Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Manager, 6221 Box Springs Blvd., Riverside, CA 92507-{)714. All exemption requests must be postmarked by July 23. John Kocinski stepped back from the brink of career crisis in Germany after threatening to walk out of the Lucky Strike 250cc Suzuki team following a crisis of confidence in the team. Kocinski, who is tied for third in the 250cc World Championship point standings, had been dismayed by slow development of the Suzuki, and especially by having to ride so hard to finish lowly seventh in Austria. During the three-week layoff, he gave a number of very outspoken interviews to the Spanis~ press (the American spends most of his time in Spain with his Spanish girlfriend Toti), saying that he would not ride in Germany unless team manager Herve Poncharal was replaced. He blamed Poncharal for failing to pass on his requirements to the Japanese factory. He also fired a broadside at teammate Kevin Schwantz, whom he criticized for being friendly to his face, but "stabbing me in the back" at other times. "The team is trying to destroy me," he said, adding that now it was obvious there would be no place for him on the 500cc team next season, he might as well leave now. Throughout this time Kocinski was not in touch with team, sponsors or factory, but arrived and took part in the first' day's practice at the Hockenheimring. Then all parties held two-hour crisis talks, attended also by his manager Gary Howard, and Toti. Although at one time it seemed certain he would quit, by the end of the meeting he had decided to make a fresh commitment to the Suzuki 250cc project, and seemed reconciled with Poncharal. "Now I want to see the factory put the same sort of effort into the 250 as they do into the 500," he said. Poncharal added: "1 am pleased we have settled our differences. I am sure John can win races this year, and we still have the championship as our goal." Seasoned observers, however, felt tha t the Kocinski crisis might re-emerge at any time, unless there is a radical transformation in the machine. Kocinski was a close second in the opening GP this year in Australia, but has not finished higher than fourth since, unable to match especially the Hondas on the fast circuits. His 12th at Hockenheim was his worst 250cc finish since 14th in Japan in his championship year of 1990, after a pit stop to fix collision damage. Japanese Rothmans Honda rider Shinichi Itoh secured a Grand Prix mile- stone of sorts at the German GP, unofficially breaking the 200 mph barrier for the first time ever. Itoh was clocked at 200 mph, after a number of 199 mph laps by Kevin Schwantz's father Jim, operating a radar gun, and at 321km/h (199.02) by Honda's own equipment Asked if he was using a fuel-injected engine, instead of the usual blank-faced denial, Itoh said: "Ask my team director." Who in turn gave the usual blank-faced denial. The Rothmans Hondas dominated the speed-trap figures. Second in the final practice session was Daryl Beattie, clocked at 198 mph, with Michael Doohan and Alex Criville equal at 194. Then came Suzuki's Alex Barros at 193 mph. The top privateer was Niall Mackenzie, whose Valvo line RocYamaha had been tuned up in the break. He clocked 188 mph, the same speed as Kevin Schwantz on the Lucky Strike Suzuki. Manually operated radar guns are the closest anyone ever gets to true top speed figures, but suffer from the disadvantage of not being able to record every rider's every lap. Although onbike transponders are used for the official timing equipment, they have not as yet been hooked up to provide fully accurate top speed figures. There was a rash of back trouble in Germany - the preferred euphemism for riders who for one reason or another cannot continue for the full season. Since this puts them or their teams in breach of con tract wi th IRTA, it is necessary to invent a reason for any changes. The major casualty of bogus back pain is Dutch 125cc rider Loek Bodelier, whose contract with Daytona-Pit Lane racing apparently came to an end because sponsorship Bodelier had been expected to bring into the team did not materialize. His place has been taken by Italian Gabrielle Debbia, who rode for the team last year, and races a 250 for them this year. In Austria, Debbia had substituted for Bodelier, who sustained genuine injuries in Japan and at Jerez, but was fully fit for the German GP. Another to suffer dubious injuries is American 500cc privateer Allan Scott, whose poor season looks now to have ended prematurely. At Hockenheim, his place on the Yokohama-shod Harris Yamaha was taken by sidecar rider Darren Dixon, 1988 British F1 solo champion, who was also racing in the first sidecar GP of the season. New Zealander Andrew Stroud will take over Allan Scott's 500cc Harris Yamaha ride for the rest of the season. AMA now 200 000 stron I t's official! The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is now 200,000 members strong! Membership in the AMA stood at 200,162 at the end of May, marking the first time in the Association's 69-year history that the total has topped the 200,000 level. According to Mark Mederski, vice president of membership for the AMA, the Association actually surpassed 200,000 members on May 28. "We are currently sorting through our records for that day to determine the exact member who put us over the top," Mederski said. "We've got something very special in mind for that person." Once that member is identified, he or she will be invited to join with other members at the AMA's Vintage Motorcycle Days celebration July 24-25 near Columbus, Ohio. Special ceremonies are planned at that event to commemorate crossing the 200,000member plateau. According to Mederski, the significance of the AMA's continuing growth goes far beyond the celebra tion of this milestone, however. "The main advantage of having 200,000 members is that it gives motorcyclists more clout in dealing with government officials," Mederski said. "When we say we represent 200,000 of their constituents who ride motorcycles, they listen." Topping the milestone in the first half of 1993 is particularly significant in that the Association increased its dues at the beginning of the year. The increases were sizeable - dues for full membership was increased from $20 to $29, and associate membership from $10 to $12 - and although the membership count was nearing the 200,000 mark at the end of 1992, skeptics said the increases would cause a drop in numbers. They were proven wrong. Stroud, who finished 11th and 12th in Hungary and France last year when substituting for Peter Goddard on the Valvoline Yamaha, will be riding the only remaining Yokohama-shod 500. Giancarlo Librenti, manufacturer of the only independent racing 500cc GP bike, died in Italy exactly a week before the German GP. Although terminally ill, the genial engineer continued working on his V-four GP machine until the very end, said his tearn. In 1960, Ubrenti led the technical team for the Ducati factory, whose riders included Mike Hailwood and Phil Read. Since then, he has been associated with a number of riders including Giacomo Agostini, and with factories including Malanca, Suzuki and Aprilia, before turning his attention to the Ubrenti in 1990. After a season and a half of disappointing results, Gilera has given their factoy squad a major shakeup, moving chief engineer Federico Martini to the production side of their massive Piaggio scooter empire and putting trackside development ~gineer Harald Bartol in control of development of the so-far reluctant V-twin. Bartol and Martini formerly with Bimota - have often been at loggerheads during the bike's slow racing development. Italian 500cc privateer Corrado Catalano was in critical condition after crashing early in the German GP and sustaining' serious head injuries. Catalano fell at the first chicane early in the race, and was hit by his bike as it rebounded from the trackside barrier, close to the circuit at that point. He was flown to the hospital in nearby Mannheim, where he underwent brain surgery that evening. The return of the sidecars, for their second round of the year (the first, also at Hockenheim, was with the superbikes), saw a dwindling number of Yamaha TZSOO engines, as these units finally reach the end of their already much-prolonged service life. In their place a number of riders have switched to the new ADM engines, all using Honda cylinders, mainly from the RS125 single. Defending World Champion Rolf Biland heads 11 crews using Krauser engines; his chief rival Steve Webster is at the head of)O crews with the almost universal LCR chassis and ADM motors. Only two Yamahas were listed. In fact, even the Krauser motors were made by ADM under contract The FIM is to mount an urgent internal investigation following reports of bribery and corruption, principally against Road Race Commission President Jo Zegwaard. The news broke in Motorsport Aktuell, the SwissGerman motoring newspaper, which (among other things involving other officials) accused Zegwaard of accepting at least $100,000 from companies controlled by the Flammini Group, which now has control of World Superbike racing. Other allegations concern expensive travel arrangements for all expenses-paid official FlM journeys, using a Dutch travel agent whose ticket prices were sometimes double or more what was available elsewhere; and corruption and bribery concerning the venue for the World Speedway finals over a number of years. Jos Vaessen, FIM president since 1989 and also named in the newspaper, was at Hockenheim, and said: "1 read this report very carefully and I have now passed it on to the FIM lawyers. It contains some very serious allegations and we will have to be very careful how we respond to them. At the moment we are awaiting legal advice." He said that the FIM would be launching their own internal investigation into the allegations. Zegwaard, meanwhile, was quoted in a Dutch newspaper as denying all allegations. He said that Gunther Wiesinger, editor of Motorsport Aktuell and author of the reports, was "an underworld figure." Wiesinger said: "1 hope this matter does come to court. I would welcome the chance to prove my allegations of corruption." On June 19, the FIM released a statement that read in part "The FIM is determined to use all the legal proceedings at its disposal to defend itself against these allegations which are affecting its respectability. An independent Inquiry Commission, composed of Messrs. Guy Maitre (Secretary General), Jan Dam (President of the International Judicial Panel) and Bernard Vischer (Legal Advisor of the FlM), has been entrusted to clarify the different allegations formulated against various FIM directors and commercial partners." Former World Champion Wayne Gardner was a paddock visitor at the Hockenheirnring, and revealed that he is to test a Lotus Formula One car at Silverstone in England on June 21. "It's a fast place to drive something like that," he grinned, adding that he did not expect to move into open-wheel racing cars. ''I'm enjoying myself as a works Holden driver racing saloons, and I'm still learning," he said. The usual con.fusion surrounds the expected return of Freddie Spencer for the Dutch TT at Assen on June 26. Spencer was injured in practice for the third GP of the year at Suzuka in Japan, and was at first expected to return for the German GP. Later his expected recovery was deferred until the Dutch IT. In Germany, however, there were reports that Spencer had been elusive, and that neither his team nor the Yamaha factory had been able to get in touch with him. "We've heard nothing," said Serge R!>sset, chief of the Mobil Sonauto Yamaha team. A new level of technology was to be seen on the works 500 and 250cc Hondas at the Hockenheimring - an array of three remote temperature sensors across the rear swingarm and/or fender monitored tire temperatures in. the center and on each shoulder of the tire. Tire temperatures are a delicate matter at the Hockenheimring. Two years ago, Michael Doohan lost almost certain vietory after his rear Michelin overheated as a result of the sustained high speed and broke up; earlier that weekend Dunlop had to rush a specially built batch of tires in after they'd suffered the same problems. Another problem is that the left-hand side of the tire often runs too cool, since the long "straights" all veer right. Then when riders encounter their first left-hander for a while at the chicanes or in the slow stadium section, it is easy to crash. Suzuki was among those who built special fairings for the ultra-fast Hockenheimring. The new 500-class bodywork was much more bulbous and rounded than standard, like that of the aerodyne Harris ridden by Sean Emmett. However both Kevin Schwantz and Alex Barros found the altered airflow caused uncomfortable buffetting and pressure on the helmet, without offering much speed improvement. Barros also felt it slowed the steering in the high-speed chicanes. Neither of the Lucky Strike riders used the new fairing after Saturday morning. Another to have special bodywork made was Jean-Michel Bayle, with a bigger fairing on his Chesterfield Aprilia 250 giving the former motocross superstar more 3

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