Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

GROADRACEWoiliC~m~~_R_wd_R_K_eS_ff_~_:R_oo_~_12~~~~~~~~~~ :~ ~ -e '-e " = ;.- -e '" ;.Z Z '" ;.- :r: = 12 o :r: e, ..J '" ;;: Wayne Rainey (2) defeated Eddie Lawson (1) and Wayne Gard ner (10) to win the Swedish GP; Kevin Schwantz crashed. Rainey wins, Schwantz crashes in Sweden By Michael Scott ANDERSTORP, SWEDEN, AUG. 12 he sun broke through a thick blanket of clouds during the 500cc Swedish Grand Prix - and it shone down on Wayne Rainey. At the Anderstorp ,circu it, where a year ago he crashed and lost the World Championship lead , the 29-year-old Californian won the "Nordic TT" from Marlboro Roberts Yamaha teammate Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner's Rothmans Honda. Better still for Rainey's 1990 titl e chances, it was this time his rival Kevin Schw antz who crashed out of contenti on . Th e 26-year-old T exan fell unhurt on the third lap, whil e in fourth place and closing. He had once again started badly and was pushing hard to recover lost ground when he -Iost both wheels and sent his Lucky Strike Suzuki crash ing through th e hay bales. With Ra iney now 47 points ahead of Schwantz, the ch ampionsh ip may already be over. It depends on whether the Hungarian GP in three weeks time is cancelled following a track inspecti on later this week. (See In th e T Wind ... Ed. ) 14 Back in Sweden, Rothmans Honda's Michael Doohan took a distant fourth place, with Lucky Strike Suzuki's Niall Mackenzie fifth. Triple TTF-l Champ- pion Carl Fogarty, riding the injured Pier-Francesco Chili's ROC Honda, was sixth after a race-long duel with .the Yamahas of seventh-placed JeanPhillipe Ruggia and Juan Garriga. The race was exciting throughout - a contrast to last weekend's British GP - with Gardner closing right up on the leading Yamahas, but unable to press home a final attack. But it was nothing' compared with the desperate 250cc race, which had four different leaders from a pack of six glued together from start to finish. The victory went to the Spanish Repsol Honda of Carlos Cardus, extending the points lead he took a week before from John Kocinski, after th e 23-year-old American's pair of crashes. The 23-year-old origina lly from Little Rock, Arkansas , mad e no m istakes this time, riding his Marlboro Yamaha brilliantly to come through from a bad start in 10th place to finish second, less than a second behind. Japan 's Masahiro Shimizu put his Ajinimoto Honda into the third slot, with Luca Cadalora on the Marlboro Agostini Yamaha fourth. The 125cc race was no less of a thriller, with a pack of 10 going for the lead in the early stages, and the issue in doubt until the last tum. The winner was Hans Spaan from Alessandro Granighi, Doriana Romboni and Stefan Prein, all on Hondas, with 'seven th-p laced Loris Capirossi now sha ring the title lead with Prein, At the finish , two seconds covered from first to ninth position. . The Sidecar race was won by Alain Michel from Egbert Streuer and Rolf Biland, with Steve Webster fighting through to fourth after being left on the line for the second race in succession. Streuer now takes a three-point lead from Webster , with Michel just , one point behind. 500cc Practice Ever since the turbocharged sidecar started racing (practicing, really, since it has never qualified), it was only a matter of time before it blew up and dropped oil all over the track. It happened just before the final 500cc practice session, and while it was easy enough to see and avoid the dusted stripe that ran from the start/finish line around four of the circuit's eight corners, it meant that none of the top nine improved their times. It, probably wouldn't have made much difference to positions on the sparse 18-bike grid except perhaps to Anderstorp debutant Michael Doohan - Schwantz and the f1ickable Suzuki . were on top from the first session, his best time coming the session before, on Saturday morning, and he was happy to admit afterwards that he had been using an unwitting Wayne Gardner as a marker. With its array of second-gear banked 180-degree turns, and a grippy surface us ed for the first time last year , Anderstorp does not lend itself to using wheels pin to help turn a 500. This throws the focus onto the front wheel , and on keeping momentum and a high mid -corner speed - an art the dirt- schooled Americans and Australians master quite easily, but also a chance for European-school riders like Sarron and Mackenzie to get on more equal terms . ..'" It did give Schwantz some minor technical problems with the Suzuki. " We' re using the new rear suspension parts for the first time, and they make the back grip well. But the front is vague in some places , and in the last session we made three or four changes that didn 't work. I guess the lap times we're doing, it 's bound to be moving around a bit." His only title chances now depended on Rainey crashing or breaking down. " Like in England, if I get in front of him, instead of a big break, I'll try for what I consider a safe margin and stay there, so he keeps trying all race. That way, he may make a mistake or something might happen ' to his bike." The words of a man with nothing in his pocket but prodigous talent and more than a second per lap time advantage. ' . Rainey 's crash here last year lost him the title lead to Lawson. The now serious and taciturn californian attributed his lapse of concentration - and subsequent high-side at the corner before th e straigh t - to confusion over lap signals from the pits, uniquely half-a -lap away from the start/finish. He arranged this year to be signalled as usual from there instead, to avoid all possiblity of a repeat. With a 27point lead, he didn 't need to win the race. But he wanted to, if only to silen ce an y suggestions that he's winning the titie from a faster rider. But that's what the stopwatches said , putting Rainey fourth on the grid. Very disgruntled, he admitted for the first time all year that he might be forced to ride for points rather than victory . "The new chassis we 'got at Donington is coming along, though the front needs some work. I'll just go out and see what happens and have some fun. I just want points, becaus e I think we've got the bike developed to the max at the moment." It was Wayne Gardner, last week's pole qualifier, who edged closest to Schwantz, seven-tenths -down, and in a bullish mood after his frustrating Donington piston ring failure. "The ring shifted sideways and got caught in a port." (These are obviously rather large!) "It got chewed up - it's a problem Erv's working on. It happened in morning warm-up in France, in practice in Donington, then again on the sighting lap of the race." The only Honda rider not complaining loudly about the handling , Gardner has also been (since LeMans) the only one with the latest frame. He remained wary of the dangers of trying too hard here. "I hate these long comers where you're over for such a long time. It's really tempting to get on the throttle, but I just know if I gas it too early, I'll be up in the air." Next to him, Lawson was looking distinctly dangerous. An old Anderstorp hand, and now pretty much full y fit, he was up to speed, and showing the familiar controlled momentum that suggested he too might be ready to start winning again. He also complained about a lack of power from the .Team Roberts Yamaha. "I could hardly stay in Mick Doohan's slipstream," he said. In fact, while speed trap figures showed all the bikes to be close to the 175mph mark at the end of the long airstrip straight, the differen ce showed more at the beginning. Row two saw Mackenzie leading the usual battle with Doohan for the spare Michelin A-tires, and on Saturday morning, his pit signalling him the Australian 's times, he pushed on and

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