Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eR~DAAa~ili~~~_R_oa_dR_~_eS_~_~_S:R_O_M_d6 _ e Michael Doohan (2) ,Alex Criville (8), Kevin Schwantz (34), Daryl Beattie (4) and Wayne Rainey (hidden) stayed close for most of the German SOOcc Grand Prix. • Beattie stuns t ewor In By Michael Scott Photos by Gold and Goose HOCKENHEIM, GERMANY, JUNE 13 ustralian Daryl Beattie had never seen the daunting Hockenheimring before race weekend. By the time he left on Sunday night he had made the fastest Grand Prix track in the world a very special place in his heart, defeating Kevin Schwantz by less than a tenth of a second to take his first GP win. The 22-year-old survived a gruelling race of attrition that had four different leaders, and saw his Rothmans Honda teammate Michael Doohan put out of the running by a disintegrating rear tire. lt happened with less than three laps to go, after Doohan had broken free from pursuit and seemed set to take his first GP victory since he won at the Hockenheim jllst one year ago. Ironically, it was the same problem that had stopped him from winning here in 1991. That time, some 100,000 spectators watched the thrilling race. Now, after two years of Bernie Ecclestone's high prices, the crowd at the awe-inspiring, dual-character track -' part wide-open dash through the forests, part short-drcuit style among the grandstands - had dwindled to ~t 38,000. Beattie escaped the planned and expected last-lap onslaught from Schwantz, master of the usually decisive A 22 late-braking move into the stadium section, after third Rothmans Honda rider Shinichi Itoh pulled ahead of the Lucky Strike Suzuki, and prevented Schwantz . from being able to attack the leader. In practice, Itoh had recorded a milestone 200 mph top speed - the highest yet by a GPbike. But Schwantz was thrilled all the same to have increased his title lead by another nine points over Marlboro Yamaha's'Wayne Rainey, who trailed home fifth after losing the crucial slipstream of the leaders then running into suspected tire problems. He was also unable to catch fourth-placed Alex Criville and his Marlboro Honda, who had led the early stages of the race. Schwantz now leads Rainey, 131-117. Rainey's team boss Kenny Roberts employed the old principle: if you can't get the speed, get good lawyers; and put in a protest against Criville for going straight through one of the chicanes. Rainey had also been forced to slow, but though Criville was fined 5,000 Swiss Francs for the accidental deviation, for he had not stopped before rejoining as the regula tions demand, the results were not altered. Cagiva's Doug Chandler was a distant sixth, with teammate Mat Mladin just defeating Marlboro Yamaha rider Luca Cadalora and top privateer Niall Mackenzie's Valvoline Roc-Yamaha for seventh. The race was marred by a number of crashes, the worst of which saw Italian privateer Corrado Catalano suffer serious head injuries. He had been in 10th position, among the works bikes, when he crashed, and was later reported in critical condition. The 250cc race was even closer, and repeated the results of the previous GP, with an all-Honda rostrum. The winner was HB-sponsored Dorlano Romboni, who crossed the line less than a tenth of a second ahead of a disgruntled Loris Capirossi and his Marlboro-backed NSR250, who had inadvertently left a tiny gap on the third-from-Iast corner. HB Honda Germany's Helmut Bradl was again third, after having lost track of race progress in the hectic battle, and not realizing it was the last lap. Rothmans Honda's Massimiliano Biaggi was fourth, Unlimited Jeans Aprilia's Loris Reggiani fifth and the Telkor Yamahas of Tetsuya Harada and Pier-Francesco Chili sixth and seventh. All had been with the leading group until the very closing stages. Lucky Strike Suzuki rebel John Kocinski was 12th, his worst finish of the year, after earlier threatening to walk out of the team. Romboni's second successive win closed him up to within 22 points of title leader Harada. The Japanese ace leads, 115-93. In the 125cc class, German Dirk Raudies repeated his form of the first three races with a runaway win. Kazuto Saka ta was second after an epic ride. He'd led the first two laps, and was second when he was forced off the track. He rejoined in 19th, and rode all the way through to second again, finishing ahead of his teammate and earlier assailant Takeshi Tsujimura. Rolf Biland won the second sidecar Grand Prix of the season, and the first at a GP, in convincing fashion. Britons Steve Abbot/Julian Tailford were second and the Swiss Guedel brothers third. Earlier Steve Webster had been second, but he retired with tire failure. SOOcc Grand Prix The showers of the morning had all dried by the time the 50Ds lined up on the grid, and the race got away to a clean start, with Beattie's blue'Honda leading into the first bend, but Criville's very rapid orange one taking over on

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