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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127279
Team
carbs after race two, ruled they were
legal and that the plate they were
mounted on which allowed them to be
lowered and spread was essentially part
of the air box.
The protest was dismissed and the
series is awaiting clearer rules for 1991.
R ace two
Pirovano agai n headed off at the start
and immediately pulled an advantage
of o ver two seco n ds from Monti,
Mertens and fast-starting Carl Fogarty.
Phillis was 10th, Roch e I Ith and J am es
13th.
But Roche was not to be denied lOth on lap two, sixth on lap three, fifth
on lap four , he passed Monti for fourth
on lap seven , passed McElnea for third
on lap nine, then took second ahead
of Mertens lap 10 and was leading by
lap 12.
Simply incredible.
He then proceeded to rub salt into
the wound by motoring further and
further away each lap, easing up to win
by just over three seconds.
. It wasn't simply a case of turning the
throttle and stea ming past all this
oppos ition on the straight, though:
"S ure I hav e a fast bike, but Piro vano's
and Mertens' bikes are fast too. I made
no ground on them on the straight, I
brake very hard for the comers an d drive
out very hard . . . today I passed P irovano and Mertens and many other riders
in the comers . The only rider with a very
slow bike is Rob McEln ea - he rode
very fast - he was the best out there."
But the Briton was destined to fini sh
no bet ter than fifth, droppin g back
behind Mon ti in the last few laps as
his wrist bega n to tro ubl e him again.
The most interesting bat tle was fo r
second, with Mertens reall y harrying
Pirovano until he was un ceremoniously
chopped by Italian Yamaha rider Aideo
Presciutti as they lapped him: "That
ride r is stupid," spat Mertens. " I could
have go tten second today but 1 couldn 't
have beaten Roche. The Ducati is very
fast and he rode very well. But the
championship is not fini shed , I still
hope."
J ames had been forging _h is way
.thro ugh in Roche fash ion - even
breaking his teammate's lap record set
in the first race - until he closed up
behi nd Mertens on lap 16 and lost the
front end under brakes into a 9O-degree
righ t-hander: "I made a mistak e," he
admitted, " I was pushing hard because
I didn't know how many laps I had
left."
Phillis was sixth aft er an appalling
star t, bein g held up ear ly in a big pack,
then ha ving the engine go off-song, He
passed French superbike star Jean Yves
Mounier late in the race to take sevent h,
wh ich became sixth when James took
his spectacular tumble.
Fogarty, Swiss Edwin Weibel (MWS
Honda ) and Caracehi rounded o ut the
top 10. The most notable o ther retirement was Rymer, who had to run off
af ter ra m ming into Fogarty, wh ile
Lave ille threw a chain at the start. m
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EL RACING
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Results
RAe: ON E: 1. Raymond Roche (Due); 2. jamie
j am es (Due); 3. Siephane Mm ons (Ho n); 4. Baldas 53 rT< Mo nll (lion); s, Rob Phillis (Raw); 6. Rob
MeEln<3(Ya m); 7. Christian Lavieille (Yam );,8. J <3n·
Michad Mattioli (Hon): 9. Stefano Caracchi (Due);
10. Jari Suho nen (Yam ); 11. And