Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

r....... In the 250cc winner's circle: Fast Freddie Spencer, West Germans Martin W immer and Anton Mang. Spencer and Mang ride Hondas. lap to finish fifth behi nd loca l hero Boer van Du lm en, w ho had been co ntest ing th ird p lace with Lawson ea rly on . Gardner set th e fa stest lap of th e race with his rid e from eig h th to third. In th e earlier 250cc ra ce Spen cer had co nt in ued to show th e verv fas t works H onda o ff in th e most dazzling manner. T he ma n who has p us hed h im hardest in severa l races, Car lo s Lava do, slid off his Yama ha in th e da mp co ndi tions as h e cha sed th e cha mpions hi p po in ts lead er. Martin Wimmer o n h is Yamaha led th e ra ce a t th e sta rt , wi th Lavado tu cked in to seco nd p lace an d Spencer thi rd a head of Lo r is Reg gi a n i, j acques Cornu and Toni Mang. Mang a nd h is H on da were soon" o n th e move. afte r a lap to feel th e circu it grip , he jumped into th e lead o n th e third lap . The race immedi ately develo ped into a baule between th e lead ing five in th e cha m p ions h ip ch ase as Mang, Wimmer, Spencer, Lavado and Regg ian i pu lled aw a y from Cornu. Wi th La vado gone Spen cer took th e lead from Man g an d m ad e the decis ive break . Man g was a lso q uicker tha n Wimmer , wh o had hi s work cu t ou t trying to deal wi th Reggi a ni . Beh ind Co rn u, S tefa n Mert en s was riding well in his first race sinc e injuring himself in the Spa nis h Grand Pri x, and held six th ah ead of a bailie between Do nn ie Mc Leod a nd jean Mich el Mauiol i. Spencer said lat er that h e had j us t tak en it easy over th e first few laps to so rt o u t th e sli p pe ry pa tch es. " I just tried to fig ure o ut wh ere th e slic k pat ches were and wh ere you co u ld pu t the p ower o n . I guess T oni found th em pr euv ea rly . I did not want him to ge t too far ahead so I p assed Martin a n d lu ckily I had th e ri ght tires o n a cu t slick o n th e rea r an d we cha nged fro m a cut slic k on the fro nt to a n interme di a te on the lin e which was just right a t first bu t a cut slick wo u ld have been better la ter on ." By la p 10 o f th e IS, Spencer was o bvio usly beyond reach. Wimmer had man aged to get awa y from Regg ian i a nd sta rted to cl ose o nce more o n Mang, bu t it was a q uestion of tires as he lat er explai ned. " I had the sta nda rd Dun lo p intermediates both fro nt and back," Wimmer sai d . "At first I needed a ra in tire o r a so fter co mpou nd o n th e fro nt but as the track bega n to d ry th e int erm ed ia te became perfect and I was abl e to in crea se speed and ca tch Toni ." With just three la ps to go , Wim m er was back in second pl ace and Mang 's luck a lmost ran ou t agai n as it did in Yugosla via ; his bike bega n to misfire and he was g lad tha t a t leas t it kept goin g so he co u ld cla im th e 10 poi nts for third. Rolf Biland/Kurt Waltisperg wo n th e 16-lap sidecar race from Werner Sch waerzellFritz Buck . Egbert Streuer/ Bern ard Sch nieders were chea ted o f victo ry on th e last la p as th eir bra kes faded co m ple tely, ha vin g pumped a ll th e flu id o u t. Their brak e p roblem s h ad started a s th ey chased first-half leaders Steve WebsterlTony H ewit t, wh o sp u n spec tacu larly into a ditch o n lap eig h t, br eakin g Webster 's a rm . After a tro u bled pract ice with h is new cra n kcase reed -va lve ind uction engi ne, Biland was left to sta rt fro m th e fifth ro w o f th e grid . H is engine fired im media tely, th ough , a nd he shot do wn th e gr ass to lead polesiuer Webster into th e first co rne r. Webster wa sted no time in fighting back a nd a t th e St ruben co rner a third of th e way a ro u nd th e first lap, he rega ined th e lead. H is pace was incredible, findi ng grip on th e n arrow dry lin e tha t ran a ro u n d most o f th e circu it. He increas ed speed a ll th e ti me a n d o n lap six h e bro ke Biland 's la p record, a n incredible achieveme n t co ns idering th e co nd itions. Biland 's o ut fit wa s not run ni ng well a nd he co u ld n ot hol d o nto seco n d as Streuer got into h is stride. Fro m lap three it was h e who cha sed Webster much to th e delight o f th e Dutch crowd and for a lap Bilan d had to try and ho ld off Alai n Mich elljean Marc Frese, but th e Fren ch crew's ign it io n faile d on lap four. World Champi onship points lead er Sch waerzel had made a slo w start but by the ti me Web ster crashed th ey were up to fifth .The accide nt occurred in th e u ltra -fa st left -hander running back to th e sta rt / fin ish line a t o ver 100 mph and they sp u n ou t o f co ntrol , h ardl y slo wing o n th e wet grass before th ey pl u nged in to a wa terfilled d itch. Webster th ought th e worst. " My helmet was fill ed up wi th wa ter a nd for a moment I thought I was dr owning," h e sai d later. " Bu t I got up and th ought I wa s a ll righ t u ntil I no ticed m y a rm ." By th e last la p Streu er had pumped a ll the fl uid o u t of h is bra kes and to groans from th e cro wd, first Bila nd, th en Schwaerzel, swept pas t. Biland com me nt ed that hi s win was certai nl y luck y. " My new o u tfi t is so tig h t aro und where I si t tha t I was ge ll ing cra m ped . I co u ld nOI even ope n th e rhro u le full y." T he 125cc race was perhaps th e best race o f the da y. R u n in pouring ra in , it was a lin e-to-line three-way battle between th e winner, World Champion ship points lead er P ier Paol o Bianch i on the works MBA (Above) Spencer (19) stalks former World Champion Carlos Lavado on (Below) Eddie Lawson before crashing on a white line. 25~s. a nd th e team Italia rid ers o n G ar ellis, Ezio Gi anol a an d Fausto Gressini. Bian chi too k th e lead h a lfway ' ro u n d th e firs t lap a n d led for th e first four la ps from Gressi ni a nd Gia nola bUI Gressi n i took over for lap five, th en Gi anol a. Frenc h ma n jean C la ud e Selini spe nt mos t o f th e ra ce fighting with Bruno Kneubuhler and fi ni shed fo urth. The Swiss ace wa s ca ug h t in th e closi ng stages by Fin j ussi Ha ut a n iem i, w ho took fifth . It was certai nly a dramatic 80cc rac e. Champions hip leader a nd titl e h older Stefan De rfl in ger chased th e yo u ng Aus tri a n Gerd Kafk a all race in the slippery co n ditio ns . The Swiss ace took the lead on lap n in e but Kafk a did n ot g ive u p , hou nding th e Krauser rid er. Wh en Dorflinger tried to go arou nd a rail-ender h e got off in the grass . Dorflinger 'd id a br ill iant j ob of keeping the m achin e on two wheels on th e wet grass and was luck y to fin d himself h eadin g back towards th e ta rmac. He regained th e circuit but Kafka had a lead of 200 yard s a nd h e rac ed fla t-out to get back on terms. Halfwa y 'rou n d the last lap h e pa ssed Ka fka aga in but co m in g into th e ch ica ne he lost th e front en d an d slid across the gr ass in to th e sa nd . Kafka look a well-deserved win and Dorflin ger dragged th e bi ke OU I o f th e sand and just managed to ge t it to run enough to finish seco nd, sti ll well a head o f Der bi riders jorge Ma rtinez a n d Ma n uel H erreros, w ho had been a d istan t third a nd fo urt h for a lmost th e ent ire ra ce. • Results 500 : 1. R. Mam ola (Honl; 2. R. Haslam (Hon); 3. W . Gardner (Han); 4 . B. van Dulmen (Hon); 5. P.E. Sa min (Hon ); 6 . O. de Radigues (Hon); 7 . R. M cEl nea (Suzl; 8 . M . Pajik (Hon); 9. H. van de Ma rkIHon); 10 . A. Punt (Suz). TIME: 50 m in.. 47.22 sees. 1 .00 mph). 90 FA STEST LAP; W . Gard ner 2 min .. 28.66 sees. (9 2.24 mph). 500 CHAM PIONSHIP POINTS: 1. F. Spencer (81); 2. E. Law son (74); 3. W . Gardn er 1 53); 4 . C. Sarr on (52); 5. R. Haslam (46); 6. R. Mamola (40); 7. D. de Radigu es (30 1; 8. A. McEln ea (19); 9. A. Roche (16); 10 . 8. van Dulmen (121. 500 OUALIFYING : 1. F. Spenc er (2 min.. 13 .9 1 sees.I; 2. C. Sarron(2:14 .73); 3. E. Laws on (2:15.54); 4 . R. Mamola (2:15.82); 5. W . Gardn er (2:16 .21 ); 6. R. Roche (2:16.74); 7. D. de Radigues (2:17 .11 I; 8. R. Hasla m(2:17.35 ); 9. A. MeElne a (2:19.10); 10 . S. Pons 12:19 .35). 25 0 : 1. F. Spencer (Hon); 2. M . W immer (Vam); 3. A . Mang (Ho n); 4 . L. Reggiani (A pr) : 5. J . Cornu (Hon); 6. D. McLeod IArm); 7. J.M . Mattioli (Vam); 8. R. Roth (Yam); 9. S. M en en s (Vam); 10. J. Foray (Chv). TIME; 1. 45 min., 14 .57 sees. (90 .92 mph ). FASTEST LAP; 1. M . W immer 2 min .. 26 .84 sees. (93.38 mph ). 250 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1. F. Spencer (B9); 2. M . W immer (61); 3. A. Mang (60 ); 4. C. Lavado (491; 5. L Geggiani (34 ); 6. F. Ricci (22); 7. A . Cane r (18 1 8. R. Roth (16); 9. J . Cornu (13); 10. C. Card us ; (11). 250 OUALI FYING: 1. C. Lavado (2 min.. 19.97 sees.): 2. F. Spenc er (2:20 .53); 3. M . W immer (2:21 .81) ; 4 . S. Menens (2;23.2 1); 5. J. Cornu (2:23.42);6. C. Cardus (2:23.58 ); 7. F. Ricci(2:23 .75); 8. J . Garr iga (2:23 .88); 9. R. Roth (2:24.37) . 125 : 1. P.P. Bianch j(M8AI; 2. E. Giano la IGar ); 3. F. Gressini (Gar); 4 . J.C. Selini (MBA): 5. J . Hauteniemi (M BA): 6. B. Kneu buh ler (LCR); 7. L Cadalora (M BA); 8. A. Auin ger (M 8A ): 9. A. Wa ibe l (M8A); 10 . T. Feux (M BA). TIM E: 1. 43 min., 49 .24 sees. (83 .45 mph). FASTEST LA P: 1. J . Hauteniemi 2 min .•40 .72 sees. (85.32 mph ). 125 CHAM PIONSHIP POINTS: 1. P.P. Bianchi (63 ); 2. F. Gressini (491 3. E. Gia nola (42); 4. A. ; Auinger (30); 5. 8 . Kne ubuhler (28). 80 : 1. G. Kal ka (Seell ; 2. S. Dorf ling er (Krs); 3. J . Mart in ez (Orb); 4 . M . Herreres (Orb); 5. H. van Kes- sel (H·CI; 6. T. Tim mer (H-C); 7 . S. J ulin (Cas); 8. J. Bolan (Autl; 9 . K. 8esseli ng (CJB); 10 . G. Wa ibel (Real). TIME: 33 min ., 33 .B8 sees. (81 .7 1 mph ). FASTE ST LAP: S. Dorf lin ger 2 min .• 44 .84 sees. 183 .19 mph). 80 CHAM PIONSHIP POINTS: 1. S. Dorf ling er (64 1 2. J . Man in ez (521 3. G. Kafka (39); 4 . M . ; : Herr eros (32); 5. G. Waibel (261 . SIDECA R: 1. R. 8 iland /K .Wa lti sperg (Vaml; 2.W . Schw aerzel/F. Buck (Vam); 3. E. Streuer/B. Schnieders (Vam); 4 . A. Zurbrugg/ M . Zurb ru gg (Vaml; 5. M . 8a l1on /S . Bi rch all (Yam I; 6 . S. A bbott/S . Sm ith (Vam); 7. H.V. Dr ie/ l. Colquhoun (Yam); 8. M . Kooij / R. v.d . Groep (Yaml: 9. T. van Kempe n/ G. de Haas (Vam); 1D. D. 8in gham l J . 8ing ham (Vam). TIME: 39 min .. 01 .47 sees. (93.70 mph) . FASTEST LAP: S. Web ster lT. Hew itt 2 min., 22.45 sees. (96.26 mphI. (New record). SIDECARCHAMPIONSHIP POINTS; 1. W . Schwaerzel/F. Buck (39); 2. R. Biland/K. Walt isperg (3B); 3 . E. Streuer/B . Schnieders (28); 4 . S. We bsterlT. Hew itt (22); 5. A. Zurb r ugg/ M . Zurbrugg (20). 9

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