Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

BMOTOCRO~~~~~~ _12_5C_CM X_Se_rie_S:R_o_~_d7~~~~~~ ~~~_ _ e ~ o ........ Italy's Andrea Bartolini (4) and Holland's Pedro Tragter (7) fight for the lead at the start of the British 125cc GP. American Bob Moore scored the overall win via a 2-1 moto combination. Moore, Tragter 1 ~2 at British Grand Prix By Alex H odgkinson HATHERTO~ HALL, E1'\ GU1'\D. JUNE 23 TM 's Bob Moore fin all y ended th e Suzuki success seq ue nce in this yea r 's World Champi onship 125cc MX Ser ies, as the factory backed KTM rider scored th e overall victo ry o ver Holland's Pedro Tragter. Moore and Tragter shared th e to p two places in eac h mot o, with Moore winning th e tie-br eaking seco nd mo to. Will ie Su rra tt made it two Ameri cans o n th e podi u m by twice defeating Stefan Everts , as th e cha m pio ns hip series leader had a fru str at in g da y to co llect j ust 24 po ints a nd see hi s points cus h io n red uced to 3 1 over wi n ner Moore. T he first mo ta had to be red -flagged as a sectio n o f th e starti ng gate fail ed K 10 fall , and th e man who suffered most by th e stoppage was Moore. Th e Am eri can had led th e first ge ta way, but he was down in sevent h place at th e end of th e open ing la p in th e rerun , a nd by the tim e he pa ssed Itali an Andrea Bartolin i for seco nd pl ace wi th a neat inside pass just befor e th e half hour, Tragter was go ne, " It was a big blow th at th e race was stop ped the first tim e. I felt I had th at one," said ' Moore. "I passed Everts q u ickly in th e rerun , bUI it too k me a few laps to get into the pace arid fig h t m y way throug h ," T ragter, seco nd to Moore in th e initia l a ttemp t to ru n th e race, kept · hi s nerve: " I was a lso di sappointed wh en th e rac e was stopped , but I maintained my concent ra tion and only Bartolini led me at the restart. I went arou nd him at th e end of a long stra igh t on lap two and never looked back. I like it here. I won an international here three years ago a nd this is the first tim e I have been back since th en." Havi ng dropped beh ind Moore, Ban ol in i came stro ng ly . aga in in th e closi ng m in utes and on ly a few seconds separated the first thr ee a t the flag. " I fitted a Mousse tire because of the . stones and the bi ke was slidi ng abo u t in the middle of the race," said Bartolini . " I sta rted to get a lot more gr ip towards the end agai n, however, and th at helped me come back at Moore." After battling up to fourth, Surratt had a fair ly lon ely ride. " I tho ug h t I had a good cha nce o f finis hing top three, but I didn't force hard enough in th e early laps and let them get away. It 's a real hard track to ride. It's forever cha ngi ng and you have to use a different lin e every lap." Everts was not ridi ng well. " I knew thi s morn ing th a t I couldn' t win today," said Everts. " I just can' t find the lines to ride smooth ly, I was happy to mak e a good score without taking risks so that I could defend my points advan tage." After demoting Frenchman Jerome Belval, fellow countryman Yves Dernaria was also content with sixt h place, never quite ab le to get in contact with Everts; as the pack peered through the dust. British Ch ampionship leader Craig Pratley was the man who provided mu ch of the excitement. Third from the gat e, he was pushing Bartol ini on la p three wh en ·he had a huge crash over a man-made jump. Restarting 12th , Pratley forced his way up to ninth and pu shed Fra nce's Frederi c Ba iley onto the rear wh eel o f G erman y's Peter Beirer. The G erman had a stro ng ride throug h the pack . " It was very dusty and I had been only l 4ttJ on the first lap," said Beirer. " Bo lley and Pratl ey came at me strongly in the fin al laps, but I sa w th em coming and always had the situa tio n under cont ro l... Swede J oakim Kar lsson had been a no ther to pass Belval , but no soo ne r had he don e so, he fell a nd dropped back behind Belgi ans Bern ard Magain / a nd G eral d Del epin e. Fr en chm an Mar co Seil er's effo rts had ended early wit h a big crash, and th e Venko Honda ride rs Greg Albertyn a nd Mar cel Van. Drunen both got taken out in the firs t two tu rns. La st year 's winner, Ala n Morrison, and fellow Irishman Philip Nei ll bo th had to withdraw, unable to hold on any longer as a result of th eir recent wrist injuries. Tragter and Moore, the two domin at figures o f the first race, leapt into a n im mediate lead in race two. For near ly three la ps the Dut ch man led, but a slick mo ve by Moo re alo ng th e sweeping straigh t wi th a bi g jump in th e m iddle saw him tak e over and imrnedia tely move out to a win ning lead. " Bob was pushing me reall y hard th rough th ose first few laps a nd I co uldn 't hold him once he got past," said T ragter. " There were a lot o f places to pass if you were going fast on this track," sai d Moor e. " When I got past Pedro, I co nce n tra ted on building a lead for th e next four or five laps.': In their wake Everts looked better this time as he demoted Van Drunen and H olland 's Charrel Sweebe for third place, but th e Belgian had no answer to Surratt, "I went really hard to pass Stefan, but th e first two were already long gone," said Surratt. Bartolini then took up the challenge to Everts, but hi s effort co lla psed a t th e halfway point. " I j us t ra n out of steam ' a t half distance. It was a problem of condi tion," said Bartol ini , after dropping back to seven th . Even th en Everts cou ld n' t relax, as Sweebe pushed h im to th e flag, and . th ere were pl enty o f tu ssles down the lead erboard. Beirer had , o nce aga in, sta rted poorly in 14th bu t pa ssed Banolini lat er o n for six th, while Pratley rod e strongly, as he took eig h th a head of Albert yn , with Karl sson charging hard in th e fin al 20 minutes to advance three pl aces, h is final victim a fadin g Van Dr unen . Dem aria had battled against a flat rea r tire in th e ea rly stages a nd finally had to quit wh en he bent th e shift [J'I lever. Results TtMED PRACTICE: I. Pedr o Tragter (2 minutes, 3 1.35 seconds) ; 2. Andrea Ban olini (2:32.55); 3. Bob Moo re (2:32.94); 1. Cra ig Pratl ey (2:33.03); 5. Stefan Everts (2:33.13); 6. Yves Demaria (2:33.56); 7. Willie Surra tt (2:33.58); 8. J erom e Belval (2:33.66); 9. Joa kim Ka rlsso n (2:.H.73 ); 10. G reg Albeniy n (2:33.93); II. Bernard Magain (2:31.03); 12. Frederi c Bulley (2:3i. 62): 13. Charrel Sweebe (2:31.71); 11. Pascal Bal (2:35. 12); IS. Peter Beirer (2:35.22); 16. Kees Advocaat (2:35.26): 17. Rikki Pr iest (2:35.31); 18. Frede ric Viall e (2:35.52); 19. Franco Rossi (2:35.64): 20. Ca red Van Dru nen (2:35.67): 21. Martin Dygd (2:35.76): 22. Ferald Delepine (2:35.80): 23. Paol o Evengel ista (2:35.83): 24. Alan Morrison (2:35.89); 25. Fabian Gu en e (2:35.92); 26. Christian Manum (2:36.17): 27. Thierry Klutz (2:36.19): 28Greg Han son (2:36.55): 29. Marro Seiler (2:36.8 1): 30. Mar ro Cerini (2:36.87); 3 J. Frederik Wernf'r (2:36.98): 32. Neil Prin ce (2:3 7.29 ); 33. Ka r l Prestw ood (2:37.36): 31. Thierry Godlroid (2:37.65): 35. Clau s Neilsen (2:37.95); 36. Ph il ip 'eill (2:38.56): 37. J oel Seel (2:38.72): 38. Matti as Nilsson (2:38.80): 39. Edd y Seel (2:39.03); i O. Torliel H artelman (2:39. 19). MOTO t : I. Ped ro Tragter (Suz]: 2. Bub Moore (KT M): 3. Andrea Bartolini (SUl): 4. Willi e Surratt (Ha n) : 5. Stefan Evert s (SUl ): 6. YVe5 Demaria (Su z); 7. Peter Beiter (Suz); 8. Frederic Boll ey (Ya m ); 9. Crai g Prarl ey (H o n): 10. Jero me Belval (SUl ); II. Bernard Magain {Ka w ): J2. j oak im Karlsson {Kaw); 13. Fred eric Vialie (Ka w); 14. Gr eg Albeniyn (H o n); 15. Geral d Delepin e (Ka w]: 16. Fabian Guen e (KT M); 17. Paol o Evenge lista (Suz); 18. Rikki Priest ( Ka w ): 19. :\-tauias Nil sson (S UI ); 20. Neil Prince (Hon ): 21. C ha rrel Sweebc (Ho n); 22. Pascal BaH (Ho n]: 23. G reg Hanson {Ka w) : 21. Thierry Klutz (KT M); 25. Karl Prest wood (Ya m) : 26. Tor tiel H anelman {H on ). MOT O 2: I. Bob Moor e: 2. Pedro Tragter ; 3. Will ie Surra n ; 4. Stefa n Evens ; 5. Chane! Sweebe: 6. Peter Beirer: 7. And rea Bart olin i: 8. Cra ig Pra tley; 9. Gr eg Alben iyn: 10. Jo a kim Karlsson ; II. Mar cel Van Dr u nen: 12. Bern a rd Magain : 13. Kces Adv oca a t: 14. Frederic Bolle)'; Ir). Mar ro C rin i: 16. Neil Prince; e 17. Rikki Pri est: 18. Paol o Evongefista: 19. Man ias N ilsson: 20. Pa scal Ba1; 21. Frederik Wern er ; 22. T hierry KJutl.; 23. T hierry God £roid: 21. Ph ilip Neill ; 25. Christia n -Ma n ucci: 26. Torlid Ha n elman ; 27. Joel Seel; 28. Claus Neilsen . WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 125 MX SERIES POINT STANDINGS: I. Stefan Everts (232); 2. Bob Moo re (20 1); 3. Pedro T rag ter (152): 4. Don ny Schmit (129); 5. Yves Demar ia (120): 6. Will ie Surratt (110): 7. Marcel Van Drunen (94 ); 8. Andrea Bartolini (89); 9. Greg Albcniyn (7 1); 10. Peter Reher (68): II. Charre! Sweebe (57): 12. Rem y Van Rees (56); 13. j oakim Karlsson (5i): 11. J erome Belval (5 I).

• Cover