4. W.ibel (42); 5. MarIinez (381; 6. Spun (37); 7. Heykoop (21); 8. (TIE) Muller/Looyesteyn (161; 10. van Kessel 1121. SIDECARS: 1. Biland/W.ltisperg (Y.m); 2. Streuer/Schneiders (Yam); 3. Schwaerzel/Huber IY.m); 4. Abbott/Smith (Yam); 5. Egloff/Egloff (Yam); 6. Bingham/Bingham (Yam); 7. Zurbruegg/ Zurbruegg (Yam); 8. Kumano/Diehl (Yam); 9. Christinat/Fahrini (Yam); 10. Gle8son/Rothenbuehier (Suzl. SIDECAR POINT STANDINGS: ,. Slreuer/Schneiders (52); 2. Schwazel/Huber (38); 3. Michell Fresc (32); 4. Biland/Waltisperg (30); 5. Kumanol Diehl (20); 6. Abbott/Smith 115); 7. Jones/Ayre. 1121; 8. (TIE) W.bster/Hewitt - van Kempen/deH.... (101: 10. Zurbruegg/Zurbruegg 18).

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