Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

'.ROAD.R E.'.' AC :.' . Round 4: Italy .World Championship Supe"ibike Road Race.Series . (From left to right) Falappa, Russell and Slight celebrate after the first leg. Stefano Ca racchi (1:39.447); 29. Nic k Hopk ins (1:39.517); 30. Marcel Ernst (1:40 .087); 31. Leon ard o Bagn is (1:40.459); 32. Iva Bellezza (1:40.915); 33. Romola Balbi (1:41.392); 34. Phili ppe Tho ma, (1:42.011); 35. Gerald Mu teau (1:42.343); 36. Joan ni s Bous tas (1:43.312); 37. Anton Bcr ghammcr (1:43.766). RACE ONE: 1. Scan Russell (Kaw ); 2. Gtancarlo fa lapp a (Duc) ; 3 . Aaron Slig h t (Hon); 4. Stephane Mert en s (Duc); 5. Mauro Lucch ia ri (Due); 6. Valerio Des tefanis (Due); 7. Simo n Crafa r (Ho n); 8. Gianmaria Liveran i (H on ); 9. Mass im o Mcregalli (Ya m) ; 10. Andreas Meklau (Duc); 11. James Whitham (Duc); 12Doug Polen (Ho n); 13. Ca m illo Ma riottini (Duc); 14. An drea Perse lli (Duc) ; 15. Ma uro Moron i (Kaw) : 16. Mauro Mast rclli (Yam); 17. Bria n Morrison (Ho n); 18. Mar cel Ernst (Kaw ); 19. Leon ar do Bagn ts (Hon ); 20. Nick Hoe:kins (Yam); 21. lvo Bellezza (Due); 22. Gerald Muteau (Due); 23. Romola Balbi (Due). Time: 40 min. 44.22 ) sec. Distoince: 25 laps. 62.93 miles. A verage speed: 92.68 mph . Margin of victory: 14.503 sec. Fastest lap: 8ontemp i; ):36.48-1/ 93.92 mph. RACE TWO: J. Gia ncar lo Falappa (Due ); 2. Scott Russell (Hon ); 3. Mauro Lucrh iari (Due); 4. Aaron Slight (H on); 5. Ca rl Foga rty (Due); 6. Fabr izio Pirova no (Due); 7. Pier gior gl o 80ntcmpi (Kaw); 8. Valeri o Des tefanis (Due); 9. Terry Rymer (Ka w); )0 . Andrea s Mekla u (Due); ) J. Simo n Crafa r (Ho n); 12. Massimo Meregall i (Yam ); 13. Sera fino Foti (Due); 14. Mauro Moron ; (Kaw ); 15. Doug Polen (Hon); 16. Stefano Ca racchi (Due ); 17. Brian Morrison (Han) ; 18. Mauro Mastrclli (Yam ); 19. Marcel Erns t (Kaw); 20. Leona rdo Bagni s (Ho n); 21. Philip pe Thoma s (Kaw ); 22. loannis Boustas (Yam). TIme: 40 min.• 35.836 sec. Distance: 25 lap s. 62.93 miles. Average speeds 93.0 mph. M.1.rginof victory: 0.168 sec. Fastest loip: Falappa; 1:36.439/93.% mph., WORLD C'SHIP 5UPERBIKE SERIES POINT STANDINGS (Afler 3 of 12 rounds): J. Scott Russe ll (110); 2. Aaron Sligh t (79); 3. Cianca rlo Falap pa (72); 4. (TIE) Ca rl Fogarty / Dou g Polen (46); . Simo n Crafa r (43); 7. Fabrizio Pirovan o (42); 8. Te rry Rymer (32); 9. Valeri o Destefa ni. (32); 10. Andreas Me klau (26). s Upcoming rounds Round 4 : A1bacete, Spain - June 19 Round 5: Zeltweg, Austria - July 17 incident and finished 11th. Polen fin ished an off-day in 15th spot. "I noticed the oil trail at the end of the back straight a lap before Mertens went down on it," the Honda rider said. "That made me lose som e time, and after everybody had found a wa y around th e slippery stuff, I could put my mind to tr ying to pick up som e places. Unfortunately, we are still down on acceleration. Tha t's wh y I lo st to Moroni on the seco nd BertocchiKawasaki. An yway, th is position tops off the da y. It is just one of those days when nothing went well. But I gu ess that's racing..... DI Autodromo Santamonica Mlsano Adrlatlco, Italy Results: May 29, 1994 Q UA LIFYING : I. Scott Russe ll (1:36. 056 ); 2. T Kaw wo asakis and ab ncho ucatis u fD I 16 t is common knowledge that Italian road racers can go bananas on familiar ground. This Latin temperament and the fact that most of them had raced in an Italian National race on the very same circuit two weeks earlier, was a warning to the habitual superbike hot shots that they would not have it all their way - at least .not d,~g qU\llifying. Fabriz~oPirovano and Giancarlo Falappa had a moral obligation to do well on the track that is only some 75 miles from the Bologna factory. During that National race, Pirovano had won one heat, but suffered a broken engine in the sec()nd, giving the victory to Valerio Destefanis, who now .has pulled within reach of Pirovano in the Italian Superbike ChampionshiP: The other 916 riders didn't have much luck, either. Jam ie Whitham and Carl Fogarty made a painful comeback to the superbike scene after heavy crashes in Donington and Hockenheirn, respectively. Falappa, the fourth official "Ducatista," had lost three precious days in Rijeka, Yugoslavia when private test sessions fell apart due to heavy rainfall. "The 916 is only at the beginning of its development:' admitted Fogarty's and Falappa's team manager Virginio Ferrari. "Our riders still have to ad just to the new bike that is very sensitive to changes in the geometry setup - which is due mainly to the new construction of the swingarm. We just lack time to get things sorted out. That will be particularly evident here at Misano, the first bumpy track we've raced at this year. We will try to go to Albacete two weeks before the next race , but I suppose that we will be as competitive as we have been in the last couple of years only from the month of August onward .r Piergiorgio Bontempi (1:36.290); 3. Gia nearlo Falappa (1:36.358); 4. Mauro Lucch ia ri (1:36.640); 5. Step hane Mert ens (1:36.728); 6. Valerio Des tefa nis (1:36.78 ); 7. Fa brizio Pirova no (1:36.941); 8. Rober to Pa nich i (1:36.989); 9. Aaron Sligh t (1:37.119); 10. Simo n C ra far (1:37.272); 11. Mass imo Meregalli (1:37.371); 12. Ca rl Fogarty (1:37.388); 13. Mauro Moroni (1:27.395); 14. Serafino Foti (1:37.472); 15. Doug Polen (1:37.483); 16. James Whitham (1:37.502); 17. Terry Rymer (1:37.532); 18. Gianmaria Livera ni ():37.938); 19. Micha el Paqu ay ' (1:38.368); 20 . An d rea Pe rselli () :38 .373); 21. Luca Ruggeri (1:38.450); 22. Fabrizio Furl an (1:38.562); 23. Brian Morrison (1:38 .625); 24. A ldeo Pr es ciu tt! (1:38.794); 25. Andreas Meklau (1:38.866); 26. Ca millo Marioltini (1:38.959); '17 Mauro Mastrelli (1:39.348); 28. . The lack of experi ence of the factory riders, and the fact that the Ita lian (mostly Du cati 888) riders always perform well in front of their ad orin g public, provided some more chances for the large (l4-man strong) 888horde on Friday and Saturday. In ad d ition, their ranks had (unexpectedly) been reinforced by Mauro Lucchiari. The 26-year-old Italian, who had replaced Pirovano on the Ital ian Yamaha Belgarda team but had never been able to make a good impression on the YZF, ended his contract after the National at Misano. " Lucchiari was able to use the bike he had ridden in the second part of last season (the ex-Juan Garriga Ducati). That 888 had been bought by a friend of Lucchiari, who is a collector of racing bikes, from the Ducati factory . The lost Ducati son showed big promise right away when he turned in the second-quickest time in the first session. He was beh ind Scott Russell {right), but in front of Panichi and Destefanis (both on a' 888s!) and factory riders Pirovano and Falappa, Russell was good from the get-go. He clocked the fastest lap during unofficial practice and he further stamped his authority on the field during the first and the second official sessions. "I expected to go even faster, " the Muzzy Kawasaki rider said on Saturday evening. "In the first session, we lost some time due to carburetion problems, and actually the carburetion still had a little hiccup during the afternoon session." It didn't s top him from clicking off a one-minute, 36.056-second lap . The second best lap went very surpri singl y to Piergiorgio Bontempi, wh o pushed Falappa out of second in the final minutes of the second session. "1 was not very surprised," Bontempi said. "I had been running 1:36s quite ea sil y in the recent past. Besides, we had received a new exhaust after Hockenheim, which gives the bike an extra edge in 'acceleration." Third went to Falappa, in fron t of Lucchiari and Mertens. Two Kawasakis in front of six Ducatis, and then the first Honda as Aaron Slight rode the RC45 to ninth place . The factory Honda sported a new , slightly bigger airbox, but neither Slight nor Doug Polen felt a big d ifference. Polen ended up struggling to the 15th position on the starting grid. During the first ses sion, he d idn't even come close to a reasonable time - mainly due to the fact that choosing a tire seems to be a bit more time consuming than usual. The wrong tires brought about steering problems, but they got it sorted out and Polen knocked two seconds off his Friday lap time. ..Acceleration is still some sort of a problem," the Texan said. "And we can't compare our data with what we had here last year. Fortunately, the computer data helps us a lot; that's what I am spending some hours with after practice. I'm helping the Japanese to analyze all the figures, so we can develop the bike (to be) as good as we can . The bigger airbox didn't feel much different, except perhaps that it caused the engine temperature to be a little bit higher." Simon Crafar was 10th best, his RC45 NL5-version equipped for the first time with some frame-kit parts, allowing the Team Rumi mechanics to reinforce the bike at the steering head and at the engine mounts. The factory bikes' frame differs mainly in the swingarm - the factory bikes feature reinforced units, while the semi-official bikes of Crafar and young Belgian Michael Paquay don't. Carl Fogarty ended up 12th fastest , with Jamie Whitham 16th. "Actually, I am happy to qualify," Foggy confessed. "I had broken my wrist in two places, and Dr. (Claudio) Costa has done a good job . On Friday I tried a brace which allowed my wrist to be bent a little bit; but that seemed to be very painful: A straight brace proved to be a lot better. But still, I feel that I could go at least a second faster if I were fully fit. On the other hand, we're still struggling with the steering and grip problems we've had since the beginning of the season." Whitham got one more scare before the race started when he crashed (unhurt) during Sunday morning's warm-up.

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