Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

parts to go back to the old reliabl e setup that had won him the title. " I hav en 't g iven up, a nd I wan t to win," he sai d. "When we tested here a t th e beginning of th e year, we were q uite a bit faster, a nd I ra n prett y close to my fast time in the lat er sessions. I j us t ha ve four fast guys in front of m e." Next to him came Christi an Sarron, getting set for hi s last GP, a nd suffering (alo ng wi th the o ther Dunlo p run ners ) ra ther more serious problems at wh at is undoubtedl y the ha rdest track o n tires of th e year. The Du nlops were ch u n ki ng and su ffering ca rcase separatio n, a worrying affair on to p of th e earnest desir e not to finish h is career with yet another crash. But Sarron is still a racer , and got his finger o u t in th e final sessio n to take almost half-a-second off hi s previous best and put hi s blue Yamaha sixth. H e was a sim ilar .d ista nce ahead of Mackenzie, who like Doohan also had to wait until day two for top-grade tires, and who th en made a gearing error in th e im porta nt final session. H e was in a dil emma for the ra ce on o ne hand, he had to finish sixth to be sure of fourth in the cha mp io nsh ip , on th e o the r he wanted to finish th e seaso n with a good result. Sixth certa in ly seem ed possibl e, gi ving a non -finish by th e fa st er qualifers, because J ean-Philippe Ruggi a's Yamaha was a noth er six-tenths adri ft, a nd would surely ha ve h is hands fu ll with G arriga , less than half-atenth slower, although o ne ro w further back on the grid. Factory Yamaha rider T ada h ik o T ai ra was 10th overall , ra ther ou t o f tou ch , a nd one o f o n ly two 500 riders to crash where caution prevailed o n th e co ld su rface. Beh in d h im , P ierFran cesco Ch ili o n th e ROC H onda was having his fir st race since cras hi ng in practice at Spa, badl y break ing h is left arm . Ca m psa H o nd a's Sito Pons, al so still far from fit, was 12th, wi th jus t o ne V -four slower - th e Marlbo ro Ya maha of class debu tante Peter C oddard.iThe Australia n superbike sta r a lso crash ed, ti ppin g o ff a t hi gh speed in turn o ne, lu cky to eme rge unhurt , and still enjoying hi s first GP o u ting, which he had arranged himself by making .fri ends with Kenny Roberts, a nd th en go in g to America to prove h is ability. H e had ridden a 500 only once before, for just five laps at th e Marlboro team 's Phillip Island test in February . "The bike is like a baby. If yo u try a nd force it to do a ny th ing, it ca n bite you . A superbi ke still needs quite a lot of physical force to make it do things. The 500 is very powerful but very p recise, a nd anyth ing precise is harder to use, but it ca n do th e job better if you use it properly. I'm nervous, b ut I wa nt to ge t through the weekend and get th e best result I ca n. I think th e top 10 is achievable. " This left just 16 bikes on th e grid, but with th e top ' five so close, the memories of last year' s breathtaking fou r-b ike battle still in m ind, a close race wa s more than possible. As Mackenzie said : " It's good to be at a tra ck where yo u ca n really use a 500." 500cc GP A clean sta rt and some not-so-gentle sorting out in the first bend saw the ' pattern o f th e race eme rg ing almost a t on ce - a nd it was different from every other 500cc GP this year , with no question of any runaways, and th e profoundl y sa tisfying sight for th e home cro wd of Doohan and Gardner leading usual earl y esca pee Rainey. Schwantz wa s a little way back from this trio, with Lawson on h is tail, then a sma ll gap to Sarron, Pons, Ruggia , Macke nzie a nd Garriga , with Ch ili, God dard and Taira bring in g up th e rear of th e V-fou rs, and th e trip les al read y dropping aw a y beh ind. By la p three , Rainey was through to seco nd, putting a quest io n ma rk over G ardner 's fitness for th e race, and Schwantz was losing grou nd , a nxious to make su re the tires were really warm to avoid the risk of repeat in g hi s previous year 's first-lap high- sider; bu t this was a temporary aberration , and as Rainey seized the lead o n lap five, Gardne r was still on Doo ha n 's back wheel, wi th Schwantz beginning to make up ground agai n. Then com me nced a four-bike ba ttl e as good as that o f th e pr evious year , a nd living pr oof o f th e asse rtion th at Phill ip Island is one 'o f th e grea t tracks for 5OOs. The leading quartet banged and barged in th e slo w bends, th en drafted and weaved down the straigh t. It seemed that the H ondas had th e edge, on s tr ai g h tl i ne speed , but a lot depended on how they got off th e fast left onto th e pit strai gh t, and wh o was abl e to take a d va ntage o f th e slipstream. Thus on lap five, to a roar from th e cro wd , Doohan went back past Ra iney on th e straig h t, only to lose th e lead agai n o n th e following ben ds. T he sa me maneuver th e next la p p ut the blue-and-white Rothrnans H on da in fr on t o f th e Da y-G lo Ma rl bo ro Yamaha the next lap, a nd thi s time he made it stick, stayi ng in front for th e nex t five laps. All four were close to the limit, and sometimes over it, and on lap 10 Gardner had a massive sli de that lifted him out o f the set. As he banged back d own, h is knee smashed into the fairing , dislodging it on the left-ha nd side, and brea king his rh ythm , a llowing both Rain ey a nd Schwantz to get pa st. Next time round, Ra in ey was back in th e lead, with Schwa ntz lean in g hard o n Doohan, a nd ac tually taki ng the inside line a t the hairp in , h it tin g the apex right al ongsid e th e Aus tralia n. A lesser rider would have given wa y, but Doohan kept th e door firmly closed. " T he bikes seemed pretty close on speed, a nd th at was one place wh ere I co u ld mak e time," said Schwantz.. Hi s next a tte m p t was even more radical , with the back wheel o f the L ucky Strike Suzuki up in th e air, and he go t into th e tight right-hander wa y too hot. This spoiled hi s exit and his run ro u n d the lefts, a nd ga ve Gardner th e cha nce to dr ive past him on th e stra ig h t. The form er World Champion's first ren naissa nce o f th e race had begu n, a nd as Doohan powered pa st Rainey into th e lead again, Gardner followed him th rough. " After I had th e fir st big slide I wasn 't sure what had ha p pened , but I could hear th e fair ing scra p ing on left-handers, and I thought I'd have to sta y where I was ," he said. "T he n I started catc hing th e others, and so I had anothe r go. " But it was still clo se, proven by the fact that Schwan tz a lso nipped past Ra iney, dropping th e World Champion from first to fourth in th e space of two laps. At this point, o n lap af ter half di stance, th ey ca me upon th e backmarkers , and th e two Hondas got a better run past Ir ish rider Eddie Laycock, opening top a sm all ga p; th e next time round.it was Marco Papa wh o ca used a similar problem, and now it was Gardner who got th e worst of it . The lead ing quartet were more spaced out a t this stage th an a t a n y o ther time in th e race , with Doohan holding an advantage of m ore than half-a-second. But it didn't last, with Schwantz now well on the cha rge, and Ra in ey.back on hi s tail , both o f th em moving past G ardner as he had a no the r huge slide going o nto th e stra ig ht. H e dropped to fourth again , a nd for a while didn 't seem able to do any thi ng a bo u t it. For a second time, it seemed tha t this was not to be hi s race. Schwantz whittled away at Doohan 's advantage , while the remarka b le Gardner fought his wa y back o nce more, ahead of Rai ney, and again the y packed up together. Then Gardner dived in side Schwantz, a nd with just five laps left , th e final sp rint co mme nced with Do o h an lea d i n g Gardner, Schwantz and Rainey. U ntil no w, th e crowd had bee n trea ted to hi gh-class moto rcycle raci ng w ith no quarter asked - a thrillin g display. Now it go t really serio us. On lap 26, Gardner had h is first a tte m p t a t passin g Dooh an o n th e stra ig h t. No go. H e had to wait two more laps until he cou ld aga in get a better run o u t o f th e last bend, a nd move through to th e lead. " As Wa yn e ca me by, the wind almost bl ew me off th e tra ck ," Doohan sa id. It put him o ff line for the fast fir st corn er, a nd he su rvived a ha ir- rai sing slit her , whi ch ga ve Sc h wa ntz h is chance to get pa st. The Texa n was des pera te to recover hi s reputation wi th a fin al wi n, a nd with seco nd in the titl e a lready secured , h e was p repar ed to risk every thi ng as he pu t his head do wn a nd chased th e Australian rival. It was a ri sk that d idn 't pa yoff. On th e penultimate lap, with the red mi st over hi s eyes a nd th e Honda 's tai l-piece in his sights, Schwantz piled into tu rn on e. The Suzuki slid, th e front wh eel tuc ked under, then it fli cked him o ver th e high side a t something over 150. lt was a s p ectacu la r cr as h , with Sch wa ntz land ing o n his back on th e track, a nd sliding at hig h speed into the grassy run -off. H e had pl enty of reason to th ank Ph ill ip Island for its in herent safety, th ough he broke a bone in h is left foot and a no ther in hi s right ha nd, a nd was coughing u p blood, wi th exte nsive bruising o n his bac k. "That's the fastest I' ve ever cras hed," he said la ter. "The back step ped o u t - I may ha ve done it w ith the back brak e, or m aybe th e engine or gea rbo x hung up. It happen ed so q uick I don 't rea lly kn ow , but it was the sa me pl ace where the bike seized in m orn in g warm- up." H is crew chief di d not h in g to help establish whe ther or not th e mach in e h a d seized fo r a th ird tim e t ha t weeke nd, behaving as if he had' someth ing to hide; but la ter it seemed unlikel y, th e best expla na tio n being th at Schwantz may ha ve kic ked it down one gear too far by m istake. Wh at ever th e reason , it ga ve G ardner the br eak he need ed to secu re h is seco nd su ccessive win , a nd o ne o f th e bra vest and most determined in a ca reer di stinguished by tho se two characteris tics. " O n th e last la p," he sai d , " My bike wouldn 't rev, and I didn 't think I'd mak e th e finish line. I was ex pec ting Doohan to co me by all th e time, but I kept o n cha nging u p , and th en I saw th e flag ." T he cras h lost m ore time for Doohan , a nd co nde m ned him to seco nd place by less than a second, after ta king the lion's sha re of th e leading. "It made me think when I saw Schwantz go down that this was a bit more serio us than just enjoying o u rse lves. All th e sa me, it was th e best ra ce and the most fun I've had all yea r - better even than winning in Hungary." Ra iney was j u s t o ver a second beh ind , also so bere d b y seei ng Schwan tz go flyin g, ,b u t more signif- ica nt ly sho rt o f ultimat e stra ig ht- li ne speed co m pa red with th e H ondas. All th e sa me, he was delighted. " I guess th at pro ves I haven 't g iven up j us t because I'm cha mp," he said. " T ha t was real fun , I enjoyed every lap - I wis h it was like th at every race . That kind o f stuff is great for the sport." The battle for th e lead left th e rest o f th e field trailing. Lawson 's harder tir es meant he wasn 't able to keep u p in th e ea rly laps, and th a t he had lost too much ground even to see what was going o n up front. " At the start, I j ust co u ld n 't lean it to the right. I went too har d on the suspensio n too , so you could say I messed up. I was n ' t riding we ll - it was o ne o f those da ys," he sai d. Alone in fourth , 40 seconds adri ft a t the fin ish , he ad ded: "The race seeme d to go o n forever." Mack enzi e was fifth , one pl ace better than he need ed to clinch fourth in th e cha m p io ns h ip. " I had a terrible first lap - th e Dunlops seem better than th e Mich elins wh en rhev'r e co ld, a nd G arri ga , Ruggia and Sa'rron a ll went pa st me into th e first bend. I managed to pass on e a lap, but I still had to ge t by Pons then I co uld see Lawson, but th e Suzuki 's grea ter m id -range power m eant I had more w hee lspin th a n him , a nd I co u ld n't ca tch u p ." H is fifth p lace, 12 seco nds down , meant th a t he was the o n ly 500 rid er a ll yea r to fini sh every race he started. Garriga was six more seconds back, once aga in dem onstrating that he reall y is improving race by race after a bad sta rt to hi s 500cc return , a nd clo sin g o n Mackenz ie a t th e fini sh . Earl ier , he a nd Ru gg ia had been in volved in a close battle with seven thpl aced Pons, unti l Ru ggia 's Du n lop had sta rte d to break up, and he'd pulled in w ith seven laps remaining. Anoth er 25 seco nds behind, Goddard was eigh th, after a so lid GP debut. " I reall y enjoy ed tha t," he sa id. " I fo llow ed C hili for a wh ile and saw wh ere he was fast er th an me, and wher e I co u ld pa ss him. But he was pr etty wid e, a nd it was a whi le before I go t by. After that, I co ncen tra ted 'o n no t mak in g mista kes. I was sta rt ing to get a good feel for th e tires towards th e end, a nd tha t's cr it ica l to ridi ng a 500." Chili fini sh ed a la p beh ind th e lead ers, visibl y slow ing tow ards th e ' end, wi th Pa pa th e best o f th e th reecyli nder H on da s. Christian Sa rron 's last GP ended after o nly II la ps. T he retiri ng Fren ch veteran had sta rted strongly, movi ng past Lawson into fifth o n lap two , a nd clea rl y game to join the leading group as he had last year . But h is Du n lo p tires had a last trick to pl a y, a nd he sta rted movin g backwards again on la p fo ur, d ro p p in g to 10th behi nd th e Garriga /Rugg ia/Pon s d ice whe n he finally pulled into th e pits. " T hey were slidi ng SO much th at I th ought I would p rob ably cras h if I ca rried o n," he said. It may have been the fir st time in a I-t-year GP career that he all owed di screti on to get the better pan o f va lor. T a ira 's race was shorter still. H e ra n into the d irt o n th e ex it from H onda Corner o n lap two a nd fell in a carbon copy of h is p ractice crash. Fo r a second year in success ion , Au stralia 's ent h usiasm for ra cing, its capaci ty for producing tal ented rid ers, a nd th e su perla ti ve Phillip Island circui t wer e rewarded with th e closest a nd best 500cc race o f th e yea r. Poetic justice di ctat ed th at it sh ould end in an all-Australian one-two, for th e first time ever in th e 500cc class . 250cc Qualifying An ywh ere else in the season, Daryl . Beattie's seco nd -fastes t time, set in the final session, would have been th e

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