(Above) The Cag iva V -four, designated V 5 8 8 for
1988, is shown here w ithout its M ikuni carburetors;
the bike had problems in Japan. (Top right) The Elf
5 debuted in Japan and features yet another new
chassis. The f ront brake , the cause of many problem s
last year , has been replaced. (Ri ght) The new Honda
NSR500 V-four also receiv ed new front discs fo r
1988 in addition to engine and chassis refin em ents.
frontrunners a strong possiblity. In
hi s G P debu t, J oh n Kocinski became
.the ta lk o f th e paddock in Suzuka
as ea rly as th e second practi ce sessio n
a nd h is fifth-place fini sh a fter running with the leaders stren gthed his
clai m as a GP co ntender .
_ AMA G rand Na tiona l Champion
Bubba Shobert wi ll make his G rand
Prix d ebut a t La g u na , a nd th e
Carmel , California resident will do
. so o n wh at man y feel is th e best
mount in th e bu siness - a facto ry
NS R250. T he bik e will be in th e
co lors of Camel, a nd Sho bert is o u t
to prove he can run with th e wo rld's
best. 'So suddenly the cha nce of a n
American wi n n ing the 250cc G rand
Pri x is no lo nger a lo ng sho t.
If yo u 've a lready di sm issed th e rest
as history, forget it. After seeing 39year-o ld, five-tim e World Ch ampion
Toni Man g o u tsma rt th e you ngs ters
at Suzu ka, Lagu na sho uld be rig ht
up his a lley . Spania rd Sito Pons,
seco nd a t Suzuka, a nd th e rest don 't
wa n t him to g-et titl e number six, so
th ey' ll be there with him.
In the 500cc class, Kevin Schwantz
tossed a wre nc h into the esta blishe d
GP wh eel with hi s win in Japan. The
Suzuki became competi tive earl ier
th an anyone co uld have imagi ned,
and Lagu na shou ld fit the goodhandling Pepsi bik e like a well-worn
g love. Schwantz has mome nt u m and
Niall Mackenzie . (below) will be
aboard an HB Honda in the 500cc
class; Eddie Lawson (right ) will be
out to impress the home fans .
Christian Sarron (above) will ride
a 1 9 8 8 Yamaha YZR 500 . Shunji
Yat sushiro (left) will ride a Honda
N S R5 0 0, similar to Gardner's.
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