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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127570
Wayne Rainey (1) led from start to finish in the Malaysian GP; here he leads Daryl Beattie (4), Alex Criville (8), Shinichi Itoh (6) and Michael Doohan (2).
Rainey all the way in Malaysia
By Michael Scott
Photos by David Goldman and Patrick Gosling
SHAH AlAM, MALAYSIA, APR. 4
ayne Rainey put a bravura performance in the blazing heat of the
Malaysian Grand Prix - combining
opportunism and determinatiolJ. to take a
champion's win.
.
Riding the Marlboro Yamaha that he
has criticized witheringly since he first
tested it in February, the three-time
World Champion seized the lead with a
blistering start, then made the most of a
clear run round the twisting track outside
Kuala Lumpur, to lead all the way to flag
in front of a record crowd of 35,000 at the
second GP of the year.
As Rainey drew steadily 'away from
second-placed Daryl Beattie's Rothmans
Honda, pole qualifier and Australian GP
winner Kevin Schwantz on the Lucky
Strike Suzuki was left boxed in and struggling to recover from a second-straight
botched start
With hardly any places to pass on the
slow track, it took him half the race to
move into third place, by now out of
touch with the front. His only consolation
was finishing his first Malaysian GP, and
leaving his jinx circuit for the first time
without any injuries.
Australian Michael Doohan was
fourth, the Rothmans Honda rider showing improving strength as he recovers
from preseason injury. But Rainey's
Marlboro Yamaha teammate Luca
Cadalora missed the race after a startinggrid collision before the warm-up lap.
Freddie Spencer withdrew from the
event, still suffering the after-effects of
his Australian accident; while Cagiva's
W
6
Doug Chandler rode to a brave ninth
after injuring his hand in a heavy practice
crash.
The 250cc GP was delayed after a
false start. Then, in a sensational development five hours later, six riders
including third-placed Loris Capirossi
on the Marlboro Honda and three others
in the points were penalized for having
jumped the restart. Arguments are likely
to continue for weeks, with both the
method of race starting and the actions
of full-time starter Hans Bahmer to be
discussed at a forthcoming Permanent
Bureau meeting.
This marred a fine race, with the old
guard now thoroughly outpaced; the
likes of Carlos Cardus, Pier-Francesco
Chili, Helmut Bradl and Loris Reggiani
"left trailing as the youngsters fought it
out. It resembled a Japanese championship meeting, with the lead disputed
between Kanemoto Honda's Nobuatsu
Aoki and Australian GP winner Tetsuya
Harada on the Telkor Yamaha. Pole
starter Capirossi was third before he was
.penalized, narrowly defeating Tadayuki
Okada's Rothrnans Honda.
John Kocinski was seventh, the Lucky
Strike Suzuki outpaced by the Hondas
yet again, only to be lifted to fifth by the
recount, having narrowly escaped penalties himself.
The 125cc race was a second successive runaway win for German Dirk
Raudies, with Kazuto Sakata again second and Takeshi Tsujimura third in an
all-Honda rostrum.
500cc Grand Prix
The accident before the warm-up lap
of the 500cc race saw Irish privateer
Jeremy McWilliams hit the back of
Cadalora's works Marlboro Yamaha,
injuring the Italian's ankle, and sending
his mechanic Thierry Guerrin flying, fortunately without serious injury.
The st