Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

in fact mad e o u t o f shee t a lloy stee l form ed into varying round and o val sec tions a nd seam we lded. The frame is la rge a nd strong wh ere it has to be but lig h t and sma ll ever ywhere el se. He wishes to bu ild suc h a frame for the 500cc H onda triple if he can a ttrac t th e fin an ce req u ired a nd perha ps th en it will be shown in th e light i t deserves. Cecotto back and Palazzese sacked ...... o ...... J o h n n y Ceco tt o , the yo u n g es t Wo rl d Champ ion who won the 350cc title in 1975 a t th e age o f 19, was spectating in Yugosla via , still recove ri ng from th e badl y-broken legs he sus tain ed in a ra cin g ca r cras h in 1984. H e wa s wa lki ng we ll afte r eig h t o pe ra tions but ca n no t run and fitness traini ng is very pai nfu l. H e would lik e to ra ce bikes agai n but h as n o plans and wou ld find th at easier than racin g a ca r beca use h is right a n kle is in j ur ed th e worst. H e last rac ed in 1980. Co in cident all y, Ven ezu elan Ivan Pal azzese, winner o f two 125ccG Ps a t the end of 1982 befo re h e jo ined th e Venemot os tea m to ri de a 250cc beside Ca rlos Lavad o, h as been given th e sack. He did not rid e a t Rijeka because th e team to ld him th a t afte r a disa ppointi ng yea r in wh ich he has fai led to score any poin ts a nd di d not qua lify in Austria th ere are no bi kes for h im . Morbidelli comeback T h e o nc e-fam o us racing na me of Morbidell i wi ll live agai n a s Gian ca rl o Mo rbi dell i, fat her of th e firm tha t mak es its mo nev from woodwor kin g machiner y, ha s'bo ug h t the dying MBA co ncern a nd their racing ma chi nes incl uding th e a lmost-rea dy 250cc V-tw in G P racer. Morbidell i won 34 Grands Pr ix between 1970 and 1979 in th e 125cc a nd 250cc classes. Pi er Paol o Bia nch i wo n two 125cc Ch am p io n shi p s for th em a nd Paol o Pi leri o ne. Mario L ega took th e 250cc Champio ns h i p and th ey en tered th e 500cc class wi th a disc valve sq ua re four th a t G raziano Rossi ro de wi th little success. Frenchmen in action T h ree of th e fa ster Fren ch rid ers who ha ve mi ssed most o f thi s season 's G rands Prix were back in ac tio n a t Rij eka . Guy Bertin, winner of thi s vear's LeMans 24-Hou r race, was back in ac tio n o n a brand new Ma lan ca . It is a reviv ed Italian racing name but in h onest y th e bike is a Nico Bak er frame with a Ro tax engine . U n fort u na tely. Bertin crashed in th e fir st timed 'sessio n a nd cracked his wrist so th at he co u ld no longer ride. So u th Africa n Mari o Radem eyer, wh o has hardl y ridden since his cras h in Spai n after th e th ird p lace in South Africa,was not in Yugoslavia because his na tiona lity excl udes him bu t has a lso been o ffered th e cha nce to tes t the bike. T he second Fren chman 10 be offered a n ew lease o n racing life is H er ve Gu ill eu x, winner of the '83 Spanish GP , wh o rode o ne of th e Cobas machines belo nging to Pa trick Fe rnandez bu t fai led to qua lify . Eri c Sa u l, wi n nerof th e Ita lia n G P in '8 1 and th e Aus tr ia n in '82, was rid ing forlhefirst tim e thisyearafter few o utings in '84 an d he, too , failed to m ak e th e g rid o n a Ro ta x specia l called a Moreti i. Honda no parts Honda h as been runnin g a parts su p p ly ser vice in su pport o f th eir producti on 500cc and 250cc racers but the tru ck was n ot in Yu gosla via and th e service has bee n disco nt in ued . The officia l reason gi ven is the p roblem o f i llega lly se ll i ng p arts in co untries which have th ei r o wn sa les • tax requi rements. Special Thanks to mechanics Cliff Lett and Jon Rosenstlel AskJorPlI, the exacthi-performance blendoj oils and lubricants tbatfactory race teams use on their unnning race bikes. 27

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