Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1994 06 08

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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R d5:Salzb rg oun u ring,Austria By Michael Scott Photos by Gold & Goose 14 SAlZBURG, AUSTRIA, MAY 22 rand Prix racing has revived the past in many ways this year, as old equipment and riding techniques have been disinterred to replace new . At Austria 's daunting Salzburgring, Michael Doohan found a different way to go back to the future. In a perfect reproduction of his domina tion of racing in 1992, the factory Honda rider won the race 'round the ultra-fast Alpine track going away from start to finish . His third victory in five races is another star for the emblem of the "Doohan It In '94" badge. And unless his only rival of the moment, second-placed Kevin Schwantz, can find some magic of his own, only another injury could stop him. Early title leader John Kocinski was destined to play only a support role, riding the Cagiva daringly over the curbs to what seemed a certain fourth, only to run into mechanical trouble on the last lap which dropped him to fifth. Teammate Doug Chandler had retired one lap earlier with similar terminal overheating, losing a possible seventh place. Doohan had qualified on pole, and as the Lucky Strike Suzuki of his main rival, Schwantz, gassed up and bogged down to finish lap one in 10t h, the Queenslander made ha y in th e su nshine, breaking the lap re cord as he charged away to win by better than 10 clear seconds. Schwantz quickl y pull ed thro ugh to second, but it was way too late to catch the vital slipstream u p th e Sa lzburgring's h ill, and he had to be con ten t with showing third-placed Alex Criville and the Repsol Honda the way home . HRC's Shinichi Itoh was fourth. The race was yet another catastrophe for Team Marlboro Roberts Yamaha. The factory squad saw Luca Cadalora finish 22nd and last, after pitting for a front and rear tire change. "It was like riding speedway, and this is a dangerous track," the Italian former 250 and 125cc World Champion said. Teammat e Daryl Beattie soldiered on to eighth, his best result in a dismal season, blaming a lack of power rather than tire problems . But other Dunlop users went all right, with Ducados Honda's Alberto Puig finishing sixth, and top privateer Niall Mackenzie on the Slick 50 Yamaha taking a strong ninth . The new V-twin Aprilia also had a bad day, with Loris Reggiani cruising into the pits after the 400cc machine seized on the first lap. The 250ccGP was fought out between Marlboro Honda's Loris Capirossi and Chesterfield Aprilia's Max Biaggi, with the latter seeming to hold the advantage. Then he tried too hard while leading on the last lap, running wide into the final Fahrerlager loop and letting his rival through to victory by half-a-second . A little way back, HB Honda's Dorian a Romboni prevailed over a fierce battle for third, beating Kanemoto H onda ' s Tadayuki Okada and HB Honda's class rookie Ralf Waldmann. It was a som ewhat heroic ride, considering Romboni had survived a frightening practice crash in the wet at the fastest part of the track. There was heartbreak for defending World Champion Tetsuya Harada, who hoped for a good result, but seized on the first lap. Fellow Yamaha rider Jimmy Filice, still substituting for Kenny Roberts Jr. on Team Marlboro Rainey, also suffered mechanical problems, his on the warmup lap. He'd tested the week before and said he now had the bike comfortable and was ready to race. But gremlins spoiled his practice, ruining a third consecutive race. . Michael Doohan got the Jump on the field at the start of the 500cc Austrian Grand Prix and he never looked back. The Austra lian ended up winn ing by some 12 seconds to furthe r Increase his lead In the 500cc World Championship point standings. Nor did the Alpine air favor Harada 's countryman Kazuto Sakata, who finished off the 125cc rostrum for the first time this year. He'd been lucky to escape with only chipped vertebrae after a practice crash on one of the circuit's most dangerous high-speed comers. As close-to-home hero Dirk Raudies scored his first win of the year over Noburo Ueda and Garry McCoy, the injured Sakata was caught up in a fierce battle behind them. The factory Aprilia rider managed to take fifth behind the similarly mounted Peter Oettl, and still has a massive points lead. The race was ru n in warm, sunny conditions in front of a crowd estimated at 50,000. The meeting had started badly, with floods in the paddock the day before practice, and streaming rain all Friday: somber weather for a somber racetrack, that is thrilling but terrifying in the dry, and far worse in the wet. Surface changes and a slick finish made a

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