Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127128
(Yamahas), South African Collin Dugmore (Su zu ki) and Finland's Arto Pantilla (KT M). However, th e team to beat is Yamaha. With 1987 l25cc World Champion J ohn Van den Berk, th e senior mem ber o f th e tea m a t 20, a nd 19-year-old Rob H erring, the team has two o utstanding ta lents. Bot h hav e different styles - Du tch ma n Van den Berk is a fighter who grinds - Bobby Moore (125ccl - can get anywhere near th em. The current 500cc World Champion is, like C eboers, hoping to become th e fir st ride r ever to win titles in a ll three classes. T o race l2 5s serious ly for th e fir st time in hi s career, a nd th at a t th e age of 27 af ter spend ing th e last four ' seasons predom ina ntly on 500s, is a maj or ch a llen ge for th e Bel g ian Jobe. He races prod uction H ondas that the Dutchman Strijbos is still a teenager an d has been ge n ui nely unlu ck y not to h ave won th ree in stead of just o ne World Cham pionsh ip title to dat e. He dominat ed th e battl e last year until a double DNF in Fin land, a nd Cagiva, o nce again, loo ks to h im to win the crown , which they hav e already held tw ice. Frenchman Bayle eme rged o nto th e scen e last year a nd dominat ed th e Fellow Ital ia n Corrado Maddii has missed his cha nces of th e title at 30 years of age but cou ld still win CPs like .th e ope n er in hi s homeland on a H onda, while th e best o f th e yo u ng Ital ian s is p rob abl y Andrea Bartol in i. T he Dutch n ewcomer likel y to make the b iggest im pact is Ed win Evensen. wh o o n ly tu rn ed p ro in th e wi n ter a fter a n im pressive firs t season in senior ra ci ng. ,", / USA the opposit ion int o th e d irt, while English-born H erring, rai sed in South Afr ica , is a t th e same time th e most gr aceful su percross expert in Europe a nd a lso th e one who falls th e m ost o ften. The class which a ttracts th e 'Ieast attenti on in m.o st co u n tr ies in Europe is th e l 25cc class, wh ich , how ever , o fte n p rov ides s u per b racing, a nd so me of th e co n testa n ts in clude two o f th e most sty lish riders in Eu ro pe - Dave Strijbos a n d J eanMichel Bayle. It is often difficult to remember Dave Thorpe (500ccl - England Jean-M ichel Bayle (125ccl - France lat er races as stress a ffected both Strijbos a nd Van den Berk. It took a lot of talking from Roger DeCoster and th e provision of works machinery to keep h im ridin g for Honda Fra nce (tho ugh he is in a ll but na me a n HRC ride r). Ba yle has th e style a nd ridi ng abi lity wh ich is associa ted with S tr ij bos until h e broke hi s shou lder, a nd both ha ve good raci ng bra ins, so a ba ttle ro yal is p romised in all 12 CPs. T he duo is so ta lented th at no one exce p t J o be; h imself beli eves that h e with expe rie nce d 125cc co m p a trio t Alain Lejeune as teammate: H onda ha s in 19-year- old Dutch ma n Ped ro T rag ter a no the r rid er more likel y towin than J ob e, th ough h e is p robabl y not in th e same cla ss as Strij bos a n d Bayle, T ra gt er ca n .so me ti mes pull o u t sta rt ling perform ances suc h as h is Bol o gn a stad ium win in December. Cagiva a lso ha s a back-up rider in Englis h You th Champ ion J am ie Dobb a nd 29-yea r-o ld vetera n Ma ssimo Co n ti ni, the o n ly Italia n o n the payroll o f th e sports department, Rob Herring (250ccl - Eng land Yamaha 's defen se o f th e ti tle rests tot all y o n th e shou lders o f Finland's Mika Kouki, w ho mi ssed m ost o f la st year th rough injury. He was tro ubled in 1986 by bad sta rts . Well re p rese nted in th e o ther cl asses , KTM places a ll o f its faith in 20-year-old Ca lifo rn ia Bobb y Moore, wh o has no w co m p leted two years in Eu ro pe a nd was sevent h las t year o n a H onda. H e ha s won a ll o f h is ea rly races o n KTM b u t h as not yet faced to p clas s opposi tion. T he firs t C P will in dica te what to expect from Moore. • ~OSIHIIIMUAA MOJOROIL Congratulations, Kevin, on two big wins in a row! KEVIN SCHWANTZ again uses MOTUL Oils & Lubricants to follow up his Daytona 200 win with a stunning victory in the Grand Prix of Japan. Kevin won in Japan by over 'eig ht seconds ahead of the current World Champion , MOTUL 300 COMPETITION . 4t DA YTDNA WINNER! ~~ -".~ ~ - MOTUL 400 RACING 2t JAPAN ,"P. WINNER! MOTUL 2100 SEMI. S'NTHEnQUE 4t USED IN KEVIN'S PERSONAL STREET BIKE! - •At DaYtona and Japan . • • SCHWANTZ HAS THE POWER! KEVIN SCHWANTZ on t!'e Daytona 200 ~nning MOTUL/YOSHIMURA Suzuki GSX-R750 L.....- -----l So Can You . If you th ink you ca!'" ride good enoug h t o use MOTUL call today: Yoshimura R&D of America, Inc. Massachusetts New Jersey Pennsylvania 4555 Carter Court. Ch ino. CA 91710 MOTO·RACE (800) 628-4040 BEAUMONT DISTRIBUTING (201) 871·1530 KMX DISTRIBUTING (412) 846-8354 (800) 634-9166 orders on ly (714) 628-4722 info and orders 33