Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

INTERVIEW Continued from page 18 mak e it a little more eq ua l and a little more fair." Mean w hil e, the WSC j ust gets toughe r a nd toug her: " Ba sica ll y beca use the motorcycles increase in techno logy and th e tires get so mu ch better every year and yo u have to -ride so mu ch harder every year. I think that everybody is pretty much o n an even keel and a few gu ys shine on different tracks more than others and tha t's what makes the dif ference. " T he rid er and bike shin ing most promi ne nt ly at the mo ment are Raymo nd Roche and the awesome Du cat i 851 V-twin, In th e last two seasons Merkel has foug h t off desperately close challenges to cli nce the world titl e fro m Davide Tardozzi and Mert ens. This year Roche and the factor y Ducati are sh ap ing u p as Mer kel' s m ost dangerous threa t yet. " Raymond (Roche) is a smart guy," Merkel said. " H e's got a bike that goes real fast . . . It doesn 't handle all that good for him, but with the amount of power he has he can get away with it. Sometimes it's rea lly hard to keep your coo l o n the race track during a race because you 're ou t there giving it everything yo u' ve got and you 're all over the gu y. ·Bu t he's nice and cool an d calm and when he gets to the part where he can turn the throttle then he just walks away. " All we can do is beat him on the tracks that are feasible and on th e others take the points. There's a lo t of luck involved. If you have a 100 percent year and if you finish in the top thee then the odds of winning th e Wo rld Championship are pretty good." Merkel has three weapons whi ch should help him in his figh t to retain his title. The .first is the 1990 Honda RC30. He 's got his new engines from H onda R&D which have a little mo re power - but the rea l improvement is the chassis which he sho u ld hav e in time for the third ro und of the championship in H un ga ry. " When I tested it at Suzuka early in the year it was a co nsiderable am ount better," Merk el said . " T he im provemen ts co me fr om the fra me and swing arm. T he RCdoesn 't like to turn , i t's a hard motor cycle to get aro u nd a co rn er. When you'r e in the middle of a corner and yo u give it some' gas th e front end j us t wan ts to go straight, just wants to go OUl •.. The changes in the fram e have been made because the y've pol ish ed the wh ole fram e to allo w the motorcycle to flex - at least that's what they say - to make it turn be tter, Well , it did turn better." Weapon number two is Pirelli. In their first year the Italian tire company linked up with Merkel and the Ru m i team very successfu lly to win its first ever road racing World Championsh:p. This year with the experience of . 1939 behind them, Merkel says: " We' re lOt) percent better than last year becaus e v e're not starting from scratch. And wsh Peter Ingley not having to go ba:kwards and forwards between me am (P. F.) Chili - just having him devoted to me - it's reall y making them able to make me the tires the way thtt I like them faster and better. " Weapon number three is Merk el hinself and .his ability - when it is ne:essary ...:. to go to what he calls, " ne edge." 'The way I think is through practi ce am qualifying I always give it all th at T'e go t and if it's not ri ght and we stllggle then we try and make it better. 'When you' ve don e your best, you 've q ialified, everythi ng 's set up good, and if n the race it's there - well. you give .it at lit tle extra - you put it rig ht on the edge because there is an edge ani you win races thatway," Of GOODfi'EAR EAGLE RACING TIRES DTX - CONVERSIONS • 2 1" Rims to 19" Rims • 18" Rims t o 1 9" Rim s • 19" Wide Rims uPs S~HPPHHI (714) 530-6681 DRAG-Wider for Increased Traction EAGLEDT II -ShOrt and Long Track Com pounds CDMPETITIDN TIRE WEST 12787 Nu twood St. EAST Ga.d.n G, o ' ., CA 92640 M d "'l ~ ' c a, d & v.s.a CANADA Brooklyn, MI49230 1 21S' 375-6191 --' P.O. Box 666 Reaa,ng, PA 19603 J P.O. Box 301 Ism S92-66ll1 Want Ad Information - 213/427 ·7433 KNIGHT BOSS CHAMPION Com pl ete Engine Modificm:ions & Rebuilds Complet e Suspe nsion Modificot ions & Rebuilds "Ott-er services """ilab le o n recuest'' «1I'icSSHUOEDDMY .6 PERFORMANCE ACCESSORIES Nell Keen 31 4/426-6959 " THE 1990 YEARBOOK Irs here. Motorcycle Road Racer Illustrated's 1990 Yearbook - a comp lete review of the 1989 motorcycle road raci ng season. Everything from U.S. National Championships to the exciting world of Grand Prix road racing, from the co lorful personalit ies to hard-line techn ical informatio n on the state-of-the-art motorcycles. It's all packed into a 92-page, full-color, perfect-bound yearbook. T hat's 92 pages of action photography from the world 's top professional motorcycle racing photographers, facts and figures, and enjoyable reading from those in the know to bring back the highlights of the 1989 season. A nd as a spec ial bonus, Motorcycle Road Racer Illustrated's 1990 Yearbook features A Decade in Review a look at the Eighties. M otorCYCle Road Racer Illustrated's 1990 Yearbook is sure to give road race fans months of enjoyment while also serving as a reference book to their favorite sport. r---- - --- ----- - - ~-- --------------------------. - ..... .s. .;. .---' I I I I I I I I 1990 MOTORCYCLE ROAD RACER YEARBOOK ORDER COUPON FllI in completely & c leorly send me - - copies at $3.95 each 0 Check or Money Order Enclosed Nome Charge my 0 VIsa 0 Masterca rd Address Credit Co rd # City State _ PhOn&" I L - Method 01 Payment _ ( Sony, no " " """') I I I Zip _ _ expiration Dote Orde r Dote Slgnoture send to: eN Publishing,MotorcycleRood RacerY earbook. P Box498,long8eoch, CA 90801.Q498 .O. I"'ow~_"de<",":,) I I I' I I _ I I I ~

• Cover