Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) Kevin Schwantz will lead Suzuki's charge in the 500cc class. The Texan is hoping to move up a notch after finishing second to Rainey in the 1990 championship. (Below) Aussie Wayne Gardner will wear number five after a season of injury las t year. the rest whe n th ey tested a form of computer-controlled "active" rear suspension. This is th e official facto ry team; there are three other Yamaha team s equipped with " p rod uctio n bikes." The newest is Kenny Rober ts' o wn Bteam, introducing the King's latest choice as th e next V.S superstar, Doug Chandler. Team boss is former World Champion Franco Uncini, but the new team has so far failed to a ttrac t major sponsorship. Then th ere's th e long- st andin g French squad, wh o lost both th eir sp onsors Gaulo ises and their rider Christian Sarron at the end of last seaso n. The cigarette firm wi thdrew after incr easingl y res trictive ant ismo king legisla tion in France, bu t the Fren ch Yamaha im po rters decided to carry o n regardless, wi th Sarron as team manag er, a mu ch red uced budget , and Mobil as ch ief spo nso r. This lack of resources p ut paid to Mam ola 's main hope of a GP ride. He 'd been having talk s with the Fren ch squad, but in the end they could no t come anywhere near his fee. In stead, the y have retained last year's 500cc class roo kie jean-Philippe R uggia an d added Adrien Morill as to th e team; th e former on a mu ch- reduced fee, and the latter riding for expe nses on ly. After several years of escala ting fees, these are hard times for racers. The th ird Yamaha team still has backing from Ducados, th e Spanish cigarette manufacturer, and rider J uan Garriga is now in his second 500 year after switching from 250s. A good showing at pre-season tests at J erez suggest he may now be ready to sho w more of his old aggression. For the past eight years, the 500cc ride r's title has been alternated betw een Yamaha and Honda, and on th ese grounds one of the works H onda riders should be favorite. Rather less whimsically, they also have Michelin tir es, and a pair of Australian riders who both intend to ride to win. T he official Hond a team is the blue and-while Ro th mans o utfit - two team s within a team, with Michael Doohan and for mer champion Wayne G a rdner operati ng semiind ependently. , Doohan im pro ved his reputation considerably last year,,i n his seco nd 500cc seaso n , a fter su ffering from frequent injuries th e year befor e. H is results improved all season, cu lmi na ting with hi s fir st victo r y in the Hungarian GP, and a na rro w defeat in the Au stral ia n GP. H e is th e in sider's choice for the titl e, all o the r th ings bein g equal. Gardner is a mo re bat tling propositio n. No bodv rides a 500 wi th as mu ch an imalferocity. nobod y is as good in a tigh t corner. Yet several in juries have made hi m question his commitment, and it remains to be seen whe the r hi s formidable figh ting spirit can overcome hi s own do ubts. If he does, he's 'ano ther possible win ner. There's just one o ther Honda 500 this year, ri dden by Spa niard Sito Po ns, whose first 500 seaso n last year after winni ng back-to-back 250 tit les was marred by a bad cras h halfway throug h the season. Sito is a calculating rider and a supreme tactician, and could introduce an interestingly dif ferent element to the struggle for supremacy. The ot her major challenge is due for a second year from Kevin Schwantz, wi th hi s Lu cky Stri ke team mat e for th is year bein g Belg ian Did ier de Radigues, havin g a seco nd ho neymoon with the 500cc class. If Schwantz is ever goi ng to do it, it must be soo n; for hi s temperm ent is vulnerabl e to the di sap pointments of often riding fastest without bein g able to stri ng together th e consis tency of the likes of Rain ey, and Lawson. With hi s own exuberant na tural g ifts and the growing maturit y conferred by the pa ssage of time, hi s main difficu lties this year are likely to come from his machine. As well as hav ing to dea l wit h the greates t weight in crease, early tests a lso sho wed that both Schwantz and th e Suzuki were ill -ma tched to th e Dun lop ti res, thoug h la ter mach ine .and tir e develo pment left the team ta lki ng mor e positively. Time will tell, bu t it doesn 't loo k likea n easy year for Kevin . De Radigues at 33 was a surprisi ng choice of rep lacement for the dutifu l Niall Macke nzie , who had finis hed fourt h overall las t year, and was the o nly rider to finis h and score points in every race he started. The Belgian, mea nwhile, had left the 500cc class two years ago a fter an up-and-do wn caree r, and was riding a 250 April ia in a sim ilar manner. Then there is the case of Kevin Magee , injured in last year's V.S . G P, and now rar in g to go to fu lfill hi s second contracted year on the Lucky Suzuki. Officiall y, he shou ld have been withou t hi s license for a full year after the accident in which he sustained serious head inj uries, but he had 11

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