Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ePREVIEW 1993 World Cham His start to 1993 will hopefully not be accompanied by that sort of sheer pain, but his long absence from the saddle while recuperating (and undergoing further surgery) raises a lot of questions. Again, my guess is that if not at full strength for the first three races, he will be close to it, and that the main question concerns the readiness of his relatively untested machine. Doohan may benefit from having a stronger teammate - a fellowQueenslander, what's more, who has shown every sign of being pleased to take the role of junior partner. Beattie's All-Japan championship win and his third-place 500cc class GP debut were more than merely lucky, and he has two strong years of SOOcc experience to help him make the step to the top level of racing. The Rothmans Honda new boy shows every sign of being level-headed as well as fast, and given the ability to 8 learn tracks quickly could become a valuable asset to the team even in his' first year. The other Rothmans Honda rider is Shinichi Itoh, who will be deviating from type if he makes much impact in his first (or any subsequent)' GP season. The fourth works Honda is sponsored by Marlboro, and ridden by Alex Criville, who is very likely to be a thorn in the side of the fast men. The former 125cc World Champion might calm down a little in his second 500cc year, a~d has never yet shown any sign of being over-awed by his bike or the competition. Over at Yamaha, there are no signs of friendly accord under the Marlboro Roberts umbrella. The new incumbent is Luca Cadalora, who told an Italian journalist after the first tests: "I'm the number four rider in the team - the first three are Wayne Rainey." Cadalora furthermore seems to have accepted that it will take a fair old time to adapt to SOOcc riding, and is in no hurry to push his luck. We must wait and see, and don't hold your breath. With two Suzukis and' four Hondas, two more works Yamahas bring the Japanese factory strength up to 10. These are the Yamaha France bikes, with government backing (to compensate for the outlawing of tobacco sponsorship) and the Big Question Mark hin).self as top rider. The Return of the Return of Formerly Fast Freddie Spencer ran into trouble with an injurious spill at the first tests, but of course Freddie is a proven genius who is never to be written off, especially by anybody who saw him when...etc., etc. I have him down to beat his teammate, GP debutante Bernard Garcia; and while I won't put money on him to finish the season, 111 be very glad if he does. Ranged against Japan, the might of Road Race Series John Kocinski (right) is expected to win the 250cc World Championship. Pier-Francesco Oilli (below) and Max Biaggi (below right) are expected to give him the biggest challenge'. the rest of the world, represented by two red Cagivas. New number one Doug Chandler takes over from Eddie Lawson, and has a tough job on his hands to keep team spirit high. Then again, he's a tough rider, as he proved in his first works year on the Lucky Strike Suzuki, frequently pushing Schwantz to finish a close fifth overall. Lawson apart, Cagiva has of late discovered a new technical coherence (they have often been adventurous in the past, but also disjointed). Which is just as well for new boy Mat Mladin, who has been thrown in at the deep end of racing, and. hardly needs a leaky lifejacket to make life harder still. Mladin's rise to GP level has been rapid; as was Doohan's, and his Australian fans expect the best from this youngster, but some (including, controversially, Barry Sheene) still remain to be convinced. Let's hope he can keep his head under this pressure. The rest of the field is made up almost completely of the French ROC or British Harris Yamaha YZR replicas, with 13 of the former and six of the latter. (There's also one three-year-old exworks Yamaha, formerly for Eddie Laycock, now for newcomer Jeremy McWilliams; and the persistent Librenti, ridden - when it runs - by Marco Papa.) The most interesting name among the privateers is Niall Mackenzie. The Scot has now ridden works Honda, Yamahas and Suzukis before slipping back a notch to take over the place of Peter Goddard (gone to Suzuki in Japan) in the Valvoline-backed Bob MacLean ROCYamaha team. Goddard was top privateer last year, and Mackenzie surely will be this year. ROC Engineering's own team fields press-on Japanese rider Toshiyuki Arakaki and Swiss ex-motocrosser Serge David, both in their second years; pri- '*' vate bikes go to experienced riders Thierry Crine, Juan Lopez-Mella and Lucio Pedercini; ex-250cc riders Bruno Bonhuil, Jose Kuhn and Renzo Colleoni; and GP novices Tsutomu Udagawa, Laurent Naveau, Andreas Meklau and Jean-Luc Romanens. The six-strong Harris ranks include several experienced GP privateers, including Michael Rudroff, Kevin Mitchell and Dutchman Cees Doorakkers; and GP first-timers John Reynolds and fast-rising youngster Sean Emmett. In what may prove to be the thin end of the wedge, Doorakkers, Reynolds and Emmett are all expected to run Yokohama tires, making their debut in the SOOcc class. 250cc: H-e-e-e-r-e-s Johnny! The 250cc class has now completely lost touch with its privateer base, and there are no less than 18 full-works bikes entered for this year's series. Of course it is significant that Yamaha is among them, with three riders on their most serious works bike for many years. Of course Aprilia will be there and fighting, after their strong '92 season. Of course class-leaders Honda will be out to win again. And maybe Gilera will summon up more speed and reliability in their second season back jn the class. But the big news has to be the return to the class of former champion John Kocinski, the one-time big-talking Yankee now sobered by two difficult but still impressive years in the SOOcc class, but just as talented as the kid who humbled the veterans at his first attempt in 1990. • Kocinski rides a Lucky Strike Suzuki, the sole man in the now three-year-old effort. They have a reputation to recover after a poor '92 season, and word is that the bike they have built specifically to his demands makes good any speed deficiencies while capitalizing on existing good handling and braking. Kocinski also has lost ground to make up. He only recognizes first place, and was somewhat shaken when he discovered that he couldn't win SOOcc races like he could 250s. Friction within Team Marlboro Roberts didn't help either, especially last year when they were battling with the sJ:.Vitch back to MicheliTI tires. Now he's broken with longtime mentor Kenny Roberts, and is determined to prove that he can develop a winning bike independently. Definitely the favorite for another great title. Then again, as he is quick to point out, he has a lot more competition this year than in 1990, when only Cadalora and Carlos Cardus gave him any serious trouble. Kocinski set knowing heads wagging when he smashed one lap record after another while testing, but

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