Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

···E D R. . , . . NUO "; \ ,- - . WoridChampiOllsh~E~i~·~rll!S:· Round 5: Finland Petterl Silvan s nuck Into the Ughtweight class se ries points lead by winning both days at his home round. (Right) Dominating the Heavyweight division, Giovanni Sala increased his series lead to a - commanding 38 points. (Below) In the Ughtweight FourStroke class, Arnalda Nicoli posted 3-4 finishes over the two days . (Bottom) Karl Tlalnen performed well In his homeland. It seems certain he'll be the HeavyweightFourStroke champion. (Left) Strong Finnish By Jose de Louw· Translation by Geoff Meyer A le photos by Meyer jAMSA, FINLAND, JUNE 18-19 in n Petteri Silvan proved that home is indeed sweet, scoring his first win of the series in the lightweight division (O-I25cc)on his home turf, and also taking over the se ri es points lead. Giorgio Grasso appeared to be running away with the class title for the first half of the series, onl y to crash out of the previo us round and lose the lead to defend ing champ Paul Edmondson. While Grasso sa t out round five with a punctured kidney, Edm ondson failed to finish Day One when his Gas-Gas experienced a mechanical failure. Silvan 's EI Campero / Lucky Expl ore r IH usqv a rna teamma tes als o p e rform ed well, with Swed e Svene rik Jonsson and Finn Kari Tiainen topping the Lightweight Four-Stroke (0-35Occ) and H eavyweight Four-Stroke (35 1cc+) classes, respectively. Tiainen extended his already comfortable points lead, and Jonsson's win put him at the top of his class. Farioli KTM-mounted Giovanni Sala was the victor in the Heavyweight (126cc+)category. F DAY 1 28 Silvan, who lives in [amsa, was unbelievable on Saturday, winning his class in all but one of the timed tests, and taking 20 points in the series. "I was expect- ed to do well here," he said. "I do all my pre-season riding in the area ." Edmondson, meanwhile, failed to finish, dropping out when his bike quit during a special test "I took a jump in one of the special tests, and it just cut out," said Edmondson. "At first I thought it had run out of petrol, but when I put it on reserve nothing happened." It was later discovered tha t a jet had been blocked in Edmondson's carburetor, stopping the fuel from passing into the air mixture. Sweden's Jeff Nilsson took advantage of Edmondson's misfortune, finish ing in second place. Sala knows how to w in u nder any conditions. On Day One in Finland, the Italian failed to win a single special test, but his consistency still ha d him at the top of th e Hea vyweigh t class results. Sala po sted fifth- and sixth-place times in two tes ts, but was th e runner-up in each of the remaining sections. "It is not how you win, it is only if you win," he reasoned. Defending cha m pion Tullio Pellegrinelli had looked likely to win the first day, only to drop out minutes from the end. Second place then went to Totip Yamaha rider Paolo Fellegara, who had won the first test. Jonsson regained the series lead in the Lightweight class with his Day-One win, though rival Mario Rinaldi was just 13 seconds off the pace. "I'm starting to ride a little stiff," said Jonsson. "I feel nervous. I hope the Italian (Rinaldi) feels the same. H In third was Arnaldo Nicoli , 32 seconds off Jonsson's pace. Anders Eriks son wa s ex pected to perform well in Finland, but dropped out on Day One with a mechanical failure. One rider everyone expected to do well was Tiainen, and the Finn did no t disappoint. He didn't score worse than second in the special tests in the Heavyweight Four-Stroke class, and was 22 second s ahead of [araslov Katrinak at the end of Day One. Fabio Farioli was third, the chances of defending his title slipping from his grasp. DAY 2 Edmondson had to make a real charge on Sunday, and the Gas-Gas rider appeared to have it under control after winning the first two tests. Silvan made a surge, however, coming back to score wins in three of the last four sections . He wrapped up the day's top spot in the Lightweight division by a mere

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