Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The British are coming By Chris Carter A s Frank Bruno slumped to the canvas in his world heavyweight boxing . ch a m p io n sh ip fight with Mike Tyson, an American commentator said that the British were good losers because they had so much practice. , The British, and the rest of those dang foreigners have had plenty of practice at being beaten in the Daytona 200. The last overseas ace to zap the opposition was New Zealander Graeme Crosby back in , 1982 and the last European to win the big race in Florida was the late Patrick Pons of France in 1980. , This year, this Brit believes that Great Britain has a fine chance of , providing the winner in the 200. Scotsman Brian Morrison was the ' winner last year of the prestigious MCN-EBC Brakes Superstock Championship in Great Britain and his reward is a trip to Daytona. He will ride the Honda VFR750 that former AMA Superbike Champion Fred Merkel racedin the 1987 Superbike World Championship Series. The machine lay idle in 1988 while " Merkel and Morrison raced the RC30 Honda in their respective championships. The RC30 Honda remains unhomologated for American competition but Anglo-American promoter Bruce Cox has wheeled out and dusted down the VFR750, not just to give Morrison a fide but to give him a competitive machine for the race. Morrison could have won five British championships last year and ended up with three titles. His victory in the Superstock competition was very, very impressive. The fact that his name will probably mean nothing to the average Daytona spectator means nothing. , Make no mistake, Morrison, at 29, knows that he must make the breakthrough at international level very, very quickly. He is professional, talented and speaks so quietly and with such a strong accent that his only hope of ordering food and drink , during his Daytona stay will beby pointing at menus or sign language. But that is likely to be the only problem he will find . He has every chance of winning the big race and the former bread salesman, turned professional road racer now wants to make dough of another kind. Brian is not the only Brit out to end the U.K. famine of Daytona 200 wins. Jamie Whitham will ride a Suzuki in the big race and has 'every chance, too, of winning the big race.' Yorkshireman Mick Grant has raced at Daytona many times and knows exactly what is needed to win. But Mick's best result was a seventh and for a man who won Grands Prix and Isle of Man 'TT races that sort of result was no goodat all. Now Mick is team manager of the Heron Suzuki team and thought long and hard before making a commitment , to bring Jamie to Daytona. ' "It is a complete waste of time and money to ride Daytona on an uncompetitive motorcycle. But I really believe that our Suzuki will be fast enough and I know Jamie is good enough to do the job," says Grant. 18 ' • • • .:...-:::. Whitham, just 22 years of age, has set the Speedway on fire but I'm a fair man 'and I'll give him one more been impressive in his short, but meteoric rise to fame. His internachance. Finn Esko Kuparinch is a talented tional experience is limited, however. His only outing abroad was to _ Scandanavian who will run his the Macau Grand Prix last Kawasaki at a quick pace for the full distance, but he , too, is no race November when he qualified second WInner. fastest behind Kevin Schwantz in Journalist Alan Cathcart perhaps practice and was lying second in both dreams of winning the Daytona 200 legs before mechanical problems and back at his London home but it dirty fuel put him out. would require a first corner pilot of Jamie has earned a reputation, monumental proportions, a mass perhaps a little unjustified, as a outbreak of food poisoning and crasher. Certainly he has destroyed dozens of breakdowns for the writer a few motorcycles in his career but to come home first . But Alan on a the spills have not always been his Ducati will be there at the finish and own fault and Jamie won the British thoroughly enjoying himself as ever. .Prod uction title last year against very That deals with the Daytona 200. tough opposition. He has time on Let's look at Sunday's Castrol 250cc ' his side and it takes a very excepGP race. , tional rider ' to win any race at Alan Carter 'm ay be living in Daytona at a first time visit but ' America but I'm going to claim him Whitham is no mug and Grant is as an Englishman all the same far too mean a man to waste some because we are still looking for a of his racirig budget at an event that British winner, in fact a European, he didn't believe Jamie could win. winner of the 250cc race. ' If skill alone guaranteed victory in ,Carter, the youngest man ever to ' the Daytona 200 than West German -win a Grand Prix race, is well known Martin Wimmer could have his team to Americans but what is less known waiting in victory lane. The former is how he and the rest of the strong law student is as good if not better Lassak racing squad will go on their than anybody else in the ,200. The . new Aprilias. ' only question we ask is whether the South African Robbie Peterson, bike he will race is fast enough or , younger brother of former GP race reliable enough to go the distance. 'and team manager Dave, is known After that the overseas lineup does to American fans too but I'll claim begin to look a little bit below star him as a foreigner also and one well status. capable of winning. , Dave Pither, from England, .ru ns Finn Johnny Wickstrom had a go a Honda and he's a good, capable at the 250cc race here at Daytona last all-around rider, particularly good year. He's better known as a 125cc Grand Prix runner and though he in vintage racing. No winner but he'll be running at a fast pace did not do much last year he learned a lot and has better sponsorship and throughout the race. Philippe Bouzanne from Switzera better chance this year: land used ' to be ' a top class Grand Out of the rest only four names Prix runner IO years ago or so, but mean much. last year his Daytona 200 ended early Anders Skov from Denmark has when he crashed and injured himbeen around quite a time running self. Bouzanne is back on a ' Suzuki in European championship and a and could be top 20 material. few World Championship events. I suspect that he and his Yamaha are Aarpad Harmati made history last year when the Hungarian became the not quite quick enough to make the ' first Iron Curtain country rider to top five but he will be there or race at Daytona. He did not exactly thereabouts. Irishman Eddie Laycock has been to Daytona couple of times and he has run with the fast boys. Whether the Millar Racing Yamaha will have the legs round the Speedway remains to be seen but Eddie is good enough and he know what it takes to win. France turns out its share and more of top class riders and young -Bruno Bonhuil has been impressive in 250cc World .Champ ionsh ip races in the past season and a half. He will find that Daytona is a different kettle of fish to a Grand Prix, but he is a fighter and he is fast. Keep an eye open for him. Finally Johnny Wickstrom's pal Jarmo Piepponen makes his Daytona debut on an Aprilia, He has a lot to learn so don't expect too mum from him. Finally the Pro Twins GP -gives us the prospect of diminutive Australian Paul Lewis getting amongst the Americans on a Honda. Paul's luck has not been great in recent years but surely the gods must shine upon him soon. Three BMWs link up to make an interesting extra , ingredient to the opening round of the Pro Twins series. Both teams are organized and run by BMW dealers in their respec, tive -countries. The Japanese team AMS Fujii has been racing in the Japanese Battle of The Twins since 1983 finishing second last year. Their entry will be ridden by Seigo Kikuchi, a 32-year·old bicycle shop owner. From Germany, the Handrich and Mayer team will run two machines, a new 1989 version to be ridden by 27-year-old Herbert Enzinger and last year's model to be run by Californian David Emde. The most intriguing entry for me though is that of veteran Frenchman Jean Francois Balde on a HarleyDavidson. Jean Francois is the longest serving Grand Prix competitor of all now that Angel Nieto has retired. He is a great rider; a wonderful character, and with the French Harley-Davidson importers backing him, he could be up there with the front- runners. •

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