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/127186
e ~ en 00 en ~ "- en ~ a& ~ .~ M 0. < Australian Wayne Gardner (center) won his home GP, beating Wayne Rainey (left) and Christian Sarron (right). Sarron (4) runs wide while Gardner (2), Rainey (3) and Kevin M~gee give chase in the 500cc Grand Prix. World Championship Road Race Series: Round 2 Gardner's the Wizard of Oz By Paul Carruthers PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, APRIL 9 Australian Wayne Gardner wrote a fairytale ending to his country's first-ever Grand Prix with a thrilling win after a ferocious 30-lap, four-man battle at Phillip Island. The 1987 World Champion piloled his ROlhmans Honda lO a .35-second win over Team Lucky Slrike Roberts' Wayne Rainey in front of an estimated 92,000 partisan fans at the piClu- resque seaside venue in Victoria. Third place, only another . I4 of a second behind Rainey, was the Gauloises Yamaha of Frenchman Christian Sarron. Rainey's teammate and Gardner's countryman Kevin Magee was only a scant second behind Sarron after spending the majority of the race mixing it up with the other three. Fifth place went to defending World Champion Eddie Lawson on the Rothmans Honda after a near race-long ballie with Yamaha japan's Tadahiko Taira. PepsiSuzuki's Ron Haslam, Rolhmans Honda's Michael Doohan, GP firsttimer Michael Dowson and Elf's Dominique Sarron rounded out the top 10 finishers. It was definitely Australia's day on the Island as four Aussies finished in the top 10. The Americans weren't 'as fortunate. Rainey and Lawson were left LO wave the stars and stripes as the others fell by the wayside. Pole- iller and japanese GP winner Kevin SchwanlZ ruined his chances of back-to-back GP wins when he was high-sided from the Pepsi Suzuki on the opening lap while giving chase to the faststarting Rainey. The return of Freddie Spencer was in its second phase, but his most impressive outmg since ending his retuement came to a close eight laps from the finish when he lost the front end on the Marlboro Yamaha and crashed. Spencer was fifth at the time and was within two seconds of the leading foursome and six seconds ahead of Lawson and Taira. Team Cabin Honda's Bubba Shobert su££ered through a miserable week in Phillip Island., crashing. in practice and cracking a bone in his foot before crashing again in the GP. The sixth American, Randy Mamola ended his race on the 24th lap when his Cagiva su££ered an air lock in its radiaLOr. When it was all said and done Rainey emerged as the new leader of the championsrup, his first-ever trip to the LOp of the points table. Rainey, wi th h is two second place fi nishes, leads Gardner, 34-33, with Lawson tillrd at26 points. Sarron and Magee are tied at24 with SchwanlZ slipping from first to sixth with his 20 points from japan. The 500cc GP wasn't the orily race that had the first-time, for the most part, GP watchers on their feel. The 250cc race was another thriller as Campsa Honda's World Champion Sito Pons drafted past the Gauloises Yamaha of jean-Phillipe Ruggia just before the finish line to win his first GP of the season after a racelong battle. Third place and the ride of the day went LO Luca Cadalora on the Marlboro Yamaha. Cadalora, ala Kenny Roberts in the 1983 Italian CP, crashed on the second lap but managed to keep the YZR250 running. He remounted in last place and shredded his way through the pack LO finish only 8.75 seconds behind Pons. Spain's juan Garriga finished fourth on the Ducados Yamaha with Reinhold Roth's HB-sponsored Honda fifth. Lucky Strike Honda's jacques Cornu, Spain' Carlos Cardus, HB Honda's Helmut Brad.!, Aprilia's Didier de Radigues and Venemotos Yamaha's Alexandre Barros filled the top 10 positions. America's lone 250cc entry belonged to Katayama Racing's Andy Leisner. The Californian's GP troubles continued as he again failed LO qualify. Pons' 37 points leads the championship ahead of Cadalora's 30 and Ruggia's 28 points. In the 125cc Grand Prix, California resident Allan Scott earned his first ever rostrum position with a third place finish on his Honda single. Scott finished behind the JJ Cobas of Spaniard Alex Criville and England's Robin Milton. Championship leader Ezio Cianola crashed but remounted LO finish fifth, taking full advantage of Worl!l Champion jorge Martinez' second successive DNF on the factory Derbi. 500cc Qualifying With Grand Prix racing joining meat pies and beer on the Aussie favorites list, 228,000 fans turned-out for the four-day meet. Luckily, neither practice nor racing at Phillip Island were effected by the heavy rains that swept through the east coast of Australia. High winds from the Bass -Straight that are prominent in the area also stayed away. The majority of the top teams had tested at the revamped circuit during the off season so practice times were qwck in dropping to record pace. When the four timed practice sessions were finished it was an extremely-confident SchwanlZ giving Suzuki its first pole position