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/127146
Georgian Billy Liles captured his first GP win with a 1-3 ta lly in Sa n Marino. He's now eighth in the World C'ship 500cc MX po int standings. Kawasaki rider Kurt Nicoll. from Great Britain. moved int o second place in the point standings with a third overall in San ,Marino. Jeff Leisk flew to San Marino to ride injured Dave Thorpes' works Honda. Leisk was leading the second moto before thro~ing a chain . World Championship 500cc MX Series: Round 10 Liles triumphs in San Marino By Alex Hodgkinson File photos by Kinney Jones and Hodgkinson BAL DASSERONA, SAN MARINO, JULY 24 American Billy Liles captured his very first overall GP win, combining 1-3 mota scores in San Marino, aboard his Kawasaki. It was America's first overall 500cc GP victory since Dan n y Chandler did it in 1985, and th e days of Brad Lackey when he gave the U.S . . . ' ItS first and only 500cc World 12 MX Championship in 1982. But in San 'Marino, it was Liles' day, with his win boosting the Georgian into a tie for eighth in the series with England's Mark Banks. After a 4-1 for second overall, serIes leader Belgia n Enc Geboers now needs just 20 points from his home G P in Namur, the next stop on the circuit on August 7, to clinch the 500cc World Championship title and become the first rider to win championships in all three displacemen t classes. Geboers' nearest riva ls in the tit le chase, the English duo of Kurt Nicoll and Dave Thorpe, weren't a factor in San Marino. Thorpe missed the event, the 10th round of the series, after sUfferin~ a broken collarbone one week earlter in Holland. Nicoll's second place in the final moto wasn't enough to help him pull back points on Geboers since Nicoll cras hed in the first tum of race one and could only work up to 11th at the finish. Nicoll did overtake Thorpe by one point in the standings in the chase for the FIM silver medal. Kees Van der Ven has established a claim to fourth in the standings, but has littl e chance of making the top three after a nat tire restricted his scoring in the first moto, Geboers had declared his tactics before the race as being to consolidate his points advantage, but the Belgian shot away in front from the start of moto one and led through the firs t tum, by far the safest place to be on the dangerous start area of the Baldasserona trac k. Nicoll soo n found o ut how dangerous it can be. Ismo Vehkonen was forced to brake as a ri val cut across him and Nicoll. In his attempt to change co urse, N icoll could do nothing more than slide dow n on the slippery, loose stones which litter the dusty track. Andy Nicolls and Fra nco Rossi piled into the Nicoll's works Kawasaki, but luckily eve ryone missed Nicoll himself who escaped with cuts and bruises as he slid along the ground. After that the race for Nicoll was nothing more than a hopeless chase to salvage just five points. . "Normally I could get back to 15th within a couple of laps, but there are only two p laces where you can pass here, " said Nicoll. "At the rate of two a lap the top 10 were long gone by the time I got back into the points." At the front Geboers kept his cool and refused to be rattled when Michele Magarotto dived by along the wet-weather loop at the top of the track to take the lead and stretch , it out after one lap. Claudio DeCarli was the next pass Geboers, who was content .to stay out of tro uble after being signalled of Nicoll's plight, DeCarli also got past Magarotto for the lead before a lack of conditioning - he has been unable to train for several weeks following a collarbone injury - saw him drop back fast in the second half of the race. ' With Magarouo also fading and Geboers not wanting to race in close proximity to any challengers who might accidentally knock him off, a three-man group established itself at the fron t as Liles, J acky Vimond and J eff Leisk broke clear . The race was a tremendo us spectacle, but each of the trio was intent on making no mistakes. "T here's on ly one rea l line here," said Liles. "When you get off of it then you are in real trouble because your whee ls can just go o ut from under you on the loose stones. I took