Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

. . -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - --- - -- -- - - - - ---- eR~DAAa~iliQw~~p_R_~_dRa_~_Se_rie_s:_b _ ~U_~_12 ~~--- ~. Th e fron t row of Luca Cadalora (7), Wayne Rainey (1), John Kocinski (3) and Kevin Schwantz (34) prepare to lead the 500cc Italian Grand Prix off the starting line. Ca a takesdis u lora astro sItalian GP By Michael Scott Photos by G o ld & Goose MIsANO, ITALY, SEPT.5 he jinx of Misa no s truck again at the Italian Grand Prix. Kevin Schwantz appea rs to have w o n h is fi rs t long-awa ited Wo rl d Championship . But instead of rejoicing, there was shock, dismay, and despair. This tragic triumph came becau se his on ly riva l, points lead er Wayne Rainey, suffere d a ca tas tro p hic crash that not only finished his seas on, but may have end ed his career. The r ace w as won b y home hero Luca Cadalora, but while the Marlboro Rober ts Yam a h a rider h eld off first Schwantz's Lucky Strike Suzuki a nd th en Mich ae l Do ohan ' s Rothm ans Honda, Raine y was being helicopt ered to a hosp ital in Cesen a with serious back injuries. The incident took the gloss off a fine da y's racing , with Cadalora taking his second 500cc GP win in front of a rapturous crowd estimated at 40,000, and Doohan less than half-a-se cond adrift after a desperate last lap saw both riders come close to crashing. Schwantz had by then dropped eight seco nds behind after leading in the middle part of the T 6 r ace, slowe d by ba ckm ar kers an d by visor problems in the last laps. Cag iva-moun ted John Kocinski wa s an other eight seco nds away in fou rth, with Lucky Strike Suzuk i's Alex Barros fending off Marlb oro Honda Pons ' Alex Criville to tak e fift h af ter a despera te fairi n g -ba s hi n g la s t lap. Rothma ns H onda's Daryl Beattie was less than a tenth beh ind after being in close company all race long. Fred d ie Sp encer , in a second race since his Bmo comeback, switched to a Roc ch assis for his wo r ks Ya m a h a France machine and fought the pain barrier to finish 14th, scoring his first World Championship points since 1989. ' Earlier, crash es also played their part in the 250cc class, setting the title battle alight with just two races left. Title leader Tetsu ya Harad a tumbled unhurt from his Telkor-Valesi Yama ha while d isputing the lead with race winner Je an-Phillipe Ru ggi a on the Chest erfield Aprilia. Ha rada tried to remount, but was prevented from rejoining by zealous marshals. Pole qualifier Max Biaggi on the Rothmans Kanem oto Honda also crashed out, leaving Marlboro Ho nda's Loris Capirossi to settle for a safe second place, that broug h t him to w ithin four points of Harada' s title lead. Home hero Loris Reg gian i was a canny third on the second Aprilia, also in its new Chesterfield colors, after prevailing over a desperate six-bike battle for the la st rostrum pos ition. HB Honda's Helm u t Bradl, Ducados H on d a ' s Albe r to Pu ig, Kan emoto Ho nda's Nob ua tsu Aoki and Te lkor Yamaha's Pier-Francesco Chili were hot on his heels . Wileo Zeelenberg was ninth, benefitting from a la st-lap breakdown b y Mitsui Yamaha's Jochen Schmid. In the 125cc class, Honda-mounted Dirk Rau d ies exceeded all expectations w ith a runawa y win, extending his title lead over seco n d -p la ce d Ka zuto Saka ta, also Honda mounted , who was p ressed at the fin ish by Peter Oettl's Aprilia. From second to sixth was cov e r ed by just ov er one second; but Rau d ies was almost 16 seconds clear up front. 500cc Grand Prix The fam iliar sight of tw o Marlboro Yam ahas bur st o ff the line, Cadalora first, Rainey Iocked on behind him; with Kocinski and Schwantz already following th e br eak away as the pursuit was del ayed somewha t behind Criville. Schwantz drafted by Kocinski on the second time down the back straight; one lap lat er Rainey pulled a similar move on Cadalora, and now the lead ing three pu lled clear as the Cagiva gradually lost touch. At thi s po int Schwantz was almost 1.5 seconds behind Rainey, but the gap shrank until he wa s up with the Yamahas on lap six, and trying to attack Cad alora . But h e d idn 't quite have enough, and the trio had opened up again as Rainey set the fas test lap so far on the seventh tour. But time was running ou t for the defending champion. He finished lap nine with what was developing into a good lead, and pitched the Yamaha into the first tum. Halfway through, -the bike lost traction at the rear, then Rainey was flicked over the highside before the front slid away'

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