Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Christian Sarron finished third after a race-long battle with Rob McElnea and Randy Mamola; McElnu finished fourth. Mamola crashed. many, with the same amount of petrol and everything, and it was perfect. In the afternoon, it broke down again. Il's probably a temperature-related electtonic breakdown, and we've replaced all the electrics (linked Ignition and exhaust-valve conttol boxes, and rev counter). They'll need to be lab tested. Gardner finished up at 1.48.66 (1I9.1~ mph), to Lawson's 1.49.89, but the one time "Wollongong Wild One's," confidence was shaded by his memories of failure at Hockenheim last week, and of Monza laSl year, where he was hit and hurt on the start line. A downhearted Marlboro Yamaha were using last year's cylinders on some bikes, but Lawson said: "I can't feel any difference. Our lOp speed is close to the Honda's, but they accelerate so well that they just jump away every gear change. They also handle real well; they can change line more easily than us." Lawson's teammate Tadahiko Taira was alongside of him on the front row, then Haslam's black Honda SR and Christian Sarron's blue Gauloise Yamaha. On row two, R& McElnea was best, then Pier-Francesco Chili's three-cylinder NS500 Honda, at 1.50.87. Since this time was some two seconds faster than his usual, the general consensus was over-partisan Italian timing. But in a countty where having a pit pass only means that you can use the gate rather than climbing the fence, it didn't seem worth protesting. Mamola, at 1.50.9~, was encouraged by the continually improving tire performance, even without having the time 10 test a number of Dunlops. "My bike's fast too," said Mamola. "And with the new slim fairing (still shared only by Mamola, Lawson and Taira), I can pull taller gearing than the other guys. Like at Hockenheim, that's an advantage for slipstreaming here. My target now is Eddie Lawson... [ don't know about the Hondas." Then came Niall Mackenzie, who was having trouble reconciling his hard-leaning, front-wheel biased tyle to a fast track he hadn't seen before. He tried a bias-belted tire in practice, and reverted 10 the radial. "It's more stable in the comers," he said. "I tried 10 change my style at Hockenheim, so as not 10 rely on the front wheel as much - but it slowed me down. Now I'm having trouble gettin~ back. I'm looking forward to the tWIStier circuits, like Rijeka." Rothmans Honda's Syunji Yatsushiro was apparently still giddy from last week's thump on the head at .Hockenheim, and was joined on the third row by Manfred Fisher's fast Honda triple, and Schwanu' V-four Suzuki. Schwanu meant to make his last GP visit for some time count, and was going close to the edge and gettin~ away with it to wheel the Suzuki round at 1.51.5~ - better than two seconds ahead of teammate Kenny Irons. Next was Raymond Roche, riding (and crashing) the all-new Cagiva, with a more compact engine using smaller Mikuni carburetors to narrow the V-angle, and an otherwise unremarkable frame that moves the ba<:k suspe~sion li.nkage about the swmgarm, Improvmg both ground' clearance and ~he lower exhaust run. Not bad, first time out. Then Roger Burnett's clumsylooking 1986 Honda NSR, New Zealander Richard Scott's exGardner NSSOO. Scou has impressed everyone in the short space of two GPs, being fast and safe, and at Monza he signed up for a test and "at least four CPs" with Kenny Roberts'team. Lawson led the 500cc race briefly, but the second time around Gardner was in front, and there followed the pattern of pre-Spencer 1987. The Honda gradually pulled away, but this time at less than half-a-second a lap, and Lawson was riding the wheels off the Yamaha 10 keep him in sight, snaking out of the first chicane in a two-wheel slide that carried him out 10 the curb. Even so, the end was pre-ordained, and the gap was 15.66 seconds at the flag. Lawson was pulling away from Mamola rather faster, while he grappled with McElnea and Sarron, and Taira closed remorselessly. Haslam, who had been helped off the bike after warm-up, was content 10 watch from behind. Next, Mackenzie's V-four Honda led Roche's Cagiva and Chili's NS, but not for long. Both had overtaken him by lap 15, when Schwanu'be~ 10 close up in a big hurry. Ridmg every bend as if it was the last, Schwanu outbraked Mackenzie into the first chicane, and bullied his way past Roche halfway through it. He passed Chili too, but if Schwanu looks like a future World Champion, so does the talented young Italian, and he stayed in his slip-stream, and drafted past as they crossed the finish line. This was but a sideshow 10 the battle for third. Several times, McEInea outbraked Mamola into the final chicane, with Taira freshly arrived and charging, and Sarron hanging on grimly. But every time across the finish line, Mamola had repassed McElnea. After all the big Briton, "drafts like a truck." With five laps 10 go, Haslam started to close the gap, and as he joined onto Sarron's tail, Taira ran on straight at the far chicane, and dropped to seventh behind him. They maintained this order across the line until the final lap, when McElnea again outbraked Mamola for the last chicane. But Mamola, put off-line by some backmarkers, didn't give in this time, and "as. I put it over for the last left, there was Rob right in front of me. My momentum carried me into him." McElnea had tire marks halfway up his back, but Mamola ended up on the dirt and in the hay bales. Afterwards, he admitted an error in judgement. "I knew two bikes couldn't fit through the chicane. I should have let him past, and drafted past him over the line, like I had before." McElnea's heart skipped a beat (he had crashed 011 the last lap here last year), but he managed to retain control as both Sarron and Haslam nipped past. Do or die, he ran back inside Haslam in the final glorious Parabolica curVe, and had all-but passed Sarron across the line. The win puts Gardner in the World Championship lead, "But that doesn't mean anythin~ at this stage. Anything can happen m a race - look at Germany, where I only got one point. I want the title, so I'm just going out there to win races, one by one. " Lawson was depressed, but complimentary. "Waype's bike has more low-down power than the Yamaha, and he's ~etting the best out of it. I'm also nding better than last year, but unless Yamaha surprises us by producing something much better, I can't hope to l1lfItch him." A rather more surprising post-race revelation was that Schwanu' Suzuki had been clutch less throughout (teammate Irons pulled out after one lap with a broken clutch plate). So that's why he didn't slow down for the chicanes. The question in the 250cc practice sessions was whether or not to remove the power valve from the Honda NSR V-twins. Without it, the lOp end was stronger, but the power' was peaky, which made the chicanes difficult. Mang elected 10 keep it, Dominique Sarron left his out and Jacques Cornu and Reinhold Roth . tried it both ways, and ended up on top of the practice tree. Roth had his broken collarbone plated and screwed directly after coming second at Hockenheim, and "I went jogging two days later." Cornu had 1.56.82, Roth 1.57.27, with another seven riders in the 1.57 bracket. They were Carlos Lavado and his Yamaha, Loris Reggiani on the powerful revitalized Aprilia with modified Rotax engine, Mang and Carlo Cardus' NSR Hondas, 125cc World Champion Luca Cadalora's Yamaha YZR (the lOp Marlboro bike in the injured Wimmer's absence), then Sarron and Yamaha-mounted Juan Garriga. Qualifying was hectic, with 58 entrants, and practice split into two groups - odd and even numbers. In the race, it would all depend on slipstreaming. It was a magnificant close battle .all the way, led briefly but well by Cardus, until he was slowed on lap nine by a nipping-up en~ine that wouldn't rev. Then Reggtani took control, until his Aprilia suddenly slowed with i~ition trouble. Now it depended upon Mang, usually but not always in front of Sarron, Roth, Carnu, Pons and Lavado's lone Yamaha. Garriga chased until lap eight, when he lost the front end at the first chicane. Up front, Mang did it all. "I braked later than ever at every bend, and when I led into the Parobolica, on the inside line, I knew nobody could pass me." Roth was second, two-tenths behind, then came almost the same gap to Sarron and Cornu. Not five seconds later, Pons led Lavado by less than two-tenths; Monza racing at it's very best. The 125cc race was a virtual reproduction of the Hockenheim race as Fausto Gresini and Bruno Casanova on Garellis slugged it out with August Auinger's fast MBA the rest of the field was left far behind. The result was only a. little different: Gresini first again, but Casanova second in his ~mate'sslip-sttearn, and Auinger less than half-a-second behind. The 80cc class saw another fine duel between the works Swiss Krausers of Gerhard Waibel and Stefan Dorflinger and the works Spanish Derbis of Jorge Martinez and Manual Herreros. Early leader Waible slipped off at the chicane, and remounted to finish out of the points. Then Herreros managed to hold up Dorflinger while Martinez made a run for the flag. Round three to the Spanish ,_ again. Results 500: 1. Wayne Gardner (Han); 2. Eddie Lawoon (V8m); 3. Chriatjan Sarron (Yam); 4. Rob McElnea (Yam); 5.. Ron Haslam; 6. Tadahiko Taira (Yam); 7. Pier-Franceoco Chili (Han); 8. Kevin Schwamz (Suz); 9. Raymond Roche (Cag); 10. Niall Macl

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