Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~;' .M T C O S OO R S .. .World C hampionship 125cc Motocross Series Round 9: German GP (Left ) Bobby Moore (82) can . now see the li ght at the end of the tunnel, and that light Is the World Champ ionship 125cc MX title. The Californian now enjoys a 300p0lnt lead over Alessio ChlOdI with two GPs left in the series. Moore won both motos In German y. (Below) Tallon Vohland combined 3-7 moto fin ishes to nail down third overall. By Alex Hodgkinson GOLDBACH,GERMANY, JULY 31 ob Moore moved one step closer to that elusive World title when he . recorded h is fo u r th .w in in the 12Scc World Ch ampion ship Series, in Goldbach, Germany, thus extending his lead in the sta ndings to 30 poin ts with just two GPs re ma ini ng. He took full advanta ge when his main rival Alessio Ch iodi wen t ou t of the opening moto with a mechanical problem. Moore handed out a sound defeat to the Italian in a straigh t fight in race two to record his firs t 1-1 day of th e campa ign. Bader Mann eh took third overall from 3-7 moto finishes to move back to seven th in the standings despite riding almost the entire second race without a front brake. The te nsion was taken out o f th e world title battle on the first lap of the opening moto . Most riders were taking it cautio usly behind holeshot artiste Manneh on the first la p around a hilly track made extremely slippery by water hoses five minu tes before the drop of the gate. Tw o men, however, could not afford such a luxury. Moore was fourth after ha lf a lap and s till advancing, as was Chio d i from eigh th. • But the Italian never completed the lap. As he land ed off the jump halfwa y up the long climb to the. finish line; his Honda cough ed and ground to an immediate halt. The Italian kicked fo r all he was worth, but his bike wo uld not rest art and was wheeled away to the paddock by a bowed- head mechanic; the needle in the carbure tor had become dislodged and Chiodi suddenly saw himself facing B a ma jor points deficit to his American rival. Moore, fast est in qu alifying, was out to take maximum ad vantage a nd s co r che d p ast Manneh fo r the lead before the end of lap two to win unchallenged . The only man to come close to Moore was Chiodi. The carbu retor having been rep aired, the Italian sneaked back ont o the track even though a bike which has returned to the paddock rather tha n the work area is specifica lly excluded from rejoining the race. Chiodi la tched onto his titl e rival until the finish . " I w as n ' t b othered ," exp la in ed Moore later. "He kept showing me his front wh eel but I knew he wouldn' t take me out. I had a big lead so I cha nged my lines as well. I don't th ink he learn ed anything for race two ." The FIM Jury were not so impressed. President Ton y Skillington su mmoned Chiodi and his team boss Corra do Mad d ii during the interval, bu t onl y hung a 250 Sw iss Franc fi ne on the m for "unsporting conduct." . " I was quite lenient as they never actua lly touched and they pleaded that Moo re had d on e th e same in Spain," explai ned the Ir ishman, Skillington. " But tw o wrongs d on' t make a rig ht, an d th e y kn ow I w ill be in charge at both remaining GPs." The org anizers had to s heepishly admit that they wer e no t able to call in Ch iodi beca use they could n' t find the black flag! An excell ent bat tle for second was eve n tua lly won by Pedro Tragter, the de fending title hold er keeping his cool after going to the gate last after having to change the ignition in the pre-staging area . Manneh kept third ah ead of Fred eric Vialle an d Ma uro Dal' Lag o, th e la tter requiring a brace on his left knee after a s econ d moto cr as h at the previ ous round in San Marino. Dave Strijbos had also been invol ved in the tussle until he crashed out after 20 minutes. Peter Beirer eve n tua lly wo n another tig h t strugg le for six th w ith [ochen Jasinski . Manneh again ho lesh ot in race two, bu t got a nasty shock as he went to the downhill turn tw o : "I touched w ith someone in that first tu rn and mu st have bent the front disc," said Manneh. After scrambling a round the turn he hel d on for half a lap before d ropping rap id ly back to seventh. Ou t of traffic Ma n neh was ab le to ada pt his riding and head ed off Strijbos to the flag to earn third on the day. Moore and Ch iod i we re 1-2 before th e end of the lap, and th e Ame rica n handed out a demoralizing defeat to the Italian, mov ing into a clea r -cu t lead within th ree laps and extending his ad vantage to the end. Tragter moved through th e pack to third, finally a n nexing tha t po sit ion from Beirer two and a half laps from the end when the German slipped off on a downhill tum. Team Italia must have gon e hom e thinking there was a jinx on them at the uphill ju mp.before the finish . Chiodi's tea mmate Dal'La go was 10th until he landed badly there and had to drop the b ik e immedi ately to cra wl o ver the trackside ban king for attention to his left wris t. 0GermanGP Goldbach, Germany Results: Ju ly 31, 1994 (Round 9 of 11) MOTO 1: 1. Bob Moo re (Yam); 2. Ped ro Tragter (Suz); 3. Bader Manne h (Suz); 4. Frederic Vialle (Kaw); 5. Mauro Dal'Lego (Hon); 6. Peter Beiter (5uz) ; 7. Jochen Jasinski (Kaw); 8. Massimo Bartolini (TM); 9. Mikael Maschio (Yam) ; 10. Fabio Balducci (Han); 11. Marcel Van Dru nen (Han); 12. Alessa ndro Belometti (Hus) ; 13. Mich ae l Governeur (Kaw); 14. Ole Eifre m (Kaw); 15. Roy Sncllingen (So2). MOTO 2: 1. Moor e; 2. Alessio Ch iodi (Han); 3. Tragter; 4. Beirer : 5. Via lie; 6. Bartolini; 7. Manneh; 8. Da ve Strijb os (Suz ); 9. Ba ld uc ci ; 10. Maschi o; 11. Oaudio Federici (Yam) ; 12. Leon C iesbers (Suz) ; 13. Snellingen; 14. Belomctti; 15. Cristian Stevanini (Yam). O/k 1. Bob Moore (Yam ); 2. Ped ro Tragtcr (So2); 3. Bader Manne h (Suz); 4. Fred eric ViaUe (Kaw); 5. Peter Beirer (Suz) ; 6. Mas sim o Bar to lini (TM); 7. Al essio C h iod i (Han) ; 8. Fabio Bald ucci (H a n); 9. Mika e l Maschio (Yam); 10. Mauro Dal'l.ago (Ho n). WORLD CHAMPIONSH IP 125ee MX SERI ES POINTS STANDINGS (After 9 of 11 rounds): 1. Bob Moore (28714 w ins ); 2. Alessio Ch iod i (257/3); 3. Ped ro Tragte r (224); 4. Dave Strijbos (156/ 1); 5. Mikael Pichon (152/ 1); 6. Pet er Beire r (128); 7. (TIE) Bad er Manneh I Freder ic Viall e (126); 9. Mauro Da l' Lago (119); 10. Ma ssimo Ba rtoli ni 114; 11. Mikael Masch io (84); 12. Fabio Bald ucci (76); 13. Loon G iesbe rs (74); 14. John Van den Berk (49); 15. Claudio Federici (38); 16. Ma rcel Van Dronen (37); 17. Alessand ro 8e lometti (36); ]8. Roy Snellingen (25); 19. Charrel Sweebe (23); 20. Cristian Stevanini (23). Upcoming Rounds: . Round 10 - Foxhills, England, August 7 Rna! Round - 8orgloon. Belgium, August 28

• Cover