Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

; ROADRACE World Championship Road Race Series: Final round focus of attention - bu t in the last G P of the year, with a World Ch ampionsh ip to be decided, all for eign press eyes we re o n Koci n ski and Cardus. It was the ' former who do minated, moving to the front in the second sessio n , the n goi ng faster still in the fourth to tak e a po le position fou rtenths of a second faster than Bea ttie's best, and full y 1.3 seconds better than Card us, who langu ished in sevent h p lace, o n the second row of the gr id. T he on ly 'co mfort ava ila ble to the Spa niard was the fact that Kocinsk i's Marlboro Yama ha had seized twice, o nce o n T h u rs day (" T o o lean ," according to crew chi ef Bud Aksland ), then again o n Sa turday (" Don 't kno w wh y." ). . T he American was cocky an d co nfident, sayi ng : " I felt mo re pressure befor e the first race of the year in japan tha n [ do no w. I j ust have to be sure I do n' t get a ny bad luck." Runn in g away, he tho ugh t: "migh t no t be the smartest thing to do. It'd be better to keep everyo ne in a pack, to gi ve more peopl e a cha nce to finish second. But I won 't be watching Ca rdus; ju st tryin g to win. " Beattie, in h is first o uting on a full works Honda 250, ad mitted himself somewhat surprised by hi s second spo t, sayi ng : "T he hardest part is switch ing to a GP 250 aft er a year o n 750 fourstrokes. There's a lot mor e to think abou t o n a GP bike." After setting hi s whizzer time , he added: " It felt prett y . easy - I'm sure I can get a bit more ou t of it. T he secret was I changed th e way I was riding; cha ngi ng gea r in different p laces in quite a few corne rs. I can' t wait for the race." In the process, he had dislodged Cad al ora, pu shing the Italian to third, Cad alora had professed himself wil lin g to do wh at he co u ld to help Kocinski , altho ug h the prospect didn 't seem to pl ease. " It' s my job to help Yam ah a, Marlboro and Michelin ," he said. But he a lso said he could have go ne faster. " T he wi nd in practice has mad e it very difficu lt to get the geari ng righ t, arid-in th e last session my lowe r gears were too sho rt." Brad l's HB Ho nda was fourth , mere hundredths slower, the taciturn German won derin g whether he wo uld be obli ged to help C rdu s, In pub lic, he a said: "T he World Champion sh ip is no t my probl em . I th ink Cardus can win o n h is own - [ do n' t think Kocin ski wi ll be able to get away fro m us like he did in H un gary." Pr ivately, he.arra nge d a system of enig matic pit sig na ls so th at if it becam e necessar y to ease bac k in favo r of the Spa niard, he m ight do so. We wo uld all have to wai t and see. Zeelenberg com p leted the front row . T he Du tch rider has been fightin g to regain form and im prove hi s Honda 's steeri ng in the latter part of the seaso n, and was a lmos t four-tenths down o n Bradl : jacques Cornu's Honda was a simi lar distan ce do wn , and led row two from Card us. T he latter was unu su all y short of fig ht ing tal k, and seemed almost to have accep ted defeat. " T he nu mber two won't be bad for my bi ke next year," he said. Bu t he was still confident in finding som e improvemen t for the race. " T he firs t day , I was worki ng o n my suspension; on the second day I had som e engine tro ubl e. I can go faster," he said. Do miniq ue Sarron was next , som ewha t detuned firs tly by a big crash o n Friday , and secondly by hear ing that he is to be dropped from the Rot hman s team for the next year . Ever th e loyal servant, he declined to mak e ad verse comment , but o ne felt he mig ht not over-exert himself for the race. m . ~ 0(") .... v ..0 o .... u o 12 Didier de Rad igues comp leted row two and was the fastest of th e Aprilia rid ers, a positi on mor e usuall y occup ied by Martin Wimmer. However, the German had fallen heavil y on th e first day o f practi ce, bruisin g hi s ribs severely. He went o u t again o n day two, and actua lly improved hi s tim e, qualifying 15th, but the next day th e pain was worse, and he was do ubtfu l abo ut how far he could go in the race. Row three saw Spa niar d Alex Criville's Marlbo ro Yam ah a leading, th e 1989 125cc Ch ampion sti ll tro ubl ed by foo t injuries incurred in H un gar y; th en Ma sahiro Shi mizu 's works Honda, Lor is Reggian i's Ap rilia, and j ochen Sch mid's wor ks develo pment RS Honda , wi th j o rge Martin ez's Cobas o n th e far end. All 30 entries q ua lified, and most predicted a close race. Events, and joh n Kocinsk i, were to prove them wro ng . / 250(( GP Zeelen berg and de Radiq ues led off the lin e, but Kocinski was up wit h them, and th rough into the lead by th e end of the first lap . Ca rdus crossed the lin e in eig hth , behind Bradl , Shimi zu and Beattie, and th e pack swept in to the first corner still sort in g th emselves ou t behind th e Ameri can 's Yam ah a. By th e end of lap two, Bradl was o n Kocinski's tail , and the Ameri can obvi ous ly had some sort of prob lem. Perhaps it was his twist-grip coming loos e, for hi s right arm was ado p ting some strange ang les. Then he took his hand off th e thro ttle ... perhaps th ere was someth ing else wrong with the bike. Ei ther way, Bradl got past him on the third lap , and even seemed as if he might ope n up some sort of a gap. I n fa ct : th e probl em was with Kocinski's right kn eepad. It had come loose o n th e seco nd lap , a nd he was trying to hold it in pl ace with his for earm , and then to put it back o n. "I knew it would blow rig ht off on th e stra ig h t, and I can 't ride properly without a kn eepuck. I need to pu t my knee do wn. My leathers have eno ugh . paddi ng , but th ere's ju st Velcr o there, an d it does n ' t slide on the track. It just abo ut p ulls yo u off the bike. " Luckily, ther e are few rig ht-handers, althoug h o ne of th em, the fast first corner, is crucia l. Kocinski carr ied o n, fin ishing the race with ' his leathers wo rn way p ast the Velcro and almos t thro ug h to the inners. H e had more important things on his min d. By lap fou r, Cadalor a had p ulled thro ug h to thi rd , with Zeelenberg behind him and fad in g, then Cardus, with Beattie tra iling him dutifully for the present. But the leadin g pai r were a lready open ing up a gap. Kocinski wen t int o the lead ga in o n lap six, with a despera te piece of la te brak in g into Hon da Corner, in an a ttemp t to slo w the pace and give Cada lora a cha nce to ca tch u p , and he stayed there until lap 12, ges ticu la ting at his pi ts for a signa l as to who was lyin g third so he could map o u t h is tactics. He never got th e in format io n .he want ed. and Bradl was push ing hard, a nd by now they were already well over five seconds clear of Cada lo ra, who now led the Hon da pai r, Ca rd us and Beattie, o n h is tail. On lap 13, ha lfway ho me. Bradl wou ld break no furth er den ia l, and mo ved back into the lead. At the sam e tim e, Car d us went ahead of C ada lora for two laps. T hen Beatt ie passed both of them , o nly for Cada lora to get bac k in front , the Ital ian starti ng to ga in ground at once, and Bea ttie on ce again "lettin g Ca rd us go ahead of him. T hey held these positions until lap 19,when Beattie thought he could hel p th e Sp aniard more if he went back in front to pull him back onto Cadalora 's tail. He did so, and th ey were closing up slig h tly as they came amo ng the backmarkers. But Cardus had problems tha t were soon to multiply o ut of control. To be precise, his gearchan ge had been still all race, and though if he'd been able to carry on he would soon have been with Cadalora' s Yam ah a, he slo wed sudden ly and dr am aticall y as they ran o n to th e stra ig ht to fini sh lap 24. The gear linkage had broken a t a heim jo int, and hi s Hon da was stuc k in foun h gear. Hi s cha mp io ns h ip chances were over. He fin ished the lap, sli ppi ng th e cl utch furious ly o ut of th e slo wer corne rs, th en rode full tilt into the pi ts, almost knocking over officia ls and some of his crew , th rew the bike down, kicked it, and disa p pea red in to the p its. Kocinski did n 't kn ow what had hap pen ed as he rode past Bradl on lap 25, a nd p u t hi s head do wn for a convincing sprint to th e fin ish . He found ou t at the end of th at lap when he saw h is sig na l, but .it in no way devia ted him from hi s desire to win the race. He led Bradl across the line by almos t two seconds, p un ching th e ai r. He'd started the season as a tal ented roo kie - he fini shed it as a brilliant, wort hy and assured champion. " T he race went kinda s lowly," he sa id afterwards, once he'd ' finished hu gging his bik e and his crew , and sho u ti ng " Awe so me" at a ll a nd sund ry. " I was just wa tchi ng that officia l coun t down of laps . . . 10, nine, eig ht. " After I cras he d in Fran ce and England, th e g uys at Yama ha and in my team have been working 18 hours a day to make th e bike better. I wish it had been as good as it is now earl ier in the seaso n . They did a great job. " Bradl was typi ca lly stoical abo u t hi s second pl ace. " I always felt Kocin ski had th e race under cont rol. There were no team orders , and I was tryin g to win . He was ju st too fast." Would he have slo wed if Ca rd us had still been in it? " If it had been close r, then may be I woul d have. But we were more than seven seconds ahea d - if I'd waited . to let him by it wou ld have made everybody loo k stup id; him , me, and the spo rt." Cad a lora was third, a lmost n in e seconds do wn. " I did everyth ing I cou ld to help j ohn," he sai d. " I ju st kn ew I had to stay a hea d of Card us. j ohn has won man y races, and pro ved he was the stro nges t rid er with th e stro nges t . tea m . H e is a tru e champ io n." Beattie was another three seconds down at the finish, after a brilliant wo rks-bike debu t that might have yielded a bett er result if he had not felt oblig ed to help Cardus in the interes ts of h is own future ca reer . Zeelenberg was a di stant fifth , with Criv ille prevailing at the fin ish o ver de Rad igues by ju st under a hun dr edth of a second, both of them o u tdistancin g Sh im izu in the fina l ga llo p after d icing for most of race distan ce. Schmid 's factor y-backed p roducti on Honda was a lo nely ninth , with Sarron adistan t l Oth, th e last rid er no t to be lapped. Il lu str ious re tire ments included Corn u , who se engine sto pped af ter one lap ; Wimmer, wh o lasted fo ur laps before the pain became too intense; a nd Reggian i, whose Aprilia seized wit h 13 . laps left. And so the Kocinsk i era bega n. It will surely not be the bri lliant young American 's last ti tle. As he said , with his usua l brash confidence: "Now I know th e tracks, it will be even easier for me to domi nate next year." cx Resul ts t 25cc QUA U FYING: I. Han, Spaan (1:46.528); 2. Fau sto Gresin i (1:44.846); 3. Bruno Casanova (1:44.872); 4. Stefan Prein (1:44.943); 5. Dirk Raudies (1:45.054): 6. K. Wada (1;45. 137); 7. Alessandro G ramigni (1:45.206); 8. Han , Leu th i (1:45.492); 9. St efan Kur £iss (1:45.4 50 ); 10. Loris Ca pt re ss! (1;45.830); II. Ra lph Waldmann (1:45.835): 12. M. Hai sm an ( I :46.074 ); 13. Do ri an o Ro m bo ni (1;46.077): 14. Julian Miralles (1;46.117): t5. Jo rge Mart in ez (1:46.283); 16. Robin Apple yard (1:46.337); 17. Gabriele Debb ie (1;46.331): 18. Steven Patrickscn (1:46.433); 17. Hi sash f Une mo to (1:46.538); 18. Manuel Hernandez (1:46.802); 19. Taru Rinne (1:46.988); 20. Alan Sco u (1;47.056);21. Rob in Milton (1;47.075): 22. K. T akada (1:47.286); 23. Alex Waibel (1:47.380/: 24. Johnny wicksrroem (1:47.348); 25. Peter Ga vin (1:47.959): 26. M. Waichman (1:48. 187): 27. S. Bragger (1:48.261); 28. Han , Abold (1;48.683); 29. T . Paviell (1:49.857): 30. L Walsh (1:51.069); 31. P. McFayuden (1;52.364); 32. C. Clard (1:52.874): 33. D. Mayne ( I :53.054); 34. A. Palmer 1153.671}; 35. P. Scou (1:53.778); 32. T. Daly (1:54.816). 250cc Q UAUFYING: I. Jo hn Kocin ski (1:37.531): 2. Darr yl Beanie (1:37.929); 3. Lu ca Cada lora (1;37.942); 4. Helmut Bradl ' (1:38.300); 5. Wilco Zeelenberg (1;38.429); 6. J acqu es Corn u (1:38.793): 7. Car los Cardus (l :38,809); 8. Domin iqu e Sarro n (U9.219):9. Didier de Radigu es (1:39.366); 10. Alex Criv ill e (I :39.399); 11. Masahiro Sh im izu (l :39.602); 12. Lori , Reggiani ( t ;39.874); 13. J ochen Schm id (1:39.996); 14. J or ge Mart inez (1:40.516); 15. Martin Wimm er (1:40.814): 16. Renzo Colleoni (1;40.832); . 17. Marchelin o Lucchi (1;40.998); 18. M. Graggill 91:41.283); 19. Alex Preinin g (1;41.291); 20. Bru no Haenggeli (1:41.393); 21. S. Wh itehou se (1;41.964); 22. 'Trevor Ma n le y (1:42.4 01); 23. D. H o n on (1:42.422); 24. R. Rice (1:42.461); 25. J. R. Hazeldcn (1:42.792); 26. D. Moore (1:42.920); 27. D. Evelyn (1:42.214); 28. G. j oh nston (1:43.465); 29. Uri Ju d er (1:43.508); 30. M. Webb (1:44.651). 500« QUA LIFYING: I. Mi ch ael Dooh an (I :34.788); 2. Kevin Schwantz ( I ;34.844); 3. Wayn e Gardner (1:35.060); 4. Eddie Law son (1:35.335); 5. Wayne Ra iney (1:35.367); 6. Ch ristia n Sa rro n (1:35.596); 7. Niall Mackenzie (1:36.095); 8. J.P. Ruggia (1:36.672); 9. J uan Garriga (1:36.737); 10. Tada hiko T ai ra (1:37.099): I I. P.F . Ch ili (1:37.370); 12. Si te Pon s (1:37.394); 13. Peter Goddard (1:37.855): 14. Mar co Papa (1:40.452): 15. Eddi e Laycoc k (1:40.692): 16. Kees Doorakkers (1:44.229). . 125cc GP : 1. Lori s Captress! (AGV); 2. Bruno Casa no va (H a n); 3. Doriano Ro mboni (Han); 4. Hans Spaan (Ha n ); 5. Fausto Gresin i (Ha n); 6. Dirk Raudies (Hon ); 7. Robin Appl eyard (Hon); 8. K. Wada (Hon); 9. Alex G ramigni (Ap r); 10. Han, Leuth i (Hon ): II. Julian Miralles (Cob); 12. Stefan Kurf iss (Hon ); 13. Jorge Martinez (Cob); 14. Robin Milt on (Han); 15. Manuel Hernand ez (Han); 16. · Hisashi U nemoto (Han ); 17. Gabriele Debbi a (Apr); 18. Johnny Wickstrom (Cob); 19. Taro Rinne (Hon): 20. Peter Galvin (Han ); 21. M. Haisman (Ha n); 22. T . Pav iel l (Hon ); 23. C. Clark (HO n); 24. P. McFayden (Hon); 25. L Walsh (Ho n );26. K. T a kada (Hon); 27. D. Mayne (Hen) ; 28. T . Daly (Ho n ); 29. P. Scott (Hon ); 30. Rene Waldm ann (Cob);31. Ma uro Vitali (Gaz); 32. Steven Patrickson (Hon/; 33. Alan Scott (Hon ); 34. S. Bragg er (Hon ): 35. A ex Waibel (Hon ); 36. Stefan Pri en (Hon): 37. A. Palm er (Hon); 38. Hans Abold (H on ). Dis ~ncc: 22 lap s. 60.670 miles. T ime: 38 min., 39.614 sec. Avrrage SPttd: 94.160 mph . Margin o( Victory: .267 sec, Fastest Lap: Dori an o Rornboni, 1:43.959, 95.498 mph. 250cc GP: I. John Kocin ski (Ya m); ' 2. H el m ut Brad l (Hon); 3. Lu ca Cada lora (Yam); 4. Darryl Beattie (Han); 5. Wileo Zeelenberg (Ha n ); 6. Alex Criville (Yam); 7. Didi er de Rad igu es (Apr); 8. Masahirc Sh imizu (Ha n); 9. jcchen Schmid (Ha n); 10. Dom inique Sanon (Han); 11. Jo rge Martin ez (Cob); 12. MarceIlin o L ucchi (Apr); 13. D. Hor ton (Yam) ; 14. Trevor Manl ey (Yam); 15. R. Rice (Yam); 16. D. Moore (Yam );;. 17. Uri j ucker (Yam); 18. D. Evelyn (Yam); 19. G. John ston (Yam): 20. Carlo, Ca rdu s [Hon] : 21. M. Webb (Yam) : 22. Lori, Reggia ni (Apr); 23. M. Cragg ill (Yam); 24. Alex Prein ing (Rot); 25. Martin Wimmer (A~r) ; 26. J.R . Hazeld en (Yam); 27. Brun o H aen ggeli (Ap r); 28. j acq ues Cornu (Han ). Distance: 26 la ps, 71.70I miles. T ime: 42 min .• 38.600 sec. Avrrage Speed: 100.885 mph. Margin o(Victory: 1.897 sec. Fastest up: J ohn Kocin ski . 1:36.681. 102.875 mph . SOOcc G P: I. Wayne Gardner (Ha n); 2. Michael Ooohan (Hon); 3. Wayne RaiPey (Yam) : 4. Eddie La wson (Yam); 5. Niall Mackenzie (Suz); 6. J ua n Garri ga (Yam); 7. Sito Pon s (Han ); 8. Peter Goddard (Yam): 9. P.F. Ch ili (Hon ); 10. Marco Papa (Ha n); I I. Eddie Laycock (Hon); 12. Kees Ooorakkers (Hon ): 13. Kevin Sch wantz (Suz); 14. J.P . Ruggia (Yam); 15. Ch ristian Sarrc n (Yam); 16. Tadahiko Taira (Yam). Dista nce: 30 lap s, 82.732 miles. Time: 47 min.• 45.053 sec. Average Speed: 103.955 mph . Margin o( Victory : .856 sec. Fastest Lap: Wayne Ga rdner. 1:34.560. 104.990 mph. FINAL 125cc WO R LD C'SHIP POI NT ST ANDINGS : I. Lori, Cap irossi (182); 2. Han , Spaan (173); 3. Stefan Prein (169); 4. Dorian o Rom bo ni (130); . 5. Dirk Raudies (113); 6. J orge Martinez (105); 7. Bruno Casanova (103); 8. Fau sto Gresini (102); 9. Alex G rami gni (84); 10. Han, Lu ethi (78); I I. Ari Stad ler (77); 12. Ga briele Debbia (55); 13. Ju lian Miralles (46); 14.. Ma uro Vitali (44); 15. Manu el Hernan dez (40). FINAL 250cc WORLD C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS: I. J oh n Kocin ski (223): 2. Carlo, Card u,(208 ); 3. Lu ca Cada lora (184); 4. Helmut Bradl (150); 5. Wileo Zeelenbe rg (127); 6. Mart in Wimm er (118): 7. Masah iro Shimizu (100); 8. Jochen Schm id (92); 9. jacqu es Cornu (86); 10. Domi nique Sarro n (78); II. Alex Crivill e (76); 12. Did ier de Radigues (66); 13. Lori, Reggian i (63); 14. Rein hold Ro,h (52); 15. Carlos Lavado (37). FINAL 500cc WORLD C'SHIP POINT ST AND· INGS: I. Wayne Rainey (255); 2. Kevin Schwantz (188); 3. Michael Dooh an (179); 4. Nia ll Mackenzie (140); 5. Wayne Gard ner ( t38); 6~Jua n Garriga (121); 7. Eddie La wson (118); 8. J.P. Ru gg ia (110): 9. Christia n Sarro n (84); 10. Sito Pons (76); ) I. P.F. Ch ili (63); 12. Alex Barro s (57); 13. (TI E) Marco Papa/Randy Mamola (55): 15. Ron Haslam (46).

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