Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Ita lian had been making up ground stead ily on the Aprilia aft er sett ling in o ver th e fir st ha lf o f th e race. With hi s co n fide nce returning fast. he cu t th rough th e thi rd -pl ace g rou p a nd broke th em up co m pletely. As h e too k th ird, H erweh tri ed to mat ch hi s speed; h e co u ld not because o f a slidin g back tir e, he reported lat er, but the effort did pull him a way from Mattioli. R icci h ad run hi s best ra ce an d wa s d roppi ng back wi th gea rbo x . trouble to a lonely sixth pl a ce. Seventh was as keenl y-contested as th e pl aces in from with both Donn ie Mcl.eod a nd Pi err e Bolle retiring from th e gro u p afte r h alfway. That left Ca rlos Ca rdus leading, but he on ly pulled a way in th eclosing stages, a nd eigh th place wa s decided on th e la st la p , with Step ha n Merten s co m ing through from behind with a great effort to ease o u t Dominique Sarron and Rein h o ld Roth , who made a m istake on th e final circu it. I ta lian Fausto Cressini won his first Wo rld Champio nship by dom ina ting the 125cc ra ce on his exAngel -Ni eto Carel li . Pier Pa ol o Bianch i (M BA) on ly needed second place to ta ke th e title, but tho ugh he led off th e line and was ba ttling ha rd wit h Maurizio Vita li a nd Cresini 's teammate Ezio Cia no la for m os t of th e ra ce, h is hopes disappeared wh en the MBA 's engine seized a fter 21 o f the 28 laps. Gresini won by a ver y-con vincing margin a nd the red -hot bat tle for secon d th at co n tinued eve n after Bianchi had retired at th e pits wa s resolved in favor o f G ianol a bv a ya rd on th e run in 10 the lin e. .. Bruno Kneubuhl er go t th e bett er o f a len gth y struggle for fourt h p lace wit h Augus t Au inger, but the A ustri an ha s sti ll fin ish ed th ird in th e cha mpions h ip. Domen ico Brigagli a rod e a fin e race after bein g left o n th e lin e to tak e six th fro m Ol ivier Li egios in the la st two laps. Span iard J o rge Ma rtinez won the 80cc race o n h is Derb i after a long batt le w ith Ia n i\IcCon nach ie, wh o was g iven Stefa n Dorflinger 's o ld Krauser fo r th e race a nd set th e fastest la p . Dorfl in ger had a slo w start and finish ed third . • Results 50Occ: 1. Eddie Lawso n (Yam) 47 minu tes. 34 .44 seconds, 95 .6 1 mph; 2. W ayn e Gardn er (Han) 47 :5 1.9 6: 3. Randy Mamola (Hon) 47 :5 6.05 : 4. Raymond Roc h e (Yam) 48:02 .53 ; 5 . Ron Hasl am (Hon) 48 :37. 79: 6. Fra nco Unc ini (Suz) 48 :52.71 ; 7. Gu stav Rein er (Han) 48:53 .58; 8 . M ike Bal dwin (Hon) 48 :54 .66 ; 9. F. 8 ill iot i (Hon); 10. Rob McElnea (Suz). DISTANCE: 35 laps . 75 .81 miles RECORD LAP: Lawson. 1:20 .46 . 96 .92 mph: old recor d Freddie Spence r 1984. 1:2 1.34 .95.92 mph . 500 Final Poin ts: 1. Spencer (141) ; 2 . Lawson (13 3): 3. Chr ist ian Sarron (80): 4 . Gardner (73): 5. Haslam (73): 6. Mamola (72): 7. Roche (50); 8. de Radigues (47); 9. M cElnea t20) ; 10. van Dulman (18); 10. 8 aldwin (18). 25Occ: 1. Carlos Lavado (Yam) 41 :57. 99; 2. A nton Mang (Hon) 42:04.47; 3 . Loris Regg ia ni (Ap r) 42 ;1 1.35 ; 4. Manfred Herw eh (M as) 42 :1 5.2 3; 5. J .M . M an ioli (Yam) 42 :17 .85 ; 6. F. Ricci (Hon) 4 2:26 .30; 7. C.Cardus(CobI42:35 .44; 8. S. Mertens (YamI; 9. D. Sarron (Hon r, 10. R. Roth (Yam). RECORD LAP: Lavado. 1:22 .46 . 94 .53 mph : old record Wayn e Raine y 1984. 1:24.4 1. 9 2.43 mph 250 Fina l Point s: 1. Spen cer (1271 2. Maog ; ; (124) ; 3. Lavado (94); 4 . W immer (69); 5. Ricci (SO) 6. Reggiani (44 ); 7. Can er (3 2); 8. Herweh (31 ); 9. Roth (29 ); Cornu (25) . 12 5cc: 1. F. Gressim (Gar) 40:48 .04 ; 2. Gia noJa (Gar) 4 1:09 .44; 3. M . Vitali (M BA ) 4 1:09 .46 ; 4. B. Kneubuhler (LCR) 41 :28.7 5: 5. A . Auing er (M 8A) 4 1:2 9.0 6: 6. D. 8rigaglia (M 8A ) 41 :49 .0 7: 7. O. Liegeois (MBA) 41 :5 1.9 5: 8 . J . Ha utaniemi (M BA); 9. G. Grasseni (M BA); 10. J . Wickstrom (M8A). 125 Final Point s: 1. Gr essin i (109) ; 2. Bianc hi (99); 3. Aui nge r (7 8); 4 . Gian ola (77); 5. Kneubuhler (58); 6. 8 r igaglia (45 ). 8Occ; 1. J . Martin ez (Der) 33 :59 .94 : 2. I. M cConnachie (Kra) 34 :02 .88 ; 3. S. Dorflinger (Kra ) 34 :3 1.54 : 4 . H. Spaan (He) 34 :5 1.98 ; 5. G. Kafka (See) 34 :52 .65 ; 6. M . Herr ero s (Der) 34 :52 .69 ; 7. V. Splendor io 34 :53 .0 1; 8. G. Waibe l (Rea) 35 :08 .63 . 80 Fina l Poi nts: 1. Dorfl ing er (86 ); 2 . Martinez (67 ): 3. Kafka (48); 4 . Herr erc s (37 ): 5. W a,bel(35); 6. McConnachi e (3 3). OUALIFYING 500: 1. Lawson 1:19.63 ; 2. Gardn er 1:20 .49 ; 3. Sarron 1:20 .57; 4. Haslam 1:20 .71 ; 5. Mamola 1:2 1.03 ; 6. de Radigues 1:2 1.3 6; 7. Roch e 1:21.85; 8. Reiner 1:22. 20; 9. Baldwin 1:22.63; 10 . Uncini 1:22 .75 . 250 : 1. Lavado 1:22 .5 5: 2. Ricc i 1:23 .05 ; 3. Reg· giani I :23.4 2; 4. Herweh 1:23 .49 ; 5. Nieto I :23.58: 6. Mattioli 1:23 .61; 7. Sarr on 1:2361 ; 8. Mang 1:23 .68; 9. Rademeyer 1:23 .73 . 12 5; 1. Gressini 1:25.78; 2. Vitali 1:26 .59 ; 3. Bianchi 1:27 .03 ; 4 . Br igaglia 1:2 7 .0 9; 5 . Gianola . ~ ~ ., - -.. . ~ 00 (l,) ..c a ..... (l,) 0.. (l,) CFJ (Above) Marco Luchinelli (50) puts the Cagiva ahead of Mike Baldwin (15) and Gustav Reiner in the 500cc race; Luchinelli DNF. Baldwin finished eighth and Reiner seventh. (Below) Mamola. Lawson and Gardner celebrate. 1:27 .38; 6. Liegeois 1:27 .38; 7. Chili 1:27 .87 ; 8. Kneubuhler 1:28 .41; 9. Au inger 1:2 8.53; 10 . Selin i 1:28 .60. GP Notes: Riders threaten 1986 strike By Peter C lifford N in e teen of the LOp riders ha ve signed a co ntract th at m ig h t see th em mi ss severa l G rands Prix, starti ng with th e South Afr ica n at Kyal a mi , if th e organizers do not do ub le the pr ize money for next season . T he rid ers do hav e a very stro ng case for increase in prize money beca use it has cha nged lillie in recent years, w hile cos ts have gone up many fo ld . Bet ween 1980 a nd 1985, the cost o f th e orga n izer o f the prize fund ha s on ly gone up 0.5%. Even taking th e 500cc class a lo ne, the prize money has o n ly gon e up 20%, whi le in th e same time period, th e FIM them selv es have in creased th eir budget for traveling expe nses o f o fficia ls to meetin gs by 48%. This is n ot reali sti c becau se a t th e sa m e time, race orga n izers have become respon si ble for hotel cos ts o f FIM del egates, so th e real in cr ea se wou ld be much larger. T he rid ers have approach ed th e FIM as king for in creases before, but th ey hav e been told that th e orga n izers ca n not a ffo rd it , It seems th at th e FIM represents th e orga n izers ra ther th an th e riders and hen ce want 10 keep th e prize money as low as possible so th at rhev ca n mak e th e maximum p ro fit . The p rofit on th e G erman Grand Prix a t H ock enh eim , fo r exa m p le. is esti ma ted 10 be ove r $ 1 m illion. There is no popular sport th at pays co m pe tito rs so little. The top dolla r in (he U.S. P.G .A. Open Tour received $476,260 in prize money, whi le th e 500cc World Cham pi o n in th e same yea r, 1984, received $55,950. In the same yea r, th e Men's U.S. Ten n is C ha m p ion received $2,026. 109. These figures a nd man y m ore a rc co n ta ine d in a document pr epared by rider rep resen tat ive Mik e T rim by to suppo rt the dem and fo r more money. The ri ders have no choice but to refuse to race unl ess th ei r demand for a n in crease is m et. T he FIl\! will react stro ng ly to thi s, no dou bt, and a lready th ere is a strong p ressure gro up in th e FIM wh o intend to vo te Lui gi Brenni ou t of h is o ffice as P resid ent o f th e Road Racing Committee at th e O ctober Congress because th ey say h e is too much in favor o f th e riders. If this happens it wou ld be a dis aster because Brenni is on e of the very few FIM o fficia ls who shows any sen se o r understanding in hi s dealing with th e riders . H e h as done a great d eal for circ u it sa fe tv a n d o ther improvem ents over th e I~st four yea rs, a nd, if he is push ed o u t o f offi ce, relations between rider s a nd FIM co u ld go back to th e dark da ys before th e World Seri es in '79 wh en riders led by Kenn y Roberts were so en raged by th e narrow-m in ded a u itude o f th e FIM th at th ey tri ed to sta n a rival series to rep lace th e Wor ld C ha m p ions h ips. Riders certa in ly hav e th e right to look a fter th eir o wn fin ancial wellbein g , a nd th e ma in prize increases will n ot go to the top works men, bUI to th e p riva teers who h av e to bea r th e cos ts o f running th e bikes th em selv es. No Spencer T he H onda team co u ld n ot hide th eir em ba rrassme n t wh en new lycro w ned 250cc a n d 500cc World C ham pion Fred die Spen cer d id not turn up ( 0 ride at Misan o . Spencer 's pe rso na l spokesma n, Mac McKa y, exp la ined that he had ac tually dam aged hi s th u m b wh en h e fell from the RS250 H onda du rin g p rac tice a t Silversto ne. and th en bro ke a bon e wh en tra in in g in h is gy m befo re th e Sa n Marin o Grand Prix . It was ver y disappoin tin g for th e team, an d more so for th e orga ni zers, who had taken o ver th e runnin g o f the event fro m th e Im ol a ci rcu it a t th e la st min ute a nd the n had th eir m eeting devalued by th e a bsence o f the number one sta r. Man y suggested that Spe nce r sho u ld hav e a t leas t mad e an appearan ce with hi s pl astered hand to personally give his regrets to the cro wd th at he co u ld n ot rid e. Randy Mamol a was nearl y a seco nd a bsentee wh en struck with a virus shortly af ter arriving in En gl and o n hi s wa y to Ita ly. H e visited a ch ildrens' hospital a nd was th en laid low by a debilitating a ttac k o f a n undeterm in ed virus th at made him mi ss (he free practi ce o n Thursday a nd left h im weak for th e ra ce. 1986 rumors Th ere were pl enty o f rumors a n d very liule certa in ty in th e paddock a t Misano co nce rni ng sig ni n g for 1986. T he best news was th at Eddie Law so n had been sa ved from bein g lost 10 U .S. Super bike racin g des pi te a very good o ffer from Am eri can H onda. After Lawson 's firml y-stat ed disagreement with G iacomo Agos tin i, Marlboro step ped in a nd eased th e situa ' tion co ns ide ra bly by sig ni ng Lawson directl y in stead o f lettin g Ago wr ite th e co n trac t. Th is removed O llt' o f th e major points o f d isagreem ent, wh ich was th e fact th at Law son had n ever forgi ven Agos tini for pa yin g him less m on ey in '85 th an he had before he won th e World Cha m p io ns h ip in '84. Agostini wa s so keen to see Law so n rem a in in hi s team th a t he' is reported to have mad e cha nges to th e orga n iza tio n a nd ru n n ing n f th e team (ha t shou ld mak e thi ngs bet ter for bo th Eddie Law son a nd Kel Ca rr u thers in '86. (Co ntin ued 10 PI/g(' 2, ) 15

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