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/127255
LAGUNA SECA PREVIEW Continued from pag e 11 Italian worth y of the success-cra ving Italian press. it is unfortunate that Ch ili's on ly GP win came at the italian G P last season in Misan o, th e site of an ugl y rider boycott. Chili elected to race despite pressure from the others, and he'll probabl y pa y for it for the rest of hi s career. Chili earn ed 20 points but few friends... As if tryin g to get on e bike to work didn't give Cagiva enough problems, they've added two more to the team. The on ly non-Japanese manufacturer that cou nts in th e 500cc class. they hi red the services of Brit Ron Haslam and Brazilian upstart Alexandre Barros. T he two joi n Randy Mamola on the q uirky fire-engine red V-fours. H aslam has long been considered a p remi er motorcycle developer , a nd only hi s trials and tribulations with the ill-fated Elf ma y test that tal ent more than the Cagiva. The tale nted Mam ola can still ride with the best of them whe n motivat ed, yet Ri jeka in Yugoslavia seems to be the onl y pl ace that raises h is pulse. Hopefully , Hasl am ca n cu re the Cagiva's ills and give Mamola a more capa ble motorcycle on which to perform . After all. it would be a shame to see th e Californian 's career wind down on a suc h a sour note after so many successful seaso ns of GP racin g. T hose. 14 full-fledged factory bik es will be joined by a host of privateers on bik es rangin g from '88 YZRs to an cient H onda three-cylinders. But thi s season th e FIM has adop ted a rul e to keep slower riders ou t of th e GPs; in order to q ualify you must no w be with in 10%o f the pol e-sitters'Tap tim e. Despite losing three of its stars, th e 250cc class will still p ro ve to be intriguing. While Pons, Garriga and Ruggia have moved on to the 500cc class, 250cc raci ng will benefit from having Kocin ski and th e returning Do m in iq u e Sarron, back after an uns uccessfu l one-year stin t on Elfbacked Honda NS R500s. Add in Marlboro Agosti ni 's Cada lora , the ba lding Bava ria n Rei n h old Roth , J acqu es Cornu, Carl os Cardus, 125cc World Champion Alex Crivi lle, Masahiro : Shimizu, Martin Wi mm er, Didier de R adigu es, Loris Regg ia n i, Carlo s Lavado and a ho st of oth ers, and most won' t miss Pons and Co. The p reseason favorite to emerge as 250cc World Ch ampion is probab ly Koci nski, but it wo n' t be 'as easy as man y think. T he two-t im e AMA Ch ampion will have hi s hands full agains t an arsenal of very trick H onda NSR250s, and a very fast Italian in Cadalora. H on da continues to lead the way in the 250cc class. and this season should be no exception. Preseason .tests have proven that this year's NSR ma y be the best ever, and Yamaha 's main men . Kocinski and form er 125cc champion Cadalora, should be kept busy. . The top H ondas will be in the hands of Roth (second in '89), Roth (thi rd in '89) and Cardus (fourth in '89). They will be joined by late-seas on sta r Shimizu and Sarron , who is hoping to find the form that made him a major force in 1987-88 in the 250cc class. The four-time GP winner will aga in be in Roth rnan s colors in '89. At least two worthy Aprilias will be on the gr id come Laguna Seca, in the capa ble hands of West German y's Wimmer and Belgium's de Radigues. Each are capa ble of winn ing G Ps, but the Aprilia still hasn 't proved its worth as a championshi p conte nder. On e thing is certain. there will be man y 250cc GP winners in 1990, and the Davids sh ould give T eam Goliath a run for the 500cc cha mp ions hi p. a ~ DRAGS/KEf ~~C~cv-. ~ 9 h AN N UAL t o~~~ '\COO ~~ gtr.4R SEErH Or BE DESERTNATIONALS E! Saturday night and Sunday - April 21-22 L.A. County Raceway Palmdale, California See the SUPERSTARS at DRAGBIKE! USA'S "DESERTNATIONALS 9" -. ,..-- OFF SUNDAY!! I 500;0 Spectator Gate Admission ' APRIL 22nd Good after 12:00 Noon Admission with this coupon $S Regularly $10 Children 12 and under FREE!! When accompanied by a paying adult No cash value, no refu nds, ~_______________ See Krazy Keith Kardelrs Wild Trickrldlnc Show as he runs the quarter mUe backwards at over 100 mph! ----,--- - - EVENT SCHEDULE---- Saturday Track open 2 p.m. Tim e trials begin 4 p.m. Pro qua lifying 6 - 7:30 - 9 Gamb ler Race (Winner $500, Runner up $150) Sunday Gates open 9 a.m . 10:30 IT begin (pro entries close) 11 a.m. final pro qua lifying 12 noon staging closes 1 p.m. Main Event rl no facs imi lies accepted - DRAGBIKE! USA West Phone 619-292 4444 Track 805-~2224 DRAGBIKE! USA 315-735-1661 . Track located - Palmdale, California (in Los Angeles County) Take 1 to Antelope Valley Fwy. 14 Pear Blossom Hwy. Exit 5 miles straight to track -5 RACE HEADQUARTERS MOTEL - Days Inn Palmdale, 38630 Fifth St.• W. Palmda le. CA 93551 805-947-8055 r---------------------~-------------------------~, AttentiOI! - - SubscriberS, - 1. For FASTEST service attach old mailing label in space below. If mailing label is not available. print your name and address in this box. Please }I l1ow 3 weeks for change to take effect, When yoll rilo~e I I NAME I I ADDR ESS ---, _ I CITY STATE ZIP _ I I 3. Mail to: Circulation Department . I CYCLE NEWS, P.O. Box 498, L,ong Beach, CA 90801..()4~ 2 . Print your NEW address here . •••- ~------------------------------------------------~