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/126834
Heavy winds and rain brought out warning signs before each race ; the sidecar I'lIce was cancelled. (Above) Freddie Spencer suited up in a rainsuit. f inished fourth in the 250cc race and came away with the World Championship. (Below ) Spencer (4) leads the pack en route to the 500cc win that padded his point lead . Spencer wins 500cc race, takes 250cc Championship By Peter Clifford SILVERST O NE. ENGLAND. AUG. 4 Freddie Spencer won the 500cc race and clinched the 250cc World Champio n ship with a carefull y j udged fourth p lace in that event after ba ttling thro ug h incessant rain 18 and dangerously-gusting winds that persisted throughout the Marlboro British Grand Prix at Silverstone. For Spencer , th e 250cc race was obviously th e most diffi cult because he onl y needed a few points to clinch th e championship but he made a mistake in th e choice of tires, and it was obvious that th e little V-twin was sliding around a larmi ng ly, " We chose too hard a compound ra in tire for the co nditions ." sai d Spencer later. " It was so co ld tha t it never quite worked as it shou ld and th at ca used me a few p robl em s so I rode conserva tively. For a while I thought that we shou ld not be o u t th ere a t a ll racing in th ose co nditions a nd I'm gl ad th at I d idn't have to go a ny faster to mak e sure of the cha m p io nshi p." Spencer led the 500cc race from th e first la p a fter overtaking Ron Ha slam go in g into th e first corner. He quickl y opened up a lead with hi s four-cylinder Rothrnans Honda as arch-rival Eddi e Lawson, on th e Marlboro Yamaha. tried to get past th e Sona u to Gauloises Yam aha of German G rand Prix winner Christian Sa rro n a nd th e th ree-cylinder Elf Honda ridden by Didi er de Radigues, Spencer was pl ea sed wh en both races were over. "Those were th e wors e co nditio ns that I have ever ridden in . You ca n ' t really race in those conditions and the 250 was worse than the 500 'beca use the wind was , blowing harder and pushing the bik e around. Every time 1 came up to lap someone the spray was so bad 1could hardly see wh ere 1 was going." H aslam dropped steadily back and was forced to sto p a t the p its during the 500cc race wi th a m isted viso r a nd ge t th a t cleared befo re he cou ld co nti n ue . Roger Marshall and Wayne G a rdner bo th retired with sim ilar p roblems. Australian Gardner said that fo r h im it was a case o f either p u ll in o r crash. "I ran off the track on the first la p because the visor misted and it was like having a blanket th rown o ver my head. 1 d id not wa nt to smash up myself or the bike so 1 though that a bi t of discretion was called for. Christian Sarron has moved further ahead of me in third pla ce in the championship but I know tha t 1 can beat him at the last two races even if the V-four has gOI to go back to Japan. It was a bit of a waste of that, really. I' m very disappointed not to be able to show what I could do on a good bike." Spencer pulled furt her ahead as Lawson co n tin ued 10 be held up by Sarron even a fter th e pair of them had got well clear of d e Radigues and it was not unti l lap 10 of the 21 that Lawson was a ble to get by Sarron and ch ase Spencer . As has happened so many times during the seaso n Spencer won th e race in th e opening stages and though Lawson cou ld then match hi s speed a nd even closed on him towards th e en d , Spencer had such a com for ta ble buffer th a t he was not conce rn ed. Lawson co m me nted predi ctably th at he was co ld a nd wet. " I did not enj oy it and I had to lift m y head over th e screen to see wh ere I was go ing a nd th e wind wa s blowing me across th e track . It co u ld mov e th e bik e 10 feet in o ne g-ust." Randy Mamol a, hero o f th e soaking-we t Dutch TT, ma de a good sta rt o n h is four-cylinder H onda but ran int o trouble a lmos t im me d ia tely. "The thrott les started sticki ng ope n a fter a co u p le o f laps," sai d Mamola, " I nearly cras hed severa l times and I just had to ta ke it easy ." He slowed to fin ish a lo nely fifth a hea d o f Ra ymond Roch e, wh o had sta rted slo wly , on hi s Marlboro Yamaha. T on i Man g won hi s first Grand Prix since Yugoslavi a last season and co n firme d hi s seco n d pl ace in the 250cc cha m p io ns h ip. H e wou ld not have won had Alan Carter not crashed o n lap 13 after leading from th e start. Carter pushed aw ay th e marshals. pi cked up his Honda and restarted it in third p lace behind Rein ho ld Ro th a n d just in front of Freddie Spencer, but slipped back event ua ll y to finish seventh. Ca rte r late r claimed to have cra shed because o f poor visibility. " I just co u ld not see and I braked too la te. The front end just tu cked under as th e tire slipped away, " he said later. "I picked the bike up and it started