Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ / t- oo O"l ~ ~ C\l ~ .... crJ :3 bJJ :3 ~ Kawasaki-mounted Kurt Nicoll scored his first-ever World Championship Grand Prix win at the Dutch 500cc GP in Heerlen. World Championship sooce MX Series: ROaDd 9 Nicoll scores DutcbGPwia By Alex Hodg~inson HEERLEN, HOLLAND, JULY 19 One week after his first-ever GP moto victory, 22-year-old Kawasaki works rider Kurt Nicoll scored his first-ever GP overall win with two second places at the Dutch 500cc GP to move ahead of the defending Champion David . Thorpe ~I~h three GP'1l to . SStl. nde. It IS Just 18 years SInce 16 Kurt's father Dave won the Luxembourg GP on a BSA; this was to be me final World Championship event LO be won on a four-stroke. But even a continuation of this form is unlikely lO .keep the world title in Britain as Georges Jobe, winner of me second moLO in HoIland on the way LO second overall, leads the title chase by 66 points. Sole American Billy Liles ended a fairly barren spell points-wise in the midseason races by posting 109 finishes for 10th on the day; me Georgian is now 12th in me slandinRs. After making fastest time in training, Liles found himself joining most of me pack in being forced LO go the wrong direction in the tight off-cambered right-hander which followed the sweeping left off the gate. The halia!1 Gaspard~>ne was me man responsible for laking me pack out, as he struggled lO make the turn and only a handful of riders led by Jacky Martens, Claudio De Carli, Kurt Ljungqvistand Andre Vromans slipped through tight on the inside from the fast gaters. Romano Nannini went down and took Kees Van der Yen with him whilst Heinz Kinigadner got tangled with Jobe. The Austrian gave up at halfway when in.a hopeless 28th after a stop to straighten the bars, the home favorite was an unrewarding 17th at the checkered flag, and even the title leader had LO wait for the final quarter of the race be£ote making much headway on ~he tight, twisting track after completing the first lap 14th. After yet another terrible start, Nicoll had used me chaos LO good effect LO exit in tum two in 10th place, and, sixth me first time past the lap scorers, he picked off the American Billy Uleli of Georgia rode his Kawasaki to 10-9 finishes to gamer 10th overall. Ules is 12th in the standings with 69 points. other leaderboard men at the rate of one a Lap until he was second to me vanishing Martens. While De Carli held up the rest, the Belgian had opened up a LO second lead and even Nicoll could close it only fractionally before settling for second place in the final laps. It was half an hour before the works Yamahas of Leif Persson and Ljungqvist found a way around the by-then tiring Ilalian, and at one stage, the Swede got away from his Finnish teammate. Despite pain from the right knee which he had injured one week earlier in En~land, Ljungqvist griued his teeth In the final two laps, however, r~led in Persson and powered around him in a tum halfway around the final lap' for third. Twelfm on lap one, Liles was soon behind Vromans and Dirck Gedukens in a battle for sixth, but aU three fell quickly LO a cbarging Jobe on the half hour and Jobe also moved clear to displace De Carli on me penultimate lap. Liles lost a place lO me Frenchman Yves Gervaise on the final lap. Twenty-third in timed training after laking a pain-killing injection had no worthwhile effect, Thorpe was never much higher in me race before disappearing into the riders' park at half distance. "I tried a double dose for the race but it was no beuer. I had felt ·no pain after a cortisone injection in England, but, with me title effectively out of my reach, I did not want to use that again. There is no point in racing the second moLO, but I will now rest until the Belgian GP in Namur and see if I can salvage something from me season there." The second race got underway wimout me chaotic scenes in me second tum and wim all of the fastest riders near lO me front, mere were few changes of rositions as the swelte.ring heat and dust turned me race into a battle of survival. Jobe and Nicoll, finally getting away well, displaced me fast-gating Persson on the third and fifth lapJi, respectively, to leave me Swede a lonely third lO the £lag. Throughout the race me Englishman tracked his great rival but he could never mount a serious challenge for me lead. "I just could not see anywhere on the track where I could have tried to pan Georges without there being the danger of us bom going down. After so many near misses, I. was determined to make sure of that first GP win. It has been a psychological barrier; now I feel free lO go for every point in the final mree CPs," said Nicoll. Jobe refuses LO accept mat the crown is his yet. "No one is champion until he has a larger points lead than the number available to any of his rivals. I learned that the bard way against (Neil) Hudson and (Danny) LaPorte in the 250cc GPs!" Leaderboard changes were few as GelJ.kens and Jo Martens delached themselves from me chasing group for fourm and fifth. Tenth on lap one, Liles had slipped to 12th after a quarter of an hour and his eventual ninth came courtesy of retirements for Jacky Martens wim a fractured radiator hose and Kinigadner wim a flat rear tire. • Results 1. Kurt Nicoll (Kaw) 2·2; 2. Georges Jobe (Hon) 5-1; 3. Leif Persson (Vam) 4-3; 4. Kurt Ljungqvist (Vam) 3-6; 5. Dirk Geukens (Hon) 7-4; 6. Jacky Martens ([

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