Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 10: British Grand Prix By Henny Ray Abrams OONINGWN PARK, ENGLAND,jULY24 e have seen him perform miracles so many time s that the y have become routine. Today, before a crowd of 35,000, World Cham pion Ke vin Schwantz amazed even himself. Racing with a left wrist he'd br oken a mo nth ago, the 30-year-old Texan kept his slim title hop es alive by winning the British Grand Prix, a race he can now call his own, and, in doing so, ended the sixrace winning s tr ea k of HRC's Mick Doohan. "If you had asked me last night I'd have told you I didn't think it was possible to win today," said Schwantz, who had highsided spectacularly during Saturday's qua lifying session without damaging his wrist. "I'd been surprised to be on pole in the early stages of practice, then when I fell yesterd ay afternoon, as I lay on the ground, I thought I was hurt worse and that my season was over." The win was the 25th of Schwantz's car eer and it moved him past Wayne Rainey and into fourth ove rall amo ng all-time wi nners of the 500cc class. It was his fourth win in seven tries at Donington Par k, making him the winningest rider at this flowing, but quirky 25-mile circuit in the British East Mid lands tha t plays havoc on tires. "It always feels good to win and this year it's gotten to where it feels good to just get on the rostrum," said the Lucky Strike Suzuki rid er, wh o hadn't tasted victory since the Japan ese Grand Prix in April. "The wri st was a lot be tter thi s week. I had no circulation pro blems and I had a coup le of chances to rest it." Schwantz took the lead from Doohan on the 19th of 30 laps after the Honda rider foun d his tire choice didn't allow him to accelerate as hard as he would have liked. - "His was gripping better in the faster stuff," Doohan said after finishing 2.366 seconds behind Schwantz. "I was just sliding around too much." His second was secure, though, as Marlboro Roberts Yamaha's Luca Cadalora was unable to mount a counter-attack after leading the first lap, then dropping back. The lone healthy survivor of the Roberts squad struggled with machine setup all weekend, never getting it right for the final three slow comers. "Du ring some parts of the race I was able to go quick, but during others I was a bit slow," the Italian said . Fourth and fifth went to the Cagivas of Joh n Kocinski and Doug Chand ler, with Chandler"leading a GP for the first time this year before hitting tire troubles, and Kocinski trying to make up for a bad start. Neither was able to make a move on Cad alora at the end - Kocinski because he felt the bike wasn't right, a nd Cha ndler beca u se he chose the wrong tire. "The result was a real pity because this was our kind of circuit," said Cha nd le r, who had su ffere d mecha nica l DNF's in the last two GPs and for the first time finis hed a Brit ish GP . "The acceleration isn't so im portant, apart W from the last three comers and the bike was good here. I thought we'd get a good result." HRC's Ale x Criville was a soli tary six th, happy to be there on a track he d oesn't like and with tir es th at went awa y at half-distance. Seventh was Ducados Ho nda Pons Alberto Puig. The Spani ard was slowed som ewhat when his forearms pumped up, but he was able to stay well in front of Slick 50's Niall Mackenzie, the first privateer to cross the finish line. HRC's Shinichi Itoh hit so meone in the first comer, then realiz ed he'd chosen too hard a rear tire, finished ninth. Team Millar's Jeremy McWilliams filled the top 10. Schwantz completed the 3D-lap, 75mile race in 47 minutes, 31.632 seconds at an average speed of 94.678 mph. With fou r races to go, Schw an tz trails Doohan, 23D-161. Kocinski moved back into third with his 120 points, eigh t better than Puig . Marlboro Team Pileri ' s Loris Capirossi took over the championship lead in the 2SOcc class by takin g a relatively easy win while Chesterfield April- ia's Max Biaggi crashed out of the race after an engin e seizure. "Looking at the championship point s itua tion I realize that Biaggi and (fadayuki) Okada now seem to be my ma in r ivals, but, to be quite honest , I think that from now on I am probably my own worst enemy," Cap irossi said. "I remember the way the championship went last year and the number of points lost through my own mistakes. So now, for the last four races, if my bik e performs as it did tod ay, I'll still be going for it every time, otherwise I'll be playing it safe because this time I am determined not to repeat the sa me story." (Capiross i lost the championship in the final race last year to Tetsuya Harada.) Capirossi joined Kanemoto Honda's Tadayu ki Okad a and HB Honda's Doriano Romboni in a three-rider breakaway just past the halfway point in the race, with Okada leading the trio until the 18th lap when Capirossi, gaining confidence in his tires, moved from third to first. From then on, there was no denying the Italian, and he took a 2.5-second lead into the finaI seven laps before ultimately winning by 3.233 seconds. Luca Cadalora (5) and Doug Chandler (10) got the jump on the field at the start of the British 500cc Grand Prix at Donlngton Park. Michael Doohan (4) and Kevin SChwantz (1) give chase. Biaggi crashed in the Melbourne Hairpin, a first-gear comer, when his engine seized while he was contesting fourth place near the end of the 19th lap . The Italian remoun ted, but only to ride slowly back to the pits. " Oka da held off Romboni at the line, crossing just 0.123 seconds in front as Romboni also struggled with rear tire problems. Yamaha Motor France's Tetsuya Harada was fourth, lea d ing the second pack from fourt h to seventh. The World Champion bested th e Chesterfie ld Aprilias of Jea n-Mich el Ba yle ma tching a career-best fifth - and JeanPhilippe Ruggia, wit h HB Honda's Ralf Waldmann "seventh after having run as high as four th, then hitting traffic late in the race. Capirossi completed the V -lap, 67.5mile race in 43 minutes, 18.624 seconds at an average speed of 93.507 mph.

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