Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

wi th O kada 's 15th lap 2:37.275 the second best tim e. " We changed so methi ng o n the suspension a nd it made the bike very stable, especia ll y in the front," Cadal o ra said of the adjustment he mad e sho rt!y before th e race. As to tire choice, he said they learned so me thing from the 500cc race a rid " knew exac tly what we have to use. I'm very, very happy to win th e race. In practice many th in gs go wrong, in cluding two cra shes in o ne sessio n. Du ring th e race, Okada rode reall y close to me for a long tim e. I kn ew I cou ld try a little harder. I went harder , gai ned a n advan tage, .pulled away and kn ew I could win the race." . " I caught up with Aoki and tho ught I co uld pace up with Luca to ge t to the top ," Okada said. " 1 tried many ti mes to get up with him , but m y rea r tire was sliding." Aoki sai d th at for th e fir st half of the race, while he was five or six seco nds ahead of the others, he th ought he co u ld stay in front, "Then Luca and O kada passed me. I tried to keep up the pace, but I cou ldn 't make it. I was ha p py there weren 't more peop le in th ere behind me," the 20-year-o ld J apanese rider said. Chil i put in a n im p ressive ri de beh ind Bradl, cro ssing the line 19th a t the end of the first lap, a nd picking off riders a t ease. H e was u p to n inth by the fift h lap , seventh by th e 10th, a nd into fifth a lap la ter, the same lap tha t Al bert o Puig moved into h is CN fin ishing position of sixth. Resu lts 125cc Q UA L IFY I NG: I. Bru n o Ca sa n ova (2:23.630): 2. Y. H in o kio (2:23.805): 3. Ra l! Wa ld ma n n (2:23.825): -I. G abriele Debb ia (2:23.833): 5. • Kin ya Sa ka ta (2 :2~ .87 1) : 6. J or ge Martinez (2:24.082); 7. All eeandro G ra mi gn i (2:24. 109); 8. Akira Sai to (2:2-1 .28 1); 9. Ezio G ia no la (2:2-1.3-10); 10. Nob uyu ki Wa ka i (2:21.-18-1): I I. No bu ro Ued a (2:24.533); 12. M. O no (2:24.582); 13. T . Iga ta (2:24.857); 14. S. Sa te (2:24.93 1); 15. K. Wada (2:25.066); 16. Faust o Gr esin i (2:25. 100); 17. H . Naka jyo (2:25.221); 18. Peter Oe tll (2025.533 ); 19. M. Shima (2:25.660); 20. L Bodo lier (2:25.698); 21. Hans Spaan (2:25.725); 22. T . Sbim izu (2:25.805); 23. C. Gi ro (2:26. 112); 24. Ju lia n Mirat les (2:26. 163); 25. Dirk Ra ud ies (2:26. 175); 26. M. Stid (2:26.265); 27. E. Cuppi ni (2:26.660): 28. O. Koch (2:26.732); 29. Y. . Fu j iwara (2:26.842); 30. Heinz Leu th i (2:27.538); 3 1. H . U nemo to (2:27.586); 32. All red Wa ibel (2:28.05 1); 33. A. Mo lenaa r (2:28.6-12); 34. Ma u ro Vital i (2:28.8 11); 35. Manuel H ern andez (20 29.033); 36. Steve Pa u -ickso n (20 29.2 19); 37. H . Abold (20 29.466); 38. Robin Ap pleya rd (2:29.550); 39. A. Bro nec (2:29.606); 40. Peter G a lvin (2:31.693); 41. O. Peu uccien i (203 2.499); 42. G , Pa lm ieri (20 162). 34. 250cc Q UALI FY ING: I. Nob ua tsu Aoki (2018.696); 2. T . H a ra da (2: 18.85 7); 3. Dorian o Ro m bo n i (2: 20.2 13); 4. S. H iki ta (2:20.362); 5. O . Miyazaki (2:20.532);6. T . O kada (20 20.593); 7. Alberto P ui g (2:20.668); 8. K. Ko zono (2:20.88 1); 9. Hel m u t Bradl (20 1.395); 10. j oc hen Schmid (2:2 1.478); I I. 2 Loris Capiross ! (2:22.004); 12. A. Prd n in g (2:22.29-1): 13. Carlo s Card us (2:22.669); 1-1. Y. Kat o (20 22.797); 15. Masahiro Sh imizu (2:22.882); 16. Wileo Zeelen berg (2022 11); 17. Loris Reggian i (2:22.988); 18. .9 j ean-Phi lip pe Ru ggi a (2:23.424);.19. Luca Ca dal ora (2:23.743); 20. Han T orrome g ui (2:23.972); 2 1. T . Udaga wa (2:24.075); 22. P.F. Ch ili (2:2-1 .185); 23. Stefan Prein (2:2-1.305); 24. A. Bosshard (20 24.343); 25 . J . j ea n d a t (2:24. 574 ); 26 . Ca rl n s La va do (2:24.632); 27. Renzo Co lleo ni (2:24.845); 28. Stefa n Ca ra cch i (2:24.86 1); 29. Ber na rd H a en gge1i (2:24.892): 30. L D'Amin ( =.4 18); 3 1. Eric Suter (2:25.707); 32. Y. Briguet (20 149); 33. K. Nanba 26. (2:26.295); 34. B. Cazade (20 26.7-19); 35. M. Bia ggi (2;28.320); 36. F. Pro ta r (2:28.718); 37. Bern d Kassn er (2:29.26 1). 500cc Q UALIFYIN G : I. Kevin Sc hwa n " (2:20.324); 2. T . H onma (2:2 1.082); 3. Dou g Cha nd ler (2:22.023); 4. Wayne Gardner (2:24.413); 5. Michael Doohan (2:26.974); 6. Ra nd y Mam o u (2:27.00); 7. Da ryl Bearu e (2:27.6-1 1); 8. J ua n G arriga (2:27.68-1); 9. Wa yne Ra in ey (2:27.979); 10. Pet er Goddard (2:28.683); I I. S. Ito (2:28.706); 12. J ohn Koc insk i (2:29.013); 13. N iall Mackenzie (20 175); 14. Alex 29. Criville (2:30.390): 15. Mig uel DuHam el (2:30.410); 16. K. l waha sh i (2:30.892); 17. Edd ie Law so n (2;31.173); 18. N. Fujiw ara (2:3 1.778); 19. Alex Barro s (2:31.781); 20. Mich ael R ud roll (20 31.963); 2 1. S. 1.'suji ~ o to (2:32.166); 22. C. Ca tala no (20 32.603); 23. K. Oh ish i (2:32.827). 125cc G P: I. Ralf Waldmann (H a n); 2. Bru no Casa no va (Apr); ~ . Nobuyuki Wakai (Ha n); 4. Ezio Gianol a (Ha n ); 5, Akira Saito (H a n) ; 6. Allesandr o Gram igni (Ap r); 7. Y. Fujihara (H on ); 8. Kin ya Wada ( Ha n); 9. Dirk Ra udies (H a n); 10. O liver Petru ccian i (Ha n ); I I. Robi n Appleya rd (H a n); 12. Alf red Wa ibel (Ha n ) 13. O. Koch (Ha n ); 14. Peter Galvin (Ha n) ; 15. Heinz Lu eth i (Ha n ); 16. Alain Bronec (H a n ); 17. Man uel Hern andez (Ap r); 18. E. Cu p p ini (Ap r); 19. Steve Patrickson (Ho n ); 20. Ti lgata (Hon ); 21. Ha ns Abold (Han ); 22. T . Sh imizu (Ha n); 23. Ju lia n Mira lles (Ha n) ; 21. H isas h i Un em o to (H a n); 25. Ma u ro Vit.ali (G a l); 26. H. Nakaj yo (Ho n): 27. . M. Shima (Ha n); 28. G . Pal mieri (Ga l); 29. M. Slid (Ap r); 30. Soich iro Sat o ( Han); 31. Fau sto Gr esini (Ho n);32. Gabriele Debb ia (Ha n); 33. M. Ono (Ho n ); 34. Peter oa n (Ro t); 35. L Bodol ier (Ho n); 36. Y. Hino kio (Han ); 37. H ans Spaan (Ap r); 38. Kazu to Sa kata (H a n ); 39. J u l ian Mira lles (Ho n) ; 40. Ca rlos G iro (Ap r); 41. A. Mo lenaar (Ap r); 42. Noh u ro Ved a (Ha n ). Ti m~: 48 min., 49.661 Sl"C. Distanc e: 18 b ps . 65.53 m iles. Average Speed: 80.597 mph . Ma rgin o( Victo ry: 1.4595C.'C. f astest La p: Ralf Wa ldma nn. 2:39.888/81.859 mph. 2SOc G P: 1. LU C3 Cadalora (Hen): 2. T adayuki c O kada (Han ); 3. Nobuatsu Aok i (Ha n) ; 4. H elm u t Bradl (H a n ); 5. Pier-Francesco Chi li (Ap r); 6. Albert o P u ig (Ap r); 7. Wilco Zeelen berg- (Su l ): 8. Kyoji Na nba (Yam ); 9. Loris Capiross! (H a n); 10. J ea n-Pi err e j eandar (Han); 11. H err i T orro nteui (Suz); 12. ] och en Sch m id (Yam); 13. S. H ikita (Hon ); 14. Eric Su ter (Ap r ); 15. Stefa n Caracchi (Ya m); 16. A. Bosshard (Hon); 17. Stefan Prein ( Han); 18. Y. Brig uet (Ha n); 19. B. Cazad e (H o n): 20. J .V.D Goor be (Ap r); 21. Renzo Co lleoni (Ya m); 22. Bruno Haen ggeli (Ap r); 23. Bernd Kassn er (Ap r); 24. O . Miyazaki (Ya m ); 25. Loris Reggian i (Ap r); 26. T . H arad a (Ya m) ; 27. Dor ia no Ro mb o ni (H a n ); 28. Carlos Lavadc (G il); 29. Mas.ahiro Shimizu (Ho n ); 30. Ari Stad ler (Ha n ); 3 1. L D uantin (H o n ); 32. F. Protat (Ap r); 33. Y. Kato (Yam ); 34. Ma ssamil ia no affecti ng my riding, " the 32-year-old Australian said. " I got in a good lap before th e rain started to pour down and then I came in a nd sa t arou nd for a while before go ing out a nd trying some other tires. Wh en the tra ck started to dry 1 wa s o u t o n wet tires and I was surp rised at how well they were working, especially at the back of the circu it." After th e ear ly sessio n dr ama, Doohan was ab le to qualify fifth on his 13th la p, though he'd hoped to go faster quicker. But an ill -ad vised decision to breakin new p istons prevented him from doing tha t, so he ha d to ho pe the co ndi tions im p roved . . " I think the second la p was th e o nly lap that was dry ," he said. " I was p lanning o n four laps because I had to run pistons in . I got to th e Spoon a nd gassed it, bUI it was too wet ." This year 's Honda NSR500s have an especially flat sound, which Doohan was not allowed to elabora te on, excep t to say he thought i t sounded awfu l. Specu la tio n focused o n engine timing; some thought the four cylinders wer e firing close to simultaneously and that Honda had done a complete re-think o n cyli nder porting and exha us t timing. Whatever it was, it worked: " It 's a lillie more user-friendly," Doohan said. " Before it would spin up so quick. It would go from 7000 to 10,000 in a tenth of a second. They ma de it fri endlier to get off th e corn er. Last year 's bike was quicker; th is year' s bike is getti ng there quicker. " Mich elin 's decision to retu rn to racing full-time also encouraged Doohan, who was troubled last year with front tire troubles. " Every da y it seems lik e we're gett ing a new tire," he said. Doo ha n said it was most helpful in the second part of the turn when he was a t : max imum lean and wanted to ge t it turned. " You can get the rear wheel slidi ng to point it ou t. " Sixth-fastest, also turning ill a fast time toward th e end of th e session, was Randy Mamola in his com eback aboard the Budweiser. Yamaha. Marno la, who 's cam paigning o ne of Ra in ey's 1991 machines with a 1992 B-team engine, was n' t a wa re at the start of the session that the morning session d idn 't count a nd tha t he was just below the qualifying line. He watched Doohan almost crash o n intermediates, then got som e advice from Kenny Roberts. "He said, ' Wha t you've got to do is get around the corner and p ick it up a nd gas it. ' I said, 'Would you like to go out there for me?' " Mamola said , " Ken ny Bruno Casanova (15) leads RaU Waldmann (3) early in the 125a: GP; Waldmann won. Doohan (cen ter) celebra tes his 500cc GP win with Chandler (left) and Schwantz. Biaggi (Ap r); 35. K. Kozo no ( Ho o); 36. T . Udagawa (Han); 37. Pao lo Casali (Han) ; 38. j ea n- Phi lippe Ru ggi a (G il); 39. And y Preinin g (Ap r). Time 52 min. 50.357 sec. Dista nce: 20 la ps. 72.71 mi les. A vcrag~ Spee ds 82.567 m ph . Margin of Victory: 9.969 sec. Fastest La p: Luca Cad a lora. 2:35.86V83.974 mph. 500cc G P: I. Michael Doo ha n (Hoo ); 2. Do u ~ Cha nd ler (SUl); 3. Kevin Schw a n tz (S U1); 4. Sh in ichi Ito (Ho n) ; 5. Ra nd y Ma mola (Ya m) ; 6. Keiji O h ish i (Suz): 7. Nia ll Mack enzi e (Ya m): 8. Tosh ih iko ' Ho n ma (Yam): 9. N'o rihiko Fu j iwar a (Ya m); 10. Sa toshi T sujimoto (Hon ): 11. Alexan d re Ba rro s (Ca K): 12. Ju.a n G ar ri ga (Ya m) ; 13. Ken ich irc Iwaha sh i ( Ho n) ; 14. Edd ie Lawso n (Ca g ); 15. Michael Ru dro ff (Yam); 16. C. Ca ta la no (Yam) : 17. Wa yne G ard ner (Ho n); 18. J o hn Koc ins ki (Ya m) ; 19. Mig uel Du Ha mel (Yam); 20. Wayne Rainey (Yam); 21. Alex Crivi Ut' (Ho n ). T im e: 56 mi n.• 2 1.831 sec. Dista nce 22 la ps. 79.984 miles. Average Speed; 85.145 mph. Ma rgin of Victo ry: 28.298 sec. f ast est Lap: Michael Doo h an . 2:32.090/ 86.057 mph . said me and Chuck (Aksla nd, Rob ert s tea m coo rdi na tor) co u ld bo th fit into your lea thers." Mamol a went out la te in the sessio n a nd said he saw a big " O K" at the top of the board with II minutes to go af ter he ran a 2:34 lap. His next lap was i n th e 32s, then he low ered the mark to a 2:27, good for sixth best. Australia n Darryl Bea tti e wa s just behind Mamol a, racing the same facto ry Honda he'll be usi ng in the Japanese 500cc champions hi p wi th Spaniard Juan Ga rri ga eigh th fastest on th e Du cados Yama ha. Marlboro T eam Ro ber ts Ya maha's Wa yne Rai ney and J ohn Kocinski sat a t eit her end of the thi rd row, bo th of their fast ti mes also com ing o n the second lap s. after whi ch they spent much of the practi ce wa tching from the ga rage, Rainey's confidence was down after his crash in Spain a month earlier, and he wa s just hop in g to escape with some points, "I decid ed to ease into it and all - there's no point going crazy o n th e first da y of th e season," Rainey had said after Friday's practice. " I felt I wasn't in a co ndi tion to really force the bike, bu t after tod ay I kn ow the ha nd' s no t goi ng to be a problem ." Ra iney wa s hoping for a dry race on Sunda y saying " T his is the worst track of all in the wet. " Yamaha Fra nce Banco's N iall MacKenzie a nd Miguel DuHamel were o n the fourth row , with Cagiva's Eddie Lawson fighting a co ld and the conditions to 17th best, after cras hi ng in th e ch ica ne. Lawson said his cold didn ' t bother him for three or four la ps in practic e, " bu t for 22 la ps (the race di sta nce ) it m ig ht be a problem. " Of the 30 ri ders entered , 23 made the qualifying sta ndard of 2:34.356. J a panese riders too k five of the top si x places in the 250cc class, Cup 0 ' Noodles Hon da 's No boatsu Aoki o n the pole with a lap of 2:18.696, averaging 94.581 mph on a mostl y dry track in the second sessio n . Nescafe Ca n Yamaha's Tetsuya Harada was second, with HB H onda 's Dor iano Rom bo ni a nd Team Meiko 's Sadanori H iki ta fill ing out the front ro w. World Cha mp ion Lu ca Cada lora put his Rothrn ans H onda in 19th place, getting stuck o ut in practice wi th wet tires for the en tire sessio n as the track dried. " Wha t I needed were intermediates or cut slicks, but th ere was no ti me to co me in for a change then ge t the tir es wa rmed up enough to go for a fast lap," he said. " I' m no t too worried about sta rti ng from th e m iddle of the grid. I've done that before and still won the race." 13

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