Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

had to settle for fifth when the second of his countrymen came past, an eventuality that didn't thrill him. "It was a very good race to learn the World Championships and I enjoyed battling with them, but I wasn't satisfied with my result because I was beaten by two of my rivals from Japan," the 22year-old Aoki said. Cardus ended up sixth with Romboni slowed to seventh with suspension troubles that affected traction and tire wear. "After a good start I managed to stay with Harada for a couple of laps, but the suspension problems of yesterday's practice were not solved at all. So my tires started to go off at an early stage of the race, I was sliding around badly and couldn't go any faster without risking a crash. In the end, I just wanted to reach ~ the checkered flag," Romboni said. Results 2SOcc QUAlJFYING: 1. Loris Capirossi (1,J2.6%); 2. Max Biaggi (1 :32.898); 3. Tetsuya Harada (1:32.979); 4. John Kocinski (1,J3.201); 5. Nobuatsu Aoki (1,J3.277); 6. Doriano Romboni (1,J3.302); 7. Carlos Cardus (1,J3.403); 8. Wilco Zeelenberg (1:33.598); 9. T. Okada (1:33.782); 10. Helmut Bradl (1:33.807); 11. Jean-Philippe Ruggia (1:33.95B); 12. Jochen Schmid (1:34.224); 13. Loris Reggiani (1:34.373); 14. Pier-Francesoo Chili (1:34.462); 15. Adrien Bosshard (1:34.773); 16. Lui. D'Anlin (1:35.057); 17. Nobuyuki Wakai (1:35.084); 18. Paolo Casali (1,JS.108); 19. Alessandro Gramigni (1,JS.16i); 20. Alberto Puig (1,JS.301); 21. Jean Jeandat (1,JS.379); 22. Andy Preining (1,JS528); 23. Eric Suter (1:35.561); 24. J.V.D. Goorberg (1:35.617); 25. Bernard Haenggeli (1,JS.63S); 26. P.V.D. Goorberg (l,JS.642); 27. Juan BofJO (1,JS,826); 28. F. Prolat (1,JS.888); 29. Jean-Micbel Bayle (1:35.B83); 30. Bernd Kassner (1:36.392); 31. Steve Whitehouse (1:36.898); 32. Lui. Maurel (1:36.944); 33. Gabriele Debbia (1,J7.663); 34. Rene Bongers (1,J7.748); 35. Volker Baehr (1:38.124); 36. Massimo Pennacchioli (1:38.315). SOOcc QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Schwantz (l,Jl.186); 2. Wayne Rainey (1:31.404); 3. Daryl Beattie (1,J1.471); 4. Dou~ Chandler (1,J1.988); 5. Alex CriviUe (U2.433); 6. Shinochi Itoh (1:32.496); 7. Alex Barra. (1:32.619); 8. Michael Doohan (1,J2.640); 9. Peter Goddard (1:32.651); 10. Luea Cadalora (1:32.708); 11. Freddie Spencer (1:32.963); 12. Mall Mladin (1:33.034); 13. Niall Mackenzie (1,J3.872); 14. John Reynolds (1:34.238); 15. T. Udagawa (1:34.576); 16. Michael Rudroff (1:34.666); 17. Jooe Kuhn (1:34.803); 18. Bernard G.ucia (1:34.811); 19. Juan Lopez Mella (1:34.814); 20. Kevin Mitchell (1:35.008); 21. Toshiyuki Arakaki (1'.35.032); 22. Steven David (1:35.103); 23. John McWilliam. (1:35.219); 24. Laurent Naveau (1,JS.243); 25. Renzo Colleoni (1,JS.622); 26. S. Emmett (1:36.034); 27. L Pedercini (1:37.lJ61); 28. Brian Bonhuil (1,J7.549); 29. Tierry Crine (1,J7.710); 30. Andreas Meldau (1:37.785); 31. Jean-Luc Romanens (1,J7.856); 32. Cees Doorakkers (1,J7.978); 33. Alan Scott (1:38.298); 34. Marco Papa (1,J8.592). 12Scc GP: 1. Dirk Raudies (Hon); 2. Kenya sakata (Han): 3. Herri Torrontegui (Apr); 4. M. Ono (Han); 5. Fausto Gresini (Han); 6. lGnya Wada (Han); 7. Akira Saito (Hon); 8. Noburo Veda (Hon); 9. T. T5ujimura (Han); 10. Gary McCoy (Apr); 11. Stefan Preln (Hon); 12. Michel Stief (Han); 13. LuiJli Ancona (Han); 14. H. Aoki (Han); 15. Julian Miralles (Hon); 16. Ari Molenaar (Hon); 17. M. Geissler (Apr); 18. Manuel Hernandez (Apr); 19. Hans Spaan (Rum); 20. Oliver Koch (Han); 21. Carlos Giro (Apr); 22. Neil Hodgson (Han); 23. Erio Gianola (Hon); 24. RaIl Waldmann (Apr); 25. K. FISher (Hon); 26. Luis Bodelier (Hon); 27. Oliver Petrucciani (Apr); 28. Stefano Caracchi (Rum); 29. G. Palmieri (Apr); 30. M. 8aumann (Han); 31. Jorge Martinez (Han); 32. Trevor Manley (Hon); 33. Stefan Kurfi9s (Apr). Time: 42 min., 58.125 sec. Doone<: 26 laps. 63.3Sl mil... Anrage Speed: 88.661 mph. Margjn of VICtory: 13 sec. F.....tLap: Dirk Raudies.l,J7.819/89.673 mph. 2SOcc GP: 1. Tetsuya Harada (Yam); 2. John Kocinski (Suz); 3. Massarnilliano Biaggi (Hon); 4. Tadayuki Okads (Hon); 5. Nobuatsu Aoki (Hon); 6. Carlos Cardus (Hon); 7. Dorlano Romboni (Hon); 8. Helmut Bradl (Hon); 9. (Left to right) Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Doug Chandler celebrate on the winner's podium. The win was Schwantz's 20th career victory in the SOOcc class. Jean-Phillippe Ruggia (Apr); 10. Pier-Francesco Chili (Yam); 11. Wilco Zeelenberg (Apr); 12. Jochen Schmid (Yam); 13. Alberto Puig (Hon); 14. Loris ~ (Apr); 15. Adrien Bosshard (Han); 16. Paolo Casoli (Gil); 17. P.V.D. Goorberg (Apr); 18. Jean Jeandat (Apr); 19. JeanMichel Bayle (Apr); 20. Bernd Kas.ner (!-pr); 21. Nobuyuki Waltai (Suz); 22. Rene Bongers (Han); 23. Gabriele Debbia (Hon); 24. Masaimo Pennacchio~ (Hon); 25. F. Protat (Apr); 26. Andy Preining (Apr); 27. Luis Maurel (Apr); 28. Loris Capirossi (Hon); 29. Bernd Haenggeli (Apr); 30. Juan Borja (Han); 31. P.V.D. Goorberg (Apr); 32. Alessandro Grarnigni (Gil); 33. Luia D'Antin (Hon); 34. Eric Suter (Apr). TlQ\e: 43 min., 57.049 sec. Dialance: 28 taps. 68.224 miles. Avenge S~93.137mph. Margin of Victory: .030 sec. Fastest Lay. Tetsuya Harada, 1,J2.894/94.427 mph. SOOcc GP: 1. Kevin Schwantz (Suz); 2. Wayne Rainey (Yam); 3. Doug Chandler (Cag); 4. Daryl Beattie (Hon); 5. Alex Barros (Suz); 6. Alex Criville (Han); 7. Shinichi ltoh (Hon); 8. Luca Cadalora (Yam); 9. Matt M1adin (Cag); 10. Niall Mackenzie (Yam); 11. Laurent Naveau (Yam); 12 Bernard Garcia (Yam); 13. jose Kuhn (Yam); 14. T. Udagawa (yam); 15. Steven David (Yam); 16. S. Emmett (Yam); 17. Renzo Colleoni (Yam); 18. L Pedercini (Yarn); 19. Andreas Meklau (Yam); 20. jean-Luc Romanens heavy feeling when it was down on power, but it made it easy to tum,n Chandler said of the new Cagiva V593. With a front row start, Chandler's optimism lor the season increased. "I feel I have a strong chance for this season, n he added. Spaniard Alex Criville, the man with the fastest bike in the 500 class, put his Marlboro Honda Pons NSRSOO on the pole of the second row and was the first of eight riders on the same second in an increasingly close class. He suffered a setback in Friday's morning session, crashing in the hairpin, but quickly recovering. "The crllsh. was my fault, we'd been trying some new tires and I just got into the hairpin a Uttle too fast:' the 23-year-old Barc~na native said. Front speed. trap speeds revealed that Criville's Honda NSRSOO was the fastest of the fast, doclcing a trap time of 182.76 mph on the l000-meter Eastern Creek front straight. But he couldn't improve his times on Saturday, putting the difference to considerably higher track temperatures. . "1 think the difference is simply the heat. It was a lot cooler yesterday afternoon" and Criville knew that if the weather stayed hot, it would affect his tire choice for the race. "The only thing we haven't sorted out is which rear tire to use. It will be difficult to find a tire which will work right for the full race distance." Criville's only other problem was a lingering virus whichhe was medicating with antibiotics. Next to Criville was fellow Honda rider Shinichi Itoh, the 26-year-old Rothmans Honaa rider still coming to grips with a circuit he was seeing for the first time. Seventh fastest was Alex Barros, the 22-year-old Brazilian making his debut aboard the Lucky Strike Suzuki and failing to improve his time from Friday to Saturday. Sitting in an unfamiliar spot, on the end of the second row, was Rothmans Honda's Mick Doohan, the 27-year-01d Australian slowed by a broken scaphoid bone in his left wrist and the lingering proplems from last year's brOkeI;lleg and anlde at A$Sen, U he had any stxWl consolation, it was that no 'one approached his pP1e-,settlng liine of 1:30.76 from last year. But it was no consolation that his own time was two seconds slower. "To be honest, things didn't go all that well. My injured wrist is making things difficult and it is difficult to change direction and is very sore. The leg is a bit palnful still and the combination of the two injuries is pretty hard to contend and it is very uncomfortable on the bike," the 27-year-old Queenslander said. Since he has very limited movement in his right foot it makes it nearly impossible to use the rear brake, which he would normally do to adjust the machine's attitude in the comers, as well as using it for stopping. But the wrist seemed. more problematic, forcing Doohan to pit after only three or four laps, waiting for the pain to subside before re-entering the track. ThiS despite using pain-killers and a repositioned clutch lever and softer clutch !q)tings. Dooban was hoping to be able to race without using pain-killers, though it was a decision he would make on race morning. And the ~ombinationof injuries had. largely kept him from riding since his accident list June. Beattie had taken up the testing load and Doohan pronounced himself pleased with the machine's progress, bUt knew he needed to put more laps in. "I've done 10-12 days since June of last year and I'm a bit rusty right now:' said Dooban, who was in remarkably good spirits, despite his injuries_ "The bike seems a hell of a lot faster and I'm just getting up to a speed that's two seconds slower than I was running last year. I was having fun out there as a backmarker, racing with backmarkers. (Yam); 21. Cees Doorakkers (Yarn); 22. Alan Scott (Yam); 23. Toohivuki Arakaki (Yam); 24. Peter Goddard (Suz); 25. Juan-Lopez Melia (Yam); 26. Michael Rudroff (Yam); 27. Freddie Spencer (Yam); 28. Kevin Mitchell (Yam); 29. Michael Doohan (Hon); 30. John Reynolds (Yam); 3L Thierry Crine (Yam); 32. John McWilliams (Yam); 33. Marco Papa CUb); 34. Brian Bonhuil (Yarn). Time: 46 min., 21.885 sec. Dist.ute<: 30 laps. 73.098 miles Avenge Speed: 94.S9S mph. Alberto Puig (3); 14. Lori. Reggiani (2); 15. Adrien Bas.hard (1). SOOcc WORLD C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 1 of 14 rounds): 1. Kevin Schwantz (25); 2. Wayne Rainey (20); 3. Doug Chandler (16); 4. Daryl Beattie (13); 5. Alex Barros (11); 6. Alex Criville (10); 7. Shinichi ltoh (9); 8. Luca Cadalora (8); 9. Matt Mladin (7); 10. Niall Mackenzie (6); 11. Laurent Navoau (5); 12. Bernard Garcia (4); 13. Jooe Kuhn (3); 14. T. Udagawa (2); 15. Steven David (1). Margin of Victory: 3.118 sec. Fastest Lay. Wayne Rainev.l,Jl.807/95.545 mph. 12Sc< WORLD C'SHlP PoiNT STANDINGS (After 1 of 14 rounda): 1. Dirk Rauclies (25); 2. Kenya Sakala (20): 3. Herri Torrontegui (16); 4. M. Ono (13); 5. Fau.to Gresini (11); 6. Kinya Wada (10); 7. Akira Saito (9); 8. Noburo Veda (8); 9. T. T.ujimura (7); 10. Gary McCoy (6); 11. Stefan Prein (5); 12. Michel Stief (4); 13. Luigi Ancona (3); 14. H. Aoki (2); 15. Julian Miralles (1). 2SOcc WORLD C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (Aller 1 of 14 round.): 1. Tetsuya Harada (25); 2. John Kocinski (20); 3. Ma.samilliano Biaggi (16); 4. Tadayuki Okada (13); 5. Nobuat•• Aoki (11); 6. Carlos Cardus (10); 7. Doriano Romboni (9); 8. Helmut Bradl (8); 9. jean· Phillippe Ruggia (7); 10. Pier-Franceaco Chili (6); 11. Wilco Zeelenberg (5); 12. Jochen Schmid (4); 13. "It shouldn't be SO bad lor tomorrow until we come across some backmarkers and these guys (Schwantz, Rainey, and Beattie) start to lap me, n he joked. "Completing the full race distance won't be a problem, but I think all I can hope for is getting some points on this occasion." The third row was a mix of veterans and rookies, Lucky Strike Suzuki's Peter Goddard the lone Australian "wild card" entry, followed by Marlboro Team Roberts Yamaha's Luca Cadalora, Yamaha Motor France's Freddie Spencer, and Cagiva's 21year-old Mat MladirL Spencer was struggling with the handling of the new Yamaha as well as a left shoulder he broke during a test in Malaysia. "I'm not going as fast as I want to because I'm kind of playing catch-up since I haven't been here before," Spencer said. ''The last session was the first one where I got up to speed. It's a real challenge with the bike, as the'Marlboro guys will attest. Some of t~ things I have to do goes against everything I've learned." In what will be his last race as a teenager, 19-year-old Loris Capirossi put his Marlboro TeamPileri Honda on the pole position for the 250cc race, but just barely. Rothmans Kanemoto Honda's Max Biaggi was a mere .OO2-of-a-second behind after spending the second session working more on race setup and tires than qualifying. After waffling in the off-season, and saying they would produce no factory bikes, but heavily-kitted RSs, Honda changed their minds and provided works machinery to eight teams. Of the top 10 qualifiers, seven were on Honda NSRs. "I'm really happy because I never expected to get pole at my first GP on a factory bike," Capirossi, who last year campaigned a kitted RS250, said. "It shows how important it is to have a good bike. I'IP the same rider as last year, but in '92 I had a standard bike and I was always mid-field. n But with the top 10 riders all on the same second, nO one had a clear advantage and CapiroSsi knew it would be a long race. • nl think we've got everything Just about perfect, the only thing we're not sure about is how the tires will last over race distance," Capirossi said. Biaggi also tested tires, using his second bike over his race bike and not able to match Friday's times. "The race machine which I ran in qualifying yesterday afternoon was perfect and no adjustments are required, n said Biaggi, 21, of Rome, Italy. "The hot conditions here make selecting tires that last for the full race distance very difficult. I tried several different compounds and we will make a final decision this evening." In his first race outside of Japan. Telkor Valesi Racing's Tetsuya Harada was third fastest and quite happy to be there. He is one of three riders getting works Yamaha machinery and was the only one to qua1i£y in the top 10. On. the end of the front row sat Lucky Strike Suzuld's John Kocinski, the 25-yearold spending so much time testing this off-season that he jokingly lists his hometown as "Samsonite." The results seemed to have paid off, though, because .despite being well down on top speed., I

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