Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.. . - Round 5: Italian GP (Left) Bill y Liles (106) used consistent 3-3 mota scores to win his first GP since 1992. (Above) Marcus Hansson won the second mot a and finished third overall. He continues to lead the points chase . By Alex Hodgkinson ARCO DI TRENTO, ITALY, MAY 29 illy tiles returned to the GP winners' circle for the first time since July 1992 to move into fifth place in the points stan dings and register the maiden victory for the FN [obe team , but his performance was overshadowed by a controversy involving defending champion Jacky Martens, the Italian federation, and Severa l personnel from other teams . Riding a factory-backed Husqvama four -stroke, Martens was cannoned into the fence in the first turn of moto one by an errant Georges [obe. After finishing second without a silencer, Martens was allowed to return to the paddock without being noise-tested, and several pe0ple claimed that Italian federation officials deliberately put obstacles in th e way of a protest. "I went to make a protest against Martens, and Signor Lovati of the Italian federation told me that it was not necessary, as the federation would insitigate the protest," said Guido Vertemati, of the Vertemati team . "Bu t they did nothing!" B Marcus Hansson also tried to protest. "I wen t up there, but was p hysically prevented from enterin g the roo m to register my protest for several minutes," he said. "When I fina lly go t in, 1 was told that the half-ho ur protest time had just ended!" Wh en advis ed of th e irregularities later, FIM jury president Am ost Zemen was deeply shocked, saying. "I was simply told that there was no protest." And o fficia lly, th ere wasn't! Had he been tested and penalized, the 6O-second time penalty for post-race no ise infringemen ts would ha ve d rop ped Martens to 16th, one place out of the points. Martens crashed out of race two, but has lost just three po ints to each of the most serious rivals for his title. Hansson and Joel Smets won the two rnotos, but each had a mechanical DNF as well. Despite the scandal, the Arco GP was a classic race, with four lead ers in each moto and sufficient tales o f w oe to ensure that onl y three rid ers made the top 10 in both outings! The drama sta rte d even befor e the gate dropped, as Smets' Vertemati fourstroke failed to respond to his kicking until 30 seconds before the sta rt. When the gate dropped, home hero Franco Rossi hit the gate and stalled , and was left on the line. Th en ca me the fir st turn. Martens had clearly holeshot, but as he cut across the pack on the ideal line, he was wiped out by [obe, The current champion was torpedoed into the fence, while the exchamp bounced off to hold an initi a l second pl ace behind teammate Gerald Delepine. The FN 1-2 did not last long. By lap three Delepine had been p ushed back to fifth, and a lap later Hansson and Smets drove under [obe after sixth- and ninthplaced opening laps . Following a poor gate, the Sw ed e Hansson - had been lucky to be so high on lap one. He pro fit ed fr o m th e Jobe/Martens crunch, as he was able to slip inside and lead until half d istance. Hansson's luck d id not last, however . "It was a silly mistake," he said. "The fro n t wheel slip ped away a nd 1 went down. I was al read y catching Sm ets again when th e chain broke over the jump before the finish line." The points leader was ou t. Sme ts then held a 25-second lea d , and went on to wi n comfortably; the man to inherit second was Martens. The Belgian had ridden a fantastic race from the back to be seventh by lap four, and then demote [obe. "I could have taken him (out), bu t I mad e a nice clean pass along the start straight," said Martens. Before the fi nish , Martens' ha rd earned second place suddenly appeared to be in dan ger, as Liles, who had rid den hard from a seco nd- lap fall wh ich had pushed him back to 13th, became a threat. Martens' pipe was hanging precariously and his bike was losing pow er, the mount having finally snapped after its hefty blow in tum one. But then, with a lap and a half to go, it was Liles' tum to worry as he picked up a rear flat tire. Martens ' mechanic Graham Kent ha d sent a helper back to the pit s for tools and a spare silencer jus t in case - and with a lap to go, the pipe was gone! But as his pit crew waited to fit the replacement in the signalling area at the end of the race, Martens brushed everyone as id e and rod e back to the p its . While others were be ing stopped for noise tests, the Husqvama was back in the tent having the replacement silencer fitted . Afterwards, the Husky was never noise-tested anyway. Iobe ' s attempt to resis t h is sli d e down the field had been abrup tly halted when he collided with Ronn y Weustenraed. Both riders blamed the other, but the Flemish Weu stenraed was quick est to his feet and regai ned a top-six placing on the last lap . Moto two was just as thrilling. Again Sm ets had d ifficu lty sta rting his bik e, and it was tiles w ho had to start from way down after tang ling with teammate Danny Theybe rs coming out of the gate. Up front , Weusten r aed had the ho leshot and simply d isappeared in to the d istance for 20 minutes, while Rudi Van Lee u wen was black-flagged from the leaderboard wh en his bike lost its muffler. This was a controversial move, as Martens hadn't been black-flagged in moto one. Some claimed this w as because Martens was aboard an Italianbuilt Husqvarna, w hile Van Leeuwen rides a Honda. Smets and Marten s, the men who had beaten Weu stenraed in ra ce on e,

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