Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127397
Gavin Simmons having to fin ish second also. Bu t th ey weren 't up to it, ta ki n g third beh i n d AD M' s R olf Bil and and L uck y Strike Streu er's Egbert Streuer. Biland and chairmate Rolf Waltisperg took over th e lead on the fifth la p and held off the late charge of Streuer and British pass enger Peter Brown. At th e line the margin wa s ,4l8-of-a-second with Webster 10-plus seconds back in third. Two points, a 14th pl ace finish in th e final round at Le Man s, will gi ve the Brits the crown. 500cc Grand P ri x Teams normall y use Sunday morning' s warm-up to confirm race setups, but in Brno th ey were still testing tires and gathering dat a for suspens io n and gearbox settings. Rainey, Kocinski, and Doohan all improved th eir times staying out nearl y th e entire . time to get feedback on tire wea r. Sch wantz wa s in and out constantly, every time gesturing to his mechanics that the front end was chatteri ng a nd getting little in the way of improvement. Doohan was away first, the field of 19 chasing him on a cloudy, bright afternoon in Bohemia. Ra in ey stuck close followed by Gardn er, Kocinski, de Radigues, Schwa n tz, Garriga, and Lawson. Pons and Chandler were farther back. The World Champion took th e lead to start th e th ird lap as he and Doohan pulled away from the fight for third. Five riders were going for it with Kocinski taking over on the fou rth la p wh ile th e lead ers slipped away. He 'd had what appeared to be an acr im onious battle with Gardner who, he felt, cost him a shot at the Iront, "I pretty much got held up at the start trying to get in with those two guys ," he said at a post-race press conference. "I was behind Gardner and he was pretty much cutting the track up." Doohan's fast lap was th e eigh th, a 2:03.345, and o n the n inth he took over the lead ; he and Rainey now over seven seconds in front of Kocin ski , wh o, in turn, had two on Gardner. Further back Sch wantz was holding off Garriga, though no t for long, and de Radigues and Lawson were circu lati ng alone. Pons and Chandler were hooking up in a race-long battle for n inth. A full load of fuel mad e the front end of Schwantz's Suzuki feel "gooey," he said , and wh en th e load came down the front-end patter came back. Garriga would get by briefly on the l Sth lap, Schwantz in front for good three laps later. Out front, Rainey stuck to Doohan , pushing him from behind, upping the pace , and making him use up his tires . On the 15th lap, Rain ey surged ahead, Doohan re-passin g, Rainey o ut front for good with a decisive move in a lefthander. " Whe n I go t by aga in I cou ld see my tires were working better than his ," Rainey said. The 17th lap would be Rain ey's best, a new lap record o f 2:03.266 as he pulled away. In pursuit, Doohan was spinning and slidi ng nearly full-lock, his Honda right to the edge of the tra ck before shooting forward. " I wanted to go fast er and the tire wouldn 't let me ," he said. " It was a bit of fun out there, but I wasn' t catching Wayne." The lead got over four seconds with . Ra iney backing off to win by just over three. " I think the lack of practice a ffected everyo ne and we didn't know j us t what tire co mbination to use ," Doohan said. He admitted that his chances for the 500cc title were slim, knowing that ~ FAN-TASTIC $20 buys you 3 days of infield admission, paddock upg rad e and parking. The best bargain in racing. ADVA N CE PA D D O CK TA GS M UST BE PURCHASED B Y FRIDAY, OCT. 18 FRIDAY, Ocr. 18 AMA/CCS Races of Cha mpions S A TURDAY, OCT. 19 AMA/CCS Races of Champions SUNDAY, Ocr. 20 AMA/CCS Races of Champions Harley-Davidson Twin Sports 3-Hour U.S. Endurance Championship For TIckets and Information Call or Write: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWA Y P.O. BoJC 2801 • Daytona Beach. FL • 32120-28 0 1 904-253-RACE For Hote; Accommodations Call: 1-800-854-1234 Daytona Beach'Resort Area WHENWINNING IS THE NAME OF THE GAME... BEL-RAY ISTHENAMEOF THE OIL Fast-by-Ferracci's Doug Polen takes both wins orld at W Superbike Round in Sugo.Iapan, 17