Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Baldassarre Monti gives chase to Fabrizio Pirovano during the second leg of the Italian round of the World Superbike Series. P irovano went on to win his home round of the championship in Monza by posting a perfect 1·1 tally. It was the Italian's first win of the series. Pirovano masters Monza By Bruce Newton Photos by J ohan Vandekerchkhove MONZA,ITALY.Ocr.7 . n Italy, th e most passionate of motorsport countries, the World Championship Superbike Series became the stage for Fabrizio Pirovano to display his talent. At Monza, his home track, and in wet and slimy conditions - arguably where he shines the most - the jockeysized Italian took both races on his fast Pirovano Racing Team-STO Yamaha. I 10 The first clearly, th e second after what was at one stage a hectic five-bike battle. Pirovano, usually quiet and reserved, celebrated in Kevin Schwantz-like fashion after both races to the acclaim of the 30,000 fans. Considering the conditions at this fast, Armco-lined circuit, it was surprising that Raymond Roch e could not manage a win on his factory Ducati. But he still managed to outscore his nearest cha m p io nsh ip rival Stephane Mertens, who crashed out of race two . World Champion Fred Merkel made his return to racing with a fifth place fini sh in race two after suspected fuel starvation stopped him on the opening lap of the first race. Q ualifyin g Merkel, after being sidelined for two races thanks to his two broken vertebrae. was in a reasonably good mood dispite not having thrown a leg over a motorcycle for two months; "I'Il see how it goes," he said on Thursday. " I don't have an y game plan, just have a good time and do the best 1 can ." A factory Bimota YB4 with ex-Pa ton GP racer Vittorio Scatola aboard was the most interesting new ap peara nce, while missing was Terry Rymer, thanks to a Bri tish Ch ampionshi p crash the previous weekend which had seen him rupture liga men ts in a knee leaving Rob McElnea as the sole Lo ctite Yamaha rider. Qualifying basically became a shootout be tween the various Italian interests - Baldassarre Monti on the Rumi /RCM Honda, Pirovano's Yamaha and, of course, Roche on the Ducati. No one else was really in the hunt. Monti eventually won it, setting fastest lap in both sessions on the very last lap, although Pirovano held sway for much of the time. _ Roche and teammate J am ie James had four brand new ligh ter 888s at their disposal, but Roche found them not to his li kin g in the first session, complaining that a new EPROM made the bike too rich, that the rear disc brake was too small a nd was having no effect and that the shock absorber was too soft. He set his fast time on his "old" 888, a I minute, 51.91 second lap. -H e got the bike better in the second session, but could not improve his time thanks to traffic. It was no problem for Monti though. Somewhere between the wheelies, the runs through the chicane sand traps ' and the sideways riding, he managed to grab the advantage back - a 1:51.42 right at the end. Once again it was a Pirelli qualifying tire that did the . damage. .Australian Rob Phillis, who accidently gave Monti a tow to both his fastest laps, put in his best qualifying performance of the year to grab fourth o n the Team Shin Etsu Kawa saki International ZX7 a t his first visit to th e famous 3.59-mile circuit. He then -went out on the number two bike and highsided at the first chicane two laps later on cold tires , suffering minor hand and knee injuries. McE lnea headed row two on the Yamaha, from an impressive, fastcircuit loving Jari Suhonen on the Arwidson Yamaha, then James, sporting a bruised ankle thanks to a dirt bike crash. James was concentrating on his new bikes and also taking time to adjust to the Armco-lined circuit. Merkel was a creditable ninth fastest: "I feel rea l good," he said. "The thing is 1 haven't been fast enough to chase anyone, but by the end of the weekend 1 should be the old Fred again." Scatola, despite a first session crash, did a creditable job to claim 10th on the Bimota, making it five brands of motorcycles in the top 10. Notables ou t of the top 10 included the Honda France men, Alex Vieira languishing in 12th and Jean-Michel Mattioli only 18th , both of them striking brake fade problems in the second session. Out of it altogether was the man who defeated them for the French Championship, J ea n-Yves Mounier, crashing from the Canal Masters Yamaha in the second session and brea king a collarbone. R ace one ' The rain came Sunday morning, not heavy but 'e nou gh to make it a wet tire race. For P irovano this was not bad news, for in such conditions he is as fast as anyone. That Monza is his home circuit only made him loom- even larger as the race favorite. ' . O f course, the little Italian is also the fastest starter in a World Superbike race and he made no mistake. Only a t the second -chicane did he falter, going in too hot and allowing Suhonen into the lead for milliseconds. ' (, Mertens forged through the pack to chase Pirovano across the line the first time with Andersson and Suhonenjust ahead of McElnea and Phillis, then Roche and James. Scatola was already out with electrical problems, while Merkel too had gone. The Honda was running on' three cylinders on the warm-up, then stopped completely on the opening lap . The problem was elusive to track, the bike fir ing u p without a problem after the race. Problems with the gas tank was suspected and it was changed for race two. Merkel's teammate Monti fared little better. A run -off into the Ascari Chicane after clashing with Aldeo Presciutti's Yamaha (the la tter crashing out, although what he was doing up there from a sixth row start was another matter) on lap one was followed by an exh ilarating charge into sixth from last by lap six , which ended with the Honda suffering an engine fail ure. Inevitably, the Ita lian coasted off into yet another sand trap. Pirovano was neve r to be headed and Mertens was the only rider to keep him in sight. But everytime the Belgia n attacked, P irovano could always reply.

• Cover