Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Americans finished 1-2 in the 250cc Grand Prix with Yamaha's John Kocinski (19) leading 'SS winner Jimmy Filice (65) to the line. . Italian Luca Cadalora (6) and Spanish World Champion Sito Pons finished third and fourth. Pons still leads Cadalora in the .point standings. 8 in the fact that we have more information now," the Californian said. "We've changed the bike so many times without changin~ the frame. We've had different £Ide heights, triple clamps. We'll be trying a different swmgarm tomorrow - it's longer and 20 percent stronger. We think the left side of the other swingarm might be weak. We're hoping io have new stuff for Europe. I just want to get some points and get out of here." Apparently, the radiator problems that had caused DNFs in both Japan and Australia were fixed. "It was Just a problem with that one radiator and I happened to pick that same damn bike in both races,"'said Mamola. All the top riders complained bitterly about the slower riders who filled the back of the grid. The final qualifier was Oregon's Eugene Brown on an anciem Suzuki, lapping the circuit over 11 seconds a lap slower than Rainey. The leading riders would see Mr. Brown and Co. numerous times if he lasted the entire GP, and ·they felt this would be dangerous. "Anybody that's 10 seconds off the pace shouldn't be here; it's ludicrous," Lawson said. "It's unsafe and dangerous. It's like a road block." 500cc Grand Prix Rainey's wishes for cloud cover came true for the 500cc GP as the The 250cc U.S. GP celebration with (left to right) Filice, Kocinski and Cadalora spraying the photographers. to pull away lap after lap. Schwantz was a cozy second with Gardner diving under Lawson entering turn 11 - with the hard-riding Magee exiting under both of them to take over third place. The top two positions would never change as Rainey and Schwantz took up permanent residency at the front of the pack. The battle for third, though, wouldn't be decided until the final laps. Magee held the position for the next six laps, with Gardner crashing on lap 10. The Australian Honda rider had just gone under Magee in turn five when he crashed in turn six, slamming into the hay bales and breaking his leg. Unfortunately, the ambulance ended up being parked rather dangerously on the outside of the exit to turn 10 while Gardner was treated. "Any mistake IIJB.de right there and you were in his back door," Schwantz said later. The Gardner crash allowed Magee to get a little breathing room on Lawson, but by the 21st lap the defending World Champion was back on the Aussie. They continued to tussle until they encountered the lapped Shobert on lap ~7. Magee got by smoother than Lawson and quickly opened a gap that looked like it would hold to the finish. At the start of the final lap, however, Magee's Yamaha slowed on the front straight (almost out of fuel) and Lawson blazed by. After the Gardner crash, Sarron took over fifth, but Mackenzie, after disposing of Taira, was on the move. On the 20th lap, the Scot pulled to within striking distance of the Frenchman and two laps later made a pass. Mackenzie held on from there to finish fifth. Taira would hold seventh until the ~4th lap when his gearchange lever broke, ending his day. Inheriting that position was Chili, who outlasted Suzuki's Ron Haslam when the Brit's race ended on lap 20 with flooded carburetors. Doohan rode a conservative race to finish eighth, taking points and the opportunity to completely heal his injured left hand before the Spanish GP in May. Shobert was engaged in a battle with Mamola for the majority of the event, but the Cagiva broke a·crankshaft on lap ~2, forcing. the Californian out of the race. Thus the younger Sarron rounded out the top 10. "I thought this will be it again," Rainey said. "I thought it would be like Japan (with Schwantz catching up and the rwo engaging in a war to the finish). I just pushed it the whole race. My bIggest worries were Kevin catching me, and running out of gas." When asked to spell out the difference between the 1988-model

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