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/126940
playing to the gallery, particularly after being shown a local newspaper story that said de Radigues had ridden under team orders in 1985, when both men were on Elf machines, and that the Belgium had been forbidden to win. othing could have been further from the truth, and Haslam had slowed his pace by around four seconds a lap in the econd leg last year in response to this writer and Macau television commentator, who had been impressed but bored with Haslam's 30-second winning margin that year in the first leg. Ha lam took off likea scalded cat in Saturday' opening leg, but de Radigues was right there with him. But lap by lap, Haslam, riding with so much aggression and pace, had opened a gap to lead by 19 seconds two-thirds into the IS-lap race. De Radigues was riding hard, too, but he could not stay wi;h Haslam and slowly came to terms with s.econd spot. But then Haslam's bike slowed. He thought it had seized, but later exam- . ination of the three-cylinder NS500 showed that the Nikasil had amazingly peeled off one barrel. Haslam's mount had lost power, but he was lucky to finish. Behind Haslam and runner-up de Radigues, came a splendid four-man battle featuring Hyvarienen, Irons, Renfrow and Gschwender. That was the order they finished in, but there was a great deal of position swapping throughout the leg. The race took its LOll. Steve Henshaw, the British rider who takes his own tea-making apparatus to races to improve the quality of life, had a wretched race as his Suzuki not only ran consistently on just three cylinders, but also insisted on pumping out the unburnt fuel all over his left knee during the eight laps he circulated. Floridian Henry DeGouw had mixed oil with gas before the race, blissfully unaware his mechanic had done the same job the last thing the previous dayl And Keith Huewen had injured his back trying to control his wayward Yamaha on the bumps of Macau. He had managed only eight lap.s before retiring to the pits to discover, quite by accident that if he crawled in the packing crate that had housed his bike, and jammed his feet up in the roof, the pain from his injured spine disappeared I Race two was a very different aUair. De Radigues knew he had to win, and beat Haslam by 6.3 seconds to take overall victory. The Belgian, riding as ha~d as he dared, bauled to stay in front of Haslam and his efforts paid off. The only time Haslam took the lead, around the 10 lap mark, was when de Radigues came close to going through his fairing bubble. Once he was back in control, he repassed Haslam. But Haslam knew - all he had to do for the overall win was follow de Radigues home, and that's just what he did. Renfrow was a superb third. Before the race he said that the Macau course was difficult. That was an understatement. Haslam calls it the most dangerous circuit in the world. Renfrow also admitted that he had trouble learni ng circuits where the corners are blind. Most of Macau's are blind. But Renfrow rode like a hero, and even though Swede Peter Linden cut the gap down from more than 15 seconds to just 4.5 at the flag, Renfrow had third place under control. Thanks to that fine second leg result, Renfrow took third overall from Hyvarinen who was fifth home in the second leg, his·Ieathers soaked through with sweat from the first race. Irons, a television star on Macau after his first leg baule with Hyva- ~ Q.) ..c 8 Q.) u Q.) Q Didier de Radigues finished second behind Haslam overall; but beat the Brit in the secoQd heat. Road racing Macau style: Keith Huewen (16) leads Lei Weng Pio through the city streets of MaCau. rinen, had a fork seal go in that race, and for the last leg there was virtually no damping at the front end. Irons, just 24 years of age and with a fine future ahead of him, was fifth overall, and Linden sixth in the combined results. Gschwender had mechanical problems that stopped him from repeating his fine first leg result, and fellow countryman Rubatto had ignition problems that ruined his day. DeGouw continued to make the news. This time he thought his bike had seized. He coasted the Flying Tigers-sponsored Yamaha TZ750 for almost three-quarters of a lap, when suddenly the engine chimed up, and he went on to finish the race. DeGouw, his age a mystery but guessed to be around 40, is rumored to be on the point of retirement. We must wait and see if that is true. OJ:le man who has definitely quit is Steve Parrish. And as ever, even in his last serious race, Parrish the joker had the last word. Throughout the second leg he had been stealing himself to take Yacht Club bend flat out in top. Approaching the corner for the 15th, and final time, Parrish started to harden his nerve. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Would it not be stupid to kill myself on the last lap of my last ever race," thought Parrish as he turned off the throule. The sudden loss of power made the bike wobble and Parrish almost crashed. He'll be missed. • Results 15T LEG: 1. Ron Haslam; 2. Didier de Radigu8s; 3. Eero Hyvarinen; 4. Kenny Irons; 5. Randy Renfrow; 6. Ernst Gschwender; 7. Peter Linden; a. Peter Rubano; 9. Manfred Fischer; 10. Steve Par· rish. 2ND LEG: 1. De Radigues; 2. Haslam; 3. Renfrow; 4. Linden; 5. Hyvarinen; 6.lroos; 7. Gschwender; 8. Parrish; 9. Keith Huewen; 10. Andy MccPaddery. OVERAll: 1. Haslam; 2. De Radigua.; 3. Ranfrow; 4. Hyvarinen; 5. Irons; 6. Linden; 7. Gschwender; 8. Parrish; 9. MccPltddery; 10. Peter Skold. 17