Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Sarron injured Frenchman Christian Sarron started the 1986 Grand Prix road racing season with an injured hand after falling at a press photo session in France. In an open day to announce this year's team to the French Nation Press at a private test track, Sarron slipped off his Yamaha 500 on cold tire and cracked a bone in the back of his hand. "It was so stupid," said the ex-250cc World Champion. '" was just riding so that they could get some photos and the weather was so cold the tire never got warm. , was doing no more (han 50 kph (30 mph)." World champion comeback (Above) Ron Haslam rode the Elf RS500 Honda into the points in Spain. (Below) Spencer mechanic George Vukmonovich with Kenny Roberts, who pushes Mike Baldwin's Yamaha. Jean Louis Toumadre, who won the 250cc Road Racing World Champion hip in 1982 and retired a year later, made his Grand Prix comeback at Jarama, pain after not racing for two years. He started well by finishing second the week before in the opening round of the French Championshipat Nogaro behind Jean Francois Balde on the works Honda. He explained the reason for his comeback;' "When I won the World Championship it was too early for me; I was not ready and could not handle it. The next year' felt I was under too much pressure and had to stop. I love racing, though, and want to be Champion again if I can. This rime I am more prepared." The Frenchman was out of luck at Jarama as his Yamaha seized in the race. Michelin size changes Inside Grand Prix Racing By Peter Clifford After a long layoff due to illness and personal problems, Freddie Spencer rode a racing machine for the first time in 1986 at Jarama a week before practice started for the May 4 panish Grand Prix. Looking fitter and broader across the shoulders than in the past, pencer had no dou bt that'be was phy ically ready even though he wished he had had more time on the re\'i~:-l R500. "I have never done a lillie pre-season testing but now I am 100% fil and in [aet I am in beller condition than 1 was last year when I had to ride both classes." he said. To mak sure that he keep cool and a\ 'a) [rom Ihe press of humanity between sessions on Ihe bi ke he has a new 300,000 mOLOr home with a do ed circui I television system so that the World Champion can see who is althe front door. Filled Out in white leather with obviously no expense spared it works out at $10.000 a nighi i[ Spencer stays in it for 30 nigh!.'; during the season. Mang's paint We t German Toni Mang has changed Grand Pri . road racing pons rs so many times in the la t few years _ that the exu:a layers -, a' ~. -- added 51 pound LO the weight of his truck. It was green when he was with Kawasaki, yellow and white for two vears with HE. then red and white last year for Marlboro and now is painted the blue and white of Rothman. Ubya and Lawson With present concerns about terrorism, some of Eddie Law on's friends were actually surprised that he still intended to race in the road racing World Championships. Lawson's "It won't happen LO me" attitude 'tarted LO look a little shaky when 1 ~lwson LOok his seal on a TWA flight LO Madrid for the Spanish GPw find he was silting next LO a J ather darklooking gentleman. Expect.i ng- LO find that he was panish, Law,un asked the stranger where he came [rom. "Libya" came the reply. "We're all going to die" was Lawson's instant reaction but it turned out the guy wa anti Khadaffi and was on the poim of receiving hi' naturalization papers to stay in America. At least. bau \Yba be.said_ _ __ _ _ Michelin had all their top 500cc rider swapping from 16 to 17-inch tires and back again through practice at Jarama. Riders al a had the choice of radial and bias-ply 17-inch tires. The 17s had been tested for the fir t time in Brazil by the Marlboro Yamaha squad. The choice contributed to Mamola [aJIing twi e as he swapped from radial 17 to bias-ply and pu hed the front too hard. No firm consensus results as to which tire wa the be t and although Spencer favored the 16 which he was used to, Baldwin went [or the 17-inch bias-ply; Mamola, Lawson and McEInea said the 17 radial was probably best. The 16-inch radial turned into corners quicker while losing out on high speed stability to the 17. Jarama crashes Paul Lewis and Wayne Gardner were among the many crashers during practice at Jarama. With Randy Mamala, Dave Petersen, Gustav Reiner and Wolfgang Yon Muralt also falling it indicated just how close and tense things were in the 500cc class. Only Yon Muralt was prevented from racing, thanks LO a cracked bone in his ankle. Elf jubilation The Elf team "'''' <;() ecstatic with Ron Haslam's 10th place at Jarama that you would have thou ht he had won the World Championship. The reason for their shouting and leaping up and down was not just the excitement o[ the Elf's first Championship poim. no mean achievementfora lillletested machine. They were more than a lillIe relieved thatth bike finished at all as they had misread the regulation and thought that the race was 27. not 37 laps. They were a sure that Ron did not hare enough fuel LO finish that tcam manager Serge Rosset was prepared LO pull Ron in [or more fuel. Ron's wire Anne said that there was little point in showing him signs to SLOp because he would ignore them. "If you show him a sign thaI says 'Gas' he will just think you are being cheeky because he is goingas faSlas hecan. There is no way hc will SLOp." Ron continued embroiled in his battle with Lewis, which he won toclaim the im for 10th. The tank was bone dry afier' the race ana Dlily . took the checkered flag because Haslam and Lewis were lapped by Gardner and only had to run 36 laps. New Yamaha V-four There were very strong rumors circulating in the paddock at Jarama concerning a new 500cc engine with a single crankshaft like the Honda. It has long been suggested that the increased internal friction and greater physical size of the twin-crank engines put both the 250cc and 500cc Yamahas at a disadvantage compared with the Hondas. The rumor suggests that the new 500cc power plant could be seen at Assen or even as early as Austria. This would explain why the current 500cc looks identical to last year's. It has a revised rear suspension to put less load on the frame and make the rale rise more controllable but liuk has been done LO the engine and in fact Lawson was not that impressed with the changes that had been made. "It is supposed to have more power but it is more peaky and I feel the power is in the wrong place," he said. And after the first race Lawson also critized the rear suspension performance so it may be that Yamaha's winter work has been in vain. U the rumors are correct, the battle between the five Yamaha riders will get even hotter because' cannot imagine new engines going to all of them. Someone is bound LO be upset and it will be interesting to see if Yamaha still considers that the Marlboro Agostini team is the official factory e([ort and therefore give the bikes to Lawson and McElnea or just give them to the highest-placed rider at the time the new machine is ready. Even if there are no completely new bikes there are bound to be special part and the same decision will have to be made. 250cc start-line crash Tadahiko Taira failed to get 0([ the from row of the grid quickly enough at Jarama and was hit from behind. The resulting pile up involved Sergio Pellandini, t.ephane Mertens and Bruno Bonhuil. Theaccidentonce more raised the is ue of pu h starts and several 500cc stars have been campaigning for clutch starts at Grands Prix. It is a difficult question because although push-starting can be dangerous if a from line rider [ails to start (as Taira did) and is hit fTOm behind, clutch starting can be just as dangerous if one rider stalls or if all the riders get away together and arrive at the first corner in a tighter bunch. It would be a shame to see push starts go because the silence before the Oag drops is one of the magic moments in Grand Prix racing, but if it causes too many injuries then the rules wiU have LO change. The last serious incidem was in 1983'when Mamola was injured on the tart line at LeMans; Eddie Law on was for ed out of the race in that multi-bike accident. which coincidentally also involved PeUandini as did the 250cc crash at Jarama. Last year in Au tria, Thierry Espie collided with Mike Baldwin but that was when Espie got out of c nt.rol accelerating off the line as mighl happen more often with c1utcl, starts. Brave Lavado Carlos Lavado proved that he is the bravest, most determined rider in racing by bouncing back from a highspeed first-lap rash to win the 250cc race on his HB Yamaha. The.\fenezueIan [ell halfway around the first lap and wrecked the Y-twin but luckily for him thera ewasalthatmomentbeing stopped because of the stan line accident caused when Tadahiko Taira was slow to start his Marlboro Yamaha and was hit from behind. The knock-on effect brought four riders down and Taira could not restart the race, which was delayed for half an hour. •

• Cover