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Australian Wayne Gardner won his second Grand Prix of the season at the historic' Monza circuit in Italy. his V-four Rothmans Honda. He is starting to look unbeat- Marloboro Yamaha's defending World Champion Eddie Lawson finished second, 15 seconds behind Gardner's Rothmans Honda. World Championsh'ip Road Race Series: Round 4 Gardner wins, takes point lead in Italian GP By Michael Scott MONZA, ITALY, MAY 24 Wayne Gardner's second win of the fourrace-old season in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza not only moved him into the World Championship lead, it also underlined just how much his riding has been I elevated by the superiority of able. It is a sensation he clearly enjoys. In response lO a discomforted Eddie Lawson's commem: "We.(Marlboro Yarnaha) have been left behiqd by Honda. There's noming we can do lO catch him;" Gardner says: "That's what I wam him lO think." And he can't help but seem to crow when he adds: "Now Eddie knows how I feh last year." Gardner's margin over Lawson at the fast and hislOric circuit near Milan was "only" 15 seconds, after me Australian's nose began bleeding on the second lap. "I could have gone faster," he said. "But I slowed down lO assess the situation. My nose hasn't bled since I was a child, but I've had a headache for a few days. There was some blood on my visor, but it wasn't serious, and I was able lO win at a comfortable pace. " But the real race was for third place - a frenzied race-long battle of slipstreaming and foxing at more man 170 mph between the works Yarnahas, joined in me last laps by a heroic Ron Haslam, riding stiff and sore after a bad crash on his Honda NSR in practice. On a desperate last lap, Randy Mamola and Rob McElnea collided. Mamola fell, McElnea faltered, and Christian Sarron nipped through lO take third wim McElnea three hundredms of a second behind. Haslam was also within the same halfsecond. The other hero of the day was Kevin Schwantz, who rode the out. paced RGV Suzuki V-four cOllsistemly bqond its limit with skill and considerable daring to finish eighm. The 250cc race was another thrilling baule of 'wits, slip-streaming and banged fairings, won by the narrowest of margins by Amon Mang; his 34m GP victory. It was a Honda walkover, wim NSR Vtwins taking me first five places, wim Carlos Lavado me top Yamaha in sixth. The earlier 80cc race and Satur- day's 125cc evem also yidded ilirilling but less numerous battles for me lead, but·me day was marred by a fatal accidem to a local rider in a supporting Yamaha production race. . Moma is very fast, interrupted by three chicanes. It was at mese that a number of riders fell, in me attempt lO match up lO Gardner's triumphal progress in practice - among mem Niall Mackenzie, Christian Sarron, Tadahiko Taira and Suzuki's Kenny Irons. Haslam's crash was the nastiest. "I was using a tire that grips well, but lets go quick," he said. "I thought I'd get a quick time if I didn't sl?in me wheel, but on the way imo me first chicane the back let go with me throttle closed. It came round like a car spinning, then dug in and spat me off. I bounced twice, then me bike hit me on the back of the head." His 'new carbon-fibre back protector broke, but saved his vertebrae. But he was concussed and had a very stiff neck as well as bruises, and was a doubtful starter. Nobody could match the flying Gardner, not even Kenny Roberts: who made a single practice outing on one of the injured Mike Baldwin's Team Lucky Strike Roberts bikes, his first GP outing since 1983. Roberts was 13th fastest, but it was his first outing lO the omer riders' third, and he wouLd have been in the top six in Thursday morning's warm-up session. It was a high spot in a rather predictable practice period. Gardner .led from. the start, and when Lawson finally closed lO within four-tenms of his time in the last outing, the· Australian took another spin and cut almost anomer second off. "I could have gone faster," he said. "I got held up a couple of times." His team had not yet found me presumably electronic problem that dropped him from first lO 10th me weekend before at Hockenheim. Chief engineer J.erry Burgess said: "We took the bike out in untimed practice exactly as it was in Ger-