Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Wayne Gardner clinched the 1987 500cc World Championship with his win in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Gardner wins in Brazil, takes title By Michael Scott GOlANlA, BRAZIL, SEPT. 27 Australian Rothmans-Honda rider Wayne Gardner dotted the "Is" and crossed the "Ts" of an almost immaculate season with one race left, sealing his first World Championship with'a start-to-finish victory in the first Brazilian GP, and leaving the Yamaha troops to fight it out amongst 28 themselves, Californian Eddie Lawson (Marlboro-Yamaha) was the ~inner of this secondary battle, with Randy Mamola (Lucky Srrike Yamaha) third, after his best Dunlops were lost en route to the inland circuit of Goiania, and he was forced to revert to an earlier type of tire. Didier de Radigues was fourth, in the Italian Cagiva's best-ever result, with Christian Sarron (Gauloise Yamaha) a relatively lack-lustre fifth. Lucky Strike's second rider Mike Baldwin, in his second attempt after an 18-week layoff with serious injuries, opened his championship score with what was under the circumstances an excellent 10th place; while Briton Rob McElnea on the second Marlboro bike suffered his third successive race crash (and his second spill of the weekend), fortunately unhurt. . But the strangest performance, as ever, came from former doubleWorld Champion Freddie Spencerthe latest quirk in a season in which a Dallas script-writer could not have dreamed up more unexpected twists of the pLot. After qualifying seventh, Spencer explained his erratic cornering lines . and lap times bY,saying not only that he was still suffering dizziness following his heavy crash at Misano, but also that the JOOO-metre altitude and hot weather were causing his . contact lenses to dry up and fallout. He lost four in the first two days of practice, and two more in the mommg warm-up, and elected to withdraw from the race. Gardner's title - first-ever in the 500cc class for an Australian, and the first non-American winner for five years - came with one race to spare after a remarkably consistent season where he had not only finished every race, but scored points in all of them as well. He has won seven out of 14 races, and been on the top-three rostrum all but three times. A worthy winner. In the 250cc class, with the title already won by Anton Mang, the German took a back seat as younger brother Dominique Sarron won from Spaniards Sito Pons and Carlos Cardus, while German Reinhold Rotb completed the Honda whitewash with a narrow victory over Carlos Lavado (HB Yamaha) at the head of what had been a fierce sixbike scrap. Martin Wimmer should' have been fourth, but crashed on the last bend. The first of a pair of LatinAmerican GPs was conducted in a holiday atmosphere, in hot weather in front of a small crowd that matched the small grids - 18 500cc racers made the trip to the Southern· Hemisphere_ The absent privateers made little difference to me race ... but they sure missed a good party afterwards. Mamola was fastest in the first 500cc practice session, but Gardner took over in the second, and kept speeding up to stay ahead no matter what Mamola did. He was the only person to get below I:28, but he was on the ragged edge, and very nearly crashed in the final session. "I was checking the revs we could pull along the straight," he said. "With my eye on the rev-eounter and the other on some sLower riders, I missed my braking point at the end of the straight, and ran right off the track. I was contemplating laying the bike down, but I managed to dirt track it to a stop before I hit the barrier." The Australian needed only to finish in the top five and one place behind Mamola to be sure of the title, and was trying hard to shrug off the inevitable tension. "I'm just treating it like any race," he said; acknowledging that the track suited his tailsliding styIe. MamQla had a hard time remain- ing cool, because a container-load of 59 pf the Lucky Strike team's exclusive Dunlop tires had been mysteriously Lost in transit ... including all the British-made new-generation rear covers that have given him such impetus late in the season. "We're back with the Japanesemade rears that we last used in Sweden," he said; and it was more to boost his confidence than reflect the truth that he added: "We have a good race tire that will last the distance. I could run consistent 1:2& on it, and I know that Wayne set his 1:27 on a soft-compound qualifier." (A suggestion mat Gardner emphatically denied.) The rival Japanese riders came next; with Tadahiko Taira (Marlboro-Yamaha) again impressing all with his smooth style and consistent Lines; while fourth-place Syunji Yatsushiro was as entertaining as ever, using a lot.of track and whooping the Rothmans-Honda NSR's exhaust note as the tire alternately let go and hooked up again. This pair, separated by only three hundredths of a second, pushed defending champion Eddie Lawson to the far end of the front row of the grid. More surprisingly, the Californian only just stayed on the front row by seven hundredths from de Radigues' Cagiva, the Belgian on top form on a bike that was both fast and handled welL. Since Lawson and the other Marlboro riders were the only people who had seen the track before (during winter tests), this was surprising, and he was at loss to explain it. "I like the track, even though it's pretty bumpy, because it has a grippy surface, some fast bits, and is very technical- with comers that tighten up or open out on you. You also steer a lot with the back wheel." Spencer was seventh, riding erratically and well below his best form, which he blamed on the lingering effects of the concussion he suffered when he was brought down at high speed at Misano. Before announcing his withdrawal from the race after morrting warm-up, he said: "When I have to work the bike real hard, I get a little dizzy, and blurred vision. I have to really stare to try and focus ... then when I blink a contact lens' comes out. It happened six times this week. I'm not taking consistent lines, and . it's dangerous for me and the others." McElnea suffered from the problem that has cursed him all season - losing the. front wheel - and crashed in the third session. The day before he had been fourth fastest, but thou$"h he rode again in spite of hurtIng his arm, he could not improve, and ended up eighth fastest, ahead of Cagiva-mounted Raymond Roche and an equally unhappy Sarron on a Yamaha Baldwin was 11 th, and reported much improvement in his injured right hand since his return two weeks before. "It's still stiff and sore, but it's better every time, and I can string more Laps together now." Niall Mackertzie was 12th, and dismayed at such a low position. "I don't know why I'm losing time," he said, though observers could see that his fast-entry style put him at a disadvanta~ to the "slow-in/fastout" tail-sliding riders. Pier-Francesco Chili was 13th, his three-cylinder Honda outpaced now as the four-cylinder machines have improved through the season; while Ron Haslam was 14th, still at an early stage of developing the unorthodox Elf 4 in only its third race of the year. Gardner and Lawson led the drag race down the straight in the GP, and the Australian was first into the

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