Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I·· :IN.T~E W~ND. ·. ·. :; :I Doohan wins, Schwantz crashes in France H RC's Michael Dooh an d id n't rea lly need mu ch help in chasing his first 500cc World Championship, but Lucky Strike Suzu ki's Kevin Schwantz gave it to him anywa y at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on July 17. With Doohan winning .his sixth straight GP and his seven th of the season, Schwantz crashed out of the race on the final lap whi le disputing third place . Schwantz's mishap comb ined with Doohan's victory gives the Australian a whopping 76-point lead after nine of 15 rounds, 211-135. Second place in Le Mans went to Cagiva' s John Kocinski, who finished 6.101 seconds beh ind Doohan and some five second s ahead of a battle between the Hondamounted Spaniards of Alex Criville and Alberto Puig ..Schwantz had been disputing third place with Criville wh en he crashed out of the race on the final lap . Honda's Shinichi Itoh, Lucky Strike Suzuki's Alex Barros, Marlboro Yamaha 's Luca Cadalora, and the Roc Yamahas of Jeremy McWilliams, Mark Garcia and Juan Lopez Mella filled the top 10. Cagiva's Doug Chandler didn't finish the race after running into mechanical problems on the Italian V-four . Schwantz's non-finish also allowed the others to close in on him for second in the title chase . He now leads Kocinski by 28 points, 135-107, with Criville fourth on 106 points. Puig is fifth with 103 points. The 250cc Grand Prix was won by Italian Loris Capirossi )with the Marlboro Pileri Honda rider beating countryman Doriano Romboni and the HB Honda by a scant .689of-a-second. Chesterfield ApriIia's Max Biaggi finished third ahead of the HB Honda of RaIf Waldmann. Frenchman Jean-Michel Bayle had his career best finish in fifth on the Chesterfield Aprilia. . The French Grand Prix marked the GP debut for American Donnie Hough. The Colorado resident finished 25th in the GP on the Team Beckett Honda. Biaggi's lead in the championship is now only a single point over Capirossi, 144143, with Tadayuki Okada third with 132 points. Okada finished ninth in France. Japan's Noburo Ueda won the 12Sec Grand Prix, beating fellow Japanese Honda pilot Takeshi Tsujimura by just .1l2-of-a-second. Championship leader Kazuto Sakata was third on the factory Aprilia. Sakata leads Ueda in the title chase, 170-105. Scott Plessinger (KTM) won the July 17 National Championship Hare Scrambles round in Kahoka, Missouri. Rodney Smith (Suz) was second ahead of Scott Summers (Hon), Tom Norton (Kaw) and Randy Hawkins (Suz). Marlboro Racing will join Drag Specialties as sponsors of the August 10 Rapid City Half Mile Grand Na tional, held in Rapid City, South Dakota, during Sturgis Bike Week. Both Marlboro Racing and Drag Specialties will be on hand with display booths. In addition, the Marlboro Racing Indy Car will be on display on August 8 at Sturgis Harley-Davidson, on August 9 at Rice Honda in Rapid City, and on August 10 at Black Hills Harley-Davidson in Rapid City. For more information call GM Enterta inment Promotions at 817/536-9970. Bartels' Harley-Davidson is presenting a Harleys Only Rider Improvement Course on the Streets of Willow Springs course at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California, October 15. The Bartels' -sponsored school will concentrate on refining accid ent av oidance skiIls such as panic braking (using a bike w ith anti-crash training wheels), steering techniques and traction control. Keith Code will serve as the course instructor, and Bartels' mechanics will be on hand to offer technical assistance. The ith five rounds still remaining in the seaso n, Micha el Craig (right) has come to an agreement wi th Team Yamaha to prematurely end his first-ever factory ride. The agreement came at the July 17 Unadill a National MX in New Berlin, New York, afte r Crai g dropped ou t o f th e firs t 250cc moto. Craig, who rod e. on a semi-fac to ry d eal with Team Kawasaki last year, was hired just prior to this seaso n as a last-minute replacement for Team Yamaha rider Damon Brad shaw. Bradshaw's much-publicized retirement also came prio r to completion of his contract. Craig's first season as a full-factory rider started off well, as he won h is first-ever Camel Sup ercross at round five in Tampa . But he has since struggled w ith injuries and has finish ed ou t of the top 20 over all in fou r of th e seven 250cc Nation al MX rounds comp leted thus far. "There was no thing wrong with the bikes or the people at Yama ha," sai d Craig, who sited stomach cramps and a flu bug as his reasons for quitting the moto. "It was CJ. jus t a situation where } though t it w ou ld be better for me. It was a mutual thing 0\ betw een me and Yamaha. I want to race, bu t I'm going to take a couple weeks off and ,..-( rest at horne." . Yamaha personnel were not p repared to comment on the situation as we went to press. . Craig's departure leaves Jeff Emig as the sole team rider in the spacious team semi for the remainde r of the seaso n. Emig will retu rn in '95, and young gun Kevin Wind ham will most likely join him. In addition, the squad is actively pursuing Steve Lamson. Lamson is rumored to have issued an ultimatum to his current bosses at Team Honda /l-8OD-COLLECf, asking them to come up with an offer as soon as possible. W 2 Fay crowned 600cc National Cham ion ' - . M ickey Fay (right) piloted his Rotax-powered 600cc dirt tracker to the win at the Ju ly 16 Castle Rock 600cc TT, and in th e process, wrapped up his first-ever AM A 600cc Na tion al Championship. Fay's win broke the six-year reign of Team Harley-Davidson's Chris Carr, and the personable Spanaway, Wash ington, resident becom es the fi rs t ri der other than Ca rr to own th e 600cc National Championship title. Due to the conflicting AMA Grand National Half Mile at Hagerstown Sp eedwa y in Hager st own, Maryland, Carr was not on hand to keep his title hopes alive, but still had a decent chance of retaining his crown. With two wins and 40 poin ts, Carr would have earned his seventh title if Fay didn't finish any better than second. "Entering Castle Rock, I knew tha t 1 had to win the race to earn the championship," said Fay. "It was pretty nerve wracking. I was nervous for weeks prior to the race . Luckily, everything just went my way and it all came together." Fay missed the se ries opening Daytona Short Track, but finished second at the Bellingham Short Track and eighth at the Peoria TT. Those finishes, coupled with his win at the Castle Rock Series finale, were good enough to edge out Carr's wins at Daytona . and Peoria In the final point standings, Fay edged Carr by a mere three points, 43-40. "It's too bad that the 600 series has been reduced to only four races," said 35-yearold Fay. "1 really wish the emphasis were on the 6005,not those 883s. Just about everyone has a 600, and the racing is so much more exciting." Fay, who now works full time as a gravel truck driver, was a three-year member of the factory Honda team in the earl y 80s, and has three Grand National TT and two 600cc National TT wins to his credit. "1 guess you could say that TTs have always been my strong point," said Fay. "In my op inion , a TT requires the widest range of skiIls. You have to be able to slid e, and to ju mp. It's not a horsepower game like the miles . Skill plays a bigger role." Fay lists Paul Peroli Racing, Maxima, Pro Sport, Vince Holt, Bell, Scott USA, Works Performance, Joe McCoy, Hoffman Engine Dynamics, Jim Roseth, Hinshaw's Honda, Downtown Harley-Davidson, Dirt Track Numberplates and Lester's Machine Shop as his sponsors. Jeff Annen (W-R), Joe Kopp (W-R), Dan Stanley (Rtx) and Gary Strode (Rtx) rounded out the top five at Castle Rock. Moore, Chiodi share San Marino 125cc GP MX wins ob Moore (right) maintained his slim seven point lead over Italy's Alessio Chiodi (Suz) in the World Championship 12SecMX Series after recording 1-2 moto finishes at the San Marino 12Sec GP in Baldasseron, July 17. Chiodi, however, kept pace wit h Moore by turning in similar 2-1 finishes . Chiodi was declared the overall winner of the event by virtue of his win in the tie-breaking second moto. Moore, on the Rinaldi Yamaha,'now has 247 points, w hile Ch iodi still lurks close behind with 240. ' . Fin ish in g third over all w ith 5-3 moto finishes was Dutchman Davey Strijbos (Suz), who won the pr evious round in Holland. Rounding ou t the top five over all we re Massimo Barto lini (TM) of Ital y an d John Van Den Berk (Suz) of Holland. Meanwhile, near the Arctic Circle in central Finland, Frenchman Yves Dema ria of the Pepsi Honda team came away with the victory at the 250cc GP in Heinola, July 17. Demaria failed to win a moto bu t a set of 2-3 mo to finishes were good enough for the gold. Finish ing second was de fendi ng champ Greg Albertyn on the Johnson Suzu ki. Albertyn moved into a decisive lead in the series point stan dings, as chief rival Stefan Everts of Belgium was forced to sit out the race following a mid week cras h in which he broke his collarbone. Ever ts hopes to return at the next rou nd in Bud ds Creek, Mar yland, July 31. Albertyn now lead s Everts by 30 po in ts, 319-289. Dema ria is third with 230. . Belgian Werne r DeWit (Suz) and Swede Peter [oansson (Yam) rounded out the top five overall, wh ile American Trampas Parker (KTM) ended up sixth overall , via 6-7 moto finishes. At the SO GP in Diekirch, Luxembou rg, July 17, Marcus Hansson (Hon) of SweOcc den posted the ove rall win by racking up 2-1 finishes. Defending cha mp Jacky Mar tens of Belgium was the runner-up on his four-stro ke Husqvarna; he went 1-2. Hansson and Martens ma tched points on the day, and with just five rounds left in the series, Hansson maintains his four-point advantage over the reigning champ, 276-272. Thi rd overall in Luxembourg was Belgian Peter Dirkx (Hon), while Brit Mervyn Anstie (Hon) and Dutchman Gert Jan Van Doom (Hon) completed the top five. A broken wheel effectively end ed the title hop es of Husaberg's Joel Smets of Belgium, though he is third in the standings with 235. B

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