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European challengers. ' Ekerold scored the square-Ioiir'sIirst sol itary World Ch ampionship point in 1982, but Cagiva had to wait un til 1984 for part- tim er Harve Moineau to win the next one. T here were no Cagiva po ints scored in 1985, th en in 1986 J uan C arr iga scored a best-ever eight h place In the Span ish GP, bu t claimed only one more poi nt 'all season. This pu ts Cagiva's 1987 performance into a better perspective. In sp ite of injuries affecting both riders - Didi er de Radigues and Ra ymond Roche - Cagiva fini shed 12th and 13th overa ll, with 21 points and 15 points, respectively. Their best fin ish carn e from de Radigues, who pl aced fourth in Brazil. This reflected yet a no ther revival in team spi ri t (and another expensive commitment for th e Castiglioni brothers), as well as th e substantial improvement to th e machinery with the more compact, redesigned new V4. The V507 was fast, and handled well. Thanks to th e adoption of compact Mikuni carburetors, th e who le ma chine was smaller and lighter; more logi cal rear su spe nsion had also allowed exhaust plumbing to be significantly improved. It was a leap in technology with immediate results and the hiring of Mamola represented a similar leap in rider technology. Castiglioni se nio r, speaking through an interpret er , sai d th e polite and pr edictable thing. " In Randy Mamola we know we have a rid er with th e same co m mitment we are prepared to put in ourselves," he said. " We look forward to co n tinuing to improve our World Championship pos iti on." New Chief Mechanic George Vuk manovi ch wa s rather m ore outspoken. " I reckon th e bik e, as it stands, is about six months beh ind the J apanese machines," said Vukrnanovich , at whose barely-voiced request th e ra ce departmen t had been en larged within three days. " I' m look in g to catch up three of those months over the winter. We'll start testing earl y in J a nuary." An unnaturall y diminutive American, " Li ttle George's" lo ng experience includes several of th e good years with Freddie Spencer, as .well as prior experience with Mam ola. Now he has jo ined Cagiva as Marnola's technical chi ef in a two-man works team th at again has Ra ymond Roche as second rider, but wi ll be very ' defini tel y di vid ed into two separate di vision s. Vukman ovich was impressed by th e level of en th usias m in th e factory's com mi tment, and was also excited a bou t tackl in g thi s ra ther offbeam project, which the factory sees as a two-year ca mpaign (th e spa n of Mamola 's con trac t); the fact ory has nothing sho rt of world domin ation as its goal. " We don 't expect, necessaril y, to win a ny races in 1988," said Vuk manovich , " bu t we expect to finish well up in th e points, and to get on the rostrum a few times. Then ; in 1989, to put it bluntly, (it will be) time to piss o r get off th e pot. " The bike for nex t year 'will be a refined version of th e '87 model, probably lighter and hopefully with a less savage powerband (Roche and de Radigues both found the machine a real handful in the rain). With such rider power, and if the :fresh mind ofVukrnanovich ca n help sustain recent impetus, there is little doubt that th e Cagiva effort has the right ingredients to seriously upset the equilibrium of the dominan t, . Japanese machines. Whether the y can mix those ingredients correctly, however. remains ~Q 1>5:_~~_'l '. _" _" _. __ . _" 00 00 ARKANSAS MISSOURI HalnbOw H onda 2810 S. Walton Bentonville 12712 (501 )273- 944 9 Waldon Harmon Motorcycles 763 1 Hardin Dr. No. Linle Rock. 72 117 (501 )834 -3454 CALIFORNIA ATK Of San Jose 3234 Knights Br i~e Rd. San Jose. 951 2 (408)272-2494 DH Cycles 531 Kansas Ave. Modesto. 9353 1 (209)524 -1432 Fator', Motorcycle Sales 682 Grove R ed d in~ , 96002 (916)2 1-6612 Performance Cycl e 1555 W. 8roadway Anah aim , 92802 (714)991 -7210 Pro Cycle 330 'K' E. Oran~ethorpe Placentia. 9 670 (714 )524-5441 Race wa y Hond a 251 N. Perris 81vd. Perr is, 92370 (714)943- 206 1 Saiton.'s Power Products 833 Petal uma 81vd. Petaluma.94952 (707)762-3190 Scott's Performance Products 2625 Honolu lu Ave Montrose, 9 1020 (818)248-6747 Sun River Cycles 11257 Coloma Road Rancho Cordova. 95670 (916) 635-1556 COLORADO The D irt Broker 11504 W. Colfax Lakewood. 80215 (303)234- 105 1 Precision Cycle Center 1320 Pecan St. Colorado Sp rin~s. 80904 (303)632· 980 FLORIDA A .J .S . Sport Cycle. 5059 N. Dixie Hj6 Pompana Beach. 33 84 (3051428 -6666 Cycle. of Fon M yers 3841 A Palm Beach Blvd, Fan Meyers. (8131693·CODY Bike earn Rt.3 M orrison. (815)778· 3641 Stark's Suzuki 2123 Plainfield Rd. 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