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/126825
en ~ lli ~ ~ ~ Z Z w :I: i::; ~ a ~ . (Above) Freddie Spencer (4) leads Eddie Lawson (1) in yet another epic 500cc duel in Austria. (Below) Spencer (4) and Co. get away cleanly as Thierry Espie (12) collides with Mike Baldwin (11). World Championship Road Race Series: Round 5 Spencer rolls on vvith tvvo vvins in Austria By Henny Ray Abrams SA LZBU RG, AUSTR IA , J U N E 2 Freddie Spencer's assault on the record books ' continued in the Grand Prix of Austria at the Salzburgring where he became the first road racer in history to win both the 250 and 500cc classes o n co nsecu tive weekends. Bu t unlike th e pre. k d h h R h V IOU S wee en .w en t e ot ma n H onda rider tu rne d the 10 doubl e in th e It alian Gra nd P rix at M ugello, this wee kend 's trick was not as easy. In th e 250c c G P , he toyed with Marlbo ro H o nd a 's To n i Mang befor e p u lli ng away to a 5.58-seco nd m arg in o f victory, but in th e rain interru p ted 500cc race he won the first seg me nt o f 161a ps, beat ing Marlbo ro Yama ha's Edd ie Lawson, a nd finished secon d to Lawson in th e 14lap secon d segment. winn in g th e , two- leg race o n aggrega te-time' by 3 '" ' sca nt .03 seconds. Third p lace went to ~o ~auto Gau loises Ya m a h a ' s Christi an Sa rro n who was we ll back . In winni ng th e two rac es Spencer in creased h is leads i n th e World Cha m pions hi p po int sta n di ngs. H e lea ds Man g , 59 to 50, in th e 250cc d ivi sio n , wit h Lui Yama ha 's Martin Wimmer, fourth today, third wi th 4 1. In the 500cc point standings. Spe ncer h as 69 to defen di ng Wo rld Cham p ion La wson's 59 a nd Sa rro n's 46. Fou rth toda y in th e 500cc G P was Rot hman H onda 's Rand y Ma m ol a with four th place finishes in bo th legs. Con necticut's Mike Bal dwin , a fter being knocked down 'On th e line a t th e sta rt of th e first leg a nd ge tt ing a way we ll last , rode su perbly to ea rn a fifth in the second leg a fter a 19th in th e firs t leg fo r sevent h o verall. G arell i-m ounted Fausto Gresini won a thrilling 125cc GP by 0.26 seco nds over Monnet Racing 's Au gust Aui n ger wh o bumped Ga rell i's Ezio Gia nola to third just 0.69 seconds back. Poi n ts lead er Pier Paol o Bianch i fin ished fo urt h o n th e MBA but maintai ned the po ints lea d wit h 48 to Gres in i's 39 a nd Gianol a 's 30. T h e former World Cham p ion sidecar team of Rolf Biland and Ku rt Waltispergqual ified o n ly .08 seco nds behi nd th e current cha m ps , Eg bert Stre uer a nd Bernard Sch n iede rs, but had n o pee rs co me race da y and beat fellow Krauser Racing tea m members -Sc h w a erze lz Bu ck by close to six seco n ds. T he rig o f Great Bri tain 's Webster/Hew itt was third a nd fourth we nt to the Dutch team o f Streuer and Sch n ieders. Schwarzel/ Buck hold th e points lead wi th 27 to Bil and/ Waltisperg's 23 and Web ster/Hewi tt 's 22. . H isto rically, th e tim ekeepin g at th e Sa lzbu rgring ha s been suspect. In the 500cc class, Ca lifo rn ia n Mamol a holds th e lap record o f 1:18. 11, but ha s o pe n ly ad m itte d th at he d idn 't go th at fast wh en h e is a lleged to have set the ti me in 1983. Spencer was fast qualifier in th e 250cc class wi th a 1:22.75, a vera ging 114.584 mph o n th e 1.635 mil e Sa lzburgrin g. Wh en , in th e fin al sessio n, Ma ng's time o f 1.22.80 was posted , sus p icio ns were ra ised and ultima tel y, co nfirmed . Man g ad m i tte d th at th e tim e h is mech anics clocked h im at was at lea st a seco nd slo wer th an th e offic ia l t im e. Third fastes t was Ven emot os Yamaha 's Ca rlos Lavado wit h a 1:23.95. T welve o ther riders fin ished with in a secon d of L avado a nd 23 qual ified o n th e following second. Mang got th e hol eshot, with Rothm an H ond a 's Fasto Ri cci seco nd a nd a g rou p o f si x rid ers vying for third . Spencer was a mong th e six and o n th e th ird lap, as Mang tu rned a 1:24.58, Spen cer m oved into thi rd . Mang's time was a lmost two seco nds o ff Spe ncer's qualifyin g time an d on th e. fi fth lap Spencer was by. . Both Mang a nd R icci' were o n th e 'wo r ks RS 250 H ondas, but both had removed th e mechanical ATAC exh uast systern s because of a sti cking problem . Spencer , o n th e o ne -o ff RS250RW , uses anelectronicATACand appeared to have o nly a sligh t power ad vantage. With lap tim es stay ing in th e m id 1:24's a n d Sp encer a nd Mang swa ppin g. th e lead it a p pea red that wh enever h e wanted, Spen cer co u ld pull a way . R icci was a steady , unch al. len ged th ird with juan Garri ga , W immer , P ier Boll e, Siegfried Min ic h , and L av ad o in a moving pack fighting for fou rth. Ma ng, a Bav arian fro m So u the rn G erm any , was th e cro wd fa vorite and o ne n eed o nly to listen to the roar of th e 70,000-plus crowd to know wh o was lead ing . Man g tu rn ed hi s fas test la p , a I :23.62, o n the sevent h circu it a n d tr ied to h an g tough with th e fleet Spe ncer. The 21st lap.was Spe ncer's fas test, a 1:23.27 , a nd wi th four lap s to go Fr edd ie p u lle d a way with a p parent ease. H is o ne -second lead o n th e 18th la p , became 2.4 a lap lat er a nd h e ga i ne d stea dily o n h is way to a 5.58 seco nd victory. Man g was 10 seco nds a head of Ri cci for a H onda swee p of th e to p th ree pla ces. Wimmer finished a closing fourth. A seco nd be- . hind Wimmer ca me L o ris R eggiani on th e Aprilia , wi th H ans Lindner sixth o n th e Rotax an d G arriga seventh . Mang sa id , " T he way Fr eddie rode h e co u ld save th e ti res. When I tr ied to tak e h is lines m y gearing wasn 't right in so me o f th e co rners a nd I co u ld n 't adj ust m y riding styl e." " T he 25 0 ra ce wa s fun ," sa id Spencer. " 1 was running in hi gh to . sq uare of f th e la st co rner a t the en d of th e front straigh t to try to get a better drive to get up the hill a nd get by him (Ma ng) . T he tr ack seems bigger on the 250 because yo u spe n d more time o n the track. In th e righ t-Ieh-righ t o n the to p section we ca n run wid e o pe n wh ere o n th e 500 yo u h ave to throw it bac k a nd forth a nd back off." Th e Sa lzbu rgring. with its long uphill bac k stretch a nd almost eq ua lly lon g fro nt stra ig h ta way is brutal to those down o n po wer. Riders talk w ith near reveren ce about th e hill a nd th e unanimous co nsen t was tha t th e to rq ue o f th e NSR500 H onda would tilt th e odds in former World Champion Spe ncer's fav or. From th e fi rs t session o n he was the fas tes t, taking th e pole with a 1:18.13, a,! though three of hi s crew m ember s clocked h im a t 1:17.8. L aw son wa s seco nd at I:18.78, but hi s crew's tim es we re a lso a bo ut 0.4 seco nds better than th e track's tim e. Sa rron wa s third a t 1:18.7 3, with Mamol a fourth and H a slam fifth. Baldwin was 11th. "The bikes have more p ow er th an th ey h ad tw o years ago ," sa id p ol esitter Spen cer. " T he bi ggest thing we h av e to worry a bo ut is th at it spins a lot. You co u ld be faster ift he bike had less power. T ha t's why yo u don ' t see a big jump in quali fying times lik e yo u do a t some o the r tr acks." Former World Champion Kenny Roberts a tte n ded th e race on h is way to a test session in japan a n d sugges ted th at Spencer cou ld go faster o n th e three-cy li nde r NS500. Spen cer responded : " P roba bly. It 's ma inl y beca use they'r e narrow and easy to m aneuver a t top sp eed . The fou r is wider a n d h arder to move from o ne side to th e o the r. There's a lot o f off-throttle top gea r stu ff a nd th e power co mes o n sm ooth ly with the three." . Abo ut th e track, Spencer sa id . " 1 like ra ce tracks with a little more varie ty. The place th at bothers me th e most h ere is o n top after the right the re's a left. It 's wa y too fast. You ca n .eithe r mak e or lose a lot of time th rough -th ere;' , . ' ", .