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GROAD RACE ~ Su erbikeSeries: Round 13 Carl Fogarty (4) topped Scott Russell (11) an d Fabrizio Pirovano (4) in the second race. Pirova no won race one, as both Fogarty and Russell DNF'ed. ne more 0 0 or usse By Johan Vand ekerckhove FSTORIL, PORlUGAL, ocr.17 co tt Ru ssell was a relieved man when he left the circuit of Estoril on Sunday evening. After entering the race with a comfortable 32-point lead over title-rival Carl Fogarty, Russell's heart dropped when he burned the clutch on his Muzzy Kawasaki on the starting grid and was left stranded as the field raced away. Much to Russell 's relief, though, was Fogarty's similar misfortune. The Brit crashed out of the race on lap four and threw away his chance to bite a big chunk out of Russell's point lead. In race two, Fogarty raced back with a ve ngeance and sco red h is 11th race victory of the yea r, but Russell was close behind in second. Sure, Fogarty gained three points on Russell, but it could have been worse. Much worse. With only two races remaining, Fogarty must win each and every outing and hope that Russell does not finish inside the top 10. Thusly, the title ru n S 10 ". will not be decided until the final meeting of the year, which takes pla ce in Mexico City. This is a welcome comeback to a well-apprecia ted Superbike tradition, as there was little sus pense late in the seasons during the Ducati era . In 1988 and '89, American Fred Merkel didn't wrap up his championships until the final rounds, and apparently - the race gods have reserved the sam e nerve.wracking fate for Russell in 1993. Still, his situation is much more comfortable than Merkel 's ever was. With the two title contenders out in the first heat, the biggest point score in Portugal wen t to the diminutive pocket rocket from Milan, Fabrizio Pirovano, On a circui t which ha d already caused a lo t of discussions a nd disagreement over the last couple of weeks, the Italian offered Yamaha their first Superbike victory of the year. No doubt the Japanese had expected more of the brand new YZF, and it is far from sure tha t the now-mature bike will ev er have the opportunity of doing it all over in 1994, when Duca ti, Ho nda and Su zuki turn up with new ma terial. Pirovano had won the first heat after a race-long battle w ith Piergio rgio Bontempi, Aaron Slight and G ian carlo Falappa. In the second heat, he had to be happy with third place , after a lonely race for leader Fogarty and second man Russell. Quali fying Estoril had been the main topic on t he agenda during recent SUBRA (Superbike Racers' Association) meetings. Just before the MoRZa race, a final vote was taken as to whether or not the riders woul d go to Portugal. Eight riders out of the top 15 voted against participating, and seven were desperate to better their chances in the point standings. Surprisingly, this- voting result did not lead to a boycott, as everybody finally agreed to go anyway, just to make sure their main rivals did not ride! And to ma ke things worse, the same day , im ag es could be seen in the Monza press room of the crash-stricken Formula One car race, showing the clear lack of run-off area and the abundance of metal guardrails around the Portuguese circuit The FIM tried to look good in the matter and sent Belgian Oaude Danis (a possible successor to the fired Zegwaard) to Estoril, to ha ve a talk with the riders. Luckily, the timed practice sessions had been run in nearly perfect conditions; if the meeting had been held ' the day before, when rain was pouring down, who knows if Danis would have survived the confrontation. Even the undaunted Falappa shrugged his shoulders in incomprehension when asked what he thought of the circuit The official listened to the riders and team managers on Saturday evening, but replied with a significant "no comment." At the same meeting, some details a bo ut next year 's calendar were released . Apart from the fact that the riders are expected again at Estoril, the calendar also included some five races outside of Europe. For the time being, the Ll.S, is also included, with Brainerd, Road Atlanta and Road America as the possib le venues. Some of the teams were not present ยท a t Es toril to join the lively m eet in g. Team Rumi (with American Trip p Nobles) had decided to call it quits for