Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD·RACE . World Championship Road Race 5enes " grand stand v i ew of his victors' antics. Almost half a minute behind, K azuto Sakat a cruised home a cautious ninth enough to secure the world title for the Japanese rider , who had crashed twice in p ractice. He tearfully joined the top three on the rostrum, saying: "I had no id ea I would feel so emotional." Martinez w as as thrilled as a teenager with his 37th GP win. "On the last lap I was prepared to crash or win," said the 34-year-old Spaniard. "For Yamaha, it's th e reward for two years' hard work." Ama zing y o u n g Spaniard Emili Alzamora's M arlboro Honda led the first l ap, h is firs t time ever up front; and he sta yed in touch as a fierce four-bike battle developed, the lead changing bac k and forth between him, Martinez, Perugini and his teammate Gian l u i g i Scal vini. They w ere frequently tw o or thre e abreast i n the comers, with Alzamora making up for a l ack of p o w er with · ultra-daring braking. Pole qualifier Ueda, meanwhile, had started sl ow l y , 10th at the end of lap I on e, but was picking his way through to the front so that by half distance it was a five-bike battle. The Japanese rider took control seven I laps from the end, but as he powered away Martinez took up station inches from his back wheel, waiting to pounce, leav ing the other three to sl o w each . other with their relentless battle. Ueda had a power advantage, M ar tinez better. brakes and handling, and II' i I I I ·'8 ·..fl'1' .'. ' rI'e ' 0\ ...-i N" ...-i l-< ~ .g .... o 12 U Martinez moved ahead on the first corner of the last lap. Ueda powered past on th e back straight, Martinez d ived inside aga i n at the next b end, and n ow there seemed no more overtaking chances l eft. But Ueda found one , three corners from th e end, only to be flabbergasted w hen Martinez promptly forced back underneath him at the last tight bend. Perug ini had escaped from h i s t w o riva ls an d almost caught up in the last lap, on ly t o run wide and lose touch again, still co m f or tab l y third. Scalvini and Alzamora were fourth and fif t h , scrap ping to th e end. . Dir k Ra udi es eventually prevailed over Tak eshi Tsujimura (both Hondas) fo r sixth, with Tokudome lea d ing a sixb i k e group o ve r the line in pursuit Sakata, Giro, Prein, Aoki and Oettl, the last named running off the track twice in th e process. With Sakata una ssailabl e on 215 p oints, Ueda's secon d gave him a bo ost in their battle for second ov er all. He now lead s Tsujirnura 184 p oin ts to 177, with Delli on 140, Raudies 137 and ·M ar tinez 135 in the battle to be top European. CN Municipal Autodrome of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Brazil Results: September 25, 1994 125cc QUALIFYING: 1. Nob oru ' Ve d a (1:52.688 / 86.16 mph); 2. Jo rge Martine. (1:52.752); 3. St ef an o Perugini (1:52.79 1); 4. H id ~ yuk i Na kajyo (1:53.045); 5. Charlie C iro (1:53.074); 6. Emilio Alza mo ra (1:53.357); 7. Giov a ni Scalvi ni (1:53.363); 8. Oliver Koch (1:53.580); 9. Takeshi Tsujim ura (1:53.582); 10. Stefan Prein (1:53.607); 11. Peter oau (1:53.659); 12. Kazuto Saka ta (1:53.868); 13. Haruch ika Aold (1:53.672); 14. Dirk Raud ies (1:53.741); 15. Akira Saito (1:53.848); 16. Oliver Pe trucci a n i (1:53.971) ; 17. S. Porco (1:54.108) ; 18. Fred e ri c Pe t it (1:54 .123); 19. Ma saki Tok u d o me (1:54.150); 20. Ma;k Stief (1:54.237); 21. Loek Bodelier rides for the FCC Technical Sports team, had been told .that British bright hope Sean Emmett, lent for the race by his regular . they would get a Honda'NSR250 for him next season. Now that entrants Shell Team Harris. It was notnecessarily a dream tick- ' .. . ' . ' . ~ ~. . .. has fallen·th rough ·for lack' of finance. Tsuilmura is a key name . ' et, since Emmett had several hurdles to overcome; all under ' . ~ . for the future of the Suzuki effort. ' '. . . " severe pressure ota one- or two-race deal. He had to' adapt AliNays controversial, the A..gentlneGP 'defied all predictions of . from a Harris Yamaha to a works Suzuki; to ride for 'the'first time cancellation : but lived up to most people's fears, with 'several . The' GP 'future ofCaglva remaineduncertain i"Argentina, with ' ever on Michelins, and io give a good account of himself or look delays through 'the weekend at a track with 'dilapidated f acilities . team boss Giacomo Agostini saying that there should be a' deeistupid, all on a track so sllppery"off the racing line that the requ.' and service, and a worrying new circuit surtace that started off ' '. sionafter the last GP at Catalunya iri two weeks. Factory owner tar riders ~ with a full year on their.bikes rather than a few hours · slippery, then had more oil and diesel 'dumped on it by service . Claud io' castfgllonl had denied any plan.to pull out, but there" . '- werean complaining about. "I'm riding the bike as Kevin had it, more or less. We're the 'same size. It feels really good. It's not vehicles, and was ' conoernned as unrideable In the' wet by tire · . are' persistent' reports from Italy that a withdrawal was a condi· technicians'and riders:'In the end: the races went off smoothly; tion ofa rescue package from a consortium' of banks after the that much quicker than the Harris out of the comers, butonce with few crashes and no serious injuries; and the weather was company ran ihto cash flow problems earlier this season. Now it · the. revs get up it really ·goes fast. The biggest difficulty is. the warm and sunny: But it was. by the skinoi their teeth, and with seems much depends on John KocinskI. If he stays, inferred ' tires. I'm used to Dunlops;that you can really abuse; but Miche-. criticism of .the organizers coming from every quarter, a return ' 'Agostini, the team sUlVives. If not, they may close down. Kocin- Iins have the reputation that they really grip well, then .et go all . I · visit nextyear'is far from certain..The track design, substantially Ski is known' 10 favor a 1995 title attack on a Honda-whlch . of a sudden.' It's probably more the reputation than the feel, but reprofiled in parts and completely resurfaced since Ihe last visit . would be a f?rTnidable force. But it is very unlikely that a bike will · · I'm nervous of them." . in 1987, won general approval both on grounds of safety .and in . be forthcoming directly from the factory for the bad boy of rae· being interesting and enjciyable, although four first-gear comers · .ng, who has a!ready bUITo'.ed hiS. bn~ges W Marl~oro.Yamaha . · . he most 'iavored by the last-minute deal was British 12SCc reg- . ith T make it rather tight for 500s .· Thesurtace problems were . and LUCkY Strike SUZUki, .and IS Viewed as a. hlqh-r lsk team .ular Nell .Hodgson, who took over Emmell's Shell Harris seat. twofold. Rrstly, it was very "green", With no wear,oils still rising; ' . member. Another possibility would be a leased works bike, with . HOdgson isway too big for 125s and is one of few riders in the' and norubber laid down by prevlous use. Secondly, there were . EIV Kanemoto or possibly Sito Pons: But .Kanemoto, who has . :class never to have scored a point. He redressed the balance at ihe spillages. On Friday; an ambulance left·a spoor.of oit' it ' . gUided Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson and Luca Cadalora to a ' Buenos Aires with asafe and steadfast ride to 15th,and one ' toured the track. The high-pressure cleaning machine that came . string of world titles, is at his weakeslin securing the big-money . point. . ' 10 clear up only leaked more .oil itself; 'then on Saturday5PO " back!ng he ~~uld need, an~ Pons only got his current Ducados , practice was delayed by almost an hour because.of a big-time . backing by hlnngAlberto PUlg.. : British leather suppliers Frank Thomas had good reason' to be pleased with having been 'able to kit Emmett out in Lucky Strike · spillage of diesel on one'turn bya truck taking lunch to the mar: shals. . . .··A major fig~t is .brewing both ,within teams' association IRTA . Suzuki gear by remote control. in a matter of days. Rightly so - . ' .• and beiween them and Ihe major factories and sponsors: It con-: . . but for' one thing. They copied the 'wrong design, and the Briton Aprilia factory tester Marcellino Lucchl had come to Argentina . · cems cost-:eutting proposals to .limit 250/125 teams to one.bike . was obliged to wear last year's.livery rather than thisyear's, less than two weeks earlier inan attempt to give Max Blaggl an per .rider.' Accord ing to chief executive ' PaUl Butler, all IRTA edge on Qaarbox and chassis settings, and found the sllck-yet- committee meeting at LagunaSeca voted unanimously to, go . Mystery continued to surround a rumoured connection between . bumpy surface so slippery.that he was unable even to get his . forward with .this plan, the next stage of which would be to put if Team Roberts and F-1 Team MaClare'n, who share Marlboro knee down. After that, tlie .whole track was sandblasted, which ' '. to .tne Grand Prix Manufacturers' 'Association. But there was an · sponsorship.' Team Roberts 'engineers ·are reported to have brought fresh problems. As Michael Doohan said; "The racing ' . angry 'response from several factory team 'representatives at .been regular visitors to MaClaren's British headquarters during line is :okay, but. a few .feet off it looks as thoughsomebody's Argentina, who denied that the vote tiad been unanimous, and . this season, and many expect the Roberts Yamahas will'liave ' · dumped a beach, If you get in too hot or go off line, the front just ' insisted that the rule was' being steam-rollered through by lATA .chassis inpul from the c;ar men next year.·But Roberts himself ' tries to fold. If this was Australia,we ·wouldn't 'ride, but I guess · "mandarins in defiance 'of factory wishes. "II's crazy," said Carto denies ariyconnection. . . it'sdifferent being here. If it doesn't improve, we won 't be able to . Pernat, head of the Aprilia team-. "We don't want this rule, but race - just ride around, 'Whoever is first into the first.bend will .they are ignoring us." HRC representative lain Mackay agreed. Argentina lived up' to .ilsshifty reputation , at least for GP TV . win~"· The track 'was washed with high' pressure hoses after the . We were under the impression that this was a proposal 'to go .. rights owners COrna. Even before the meeting began.' they had ' " first ~untimed" session;' in' which some riders used intermediate, before the sportinqrules commission ,: as specified In IRTA's . · a 'TV camera stolen from their consignment of freight. Many tires, and improved a Iittle ·by the afternoon; but the riders still . " own constitution and rules;". he. said. "Now Ihey are breaking people, disgruntled ·at having to make the costly journey 10 a· fou~d it greasy and unpredictable on race day. ' . ' .their own rules to push ahead with il against our will. The vote to . sub-standard track, with. appalling facilities and expensive living ' adopt this as a new rule was certainly not unanimous, as they .conditions; felt there was some. justice. since the whole fraught ' IRTA Chief Executive Paul Butler excused Ihe 'surface of the . say.~ The .f.ightthreatens to \lrow to serious proportions, with the ' affair carneabout largelY all~e Spanish company's insistence. . track, saying that the tire.people·should b6 able -to come uP.with risk that manufacturers and sponsors will pull out of the GPs someth ing to cope; anda Dunloptechnican quietly' agreed. : '.altogether. ' Then! is already' argument over the idea of cutting .Baby-boom 'i ime in the paddock, with both DOl,lg Chandlerand · However they had all been caught out, expecting a more abra- . . costs for top level racing, rather' than investing 'in findin'g more Mick Doohan's crew chief Jeremy Bl,lrgess becoming fathers of , daughters in the intelVal after the U.S. GP. Chandler's second ' · sive surface and bringing a generally too-hard selilction of com' " fiJnds: As one top team' manager said: · Porsche.lost 50 percenl · pounds to suit. Their.real fear concerned the possibility of rain, of .their US sales in the recession, but they didn't start.building child has been named Rainee Layne, in honor of his near neighmade more acute.by a violent hailstorm in the center of the city · Skodas instead. PreselVingthe quality of the show is otpara-: . bor Wayne Rainey. His son.is called Jett Wayne. Thenewbom '. on Saturday morning, .whlchfortunatelymissed the .track by ·... moun~ impcrtance." . Miss BlJrgessWiII,be called .Lisa Martine: .., some' nine miles. Dunlop and Michelin actually hild an unprece.. . dented meeting before 'practice began to.discuss what m ight be ' . Kevin SchwantZ was' in ' Argentina 'sporting plaster casts on ' Regular bulletins 'about SCott Doohan kept coming to the pad: ' . . both wrists, but walking well in spite of dislocating his hip two . dock in Argentina, the news mercifully gelling better day by day. . done, The answer; by that stage, was: "Nothing.~ · :·weeks bef()re in the U.S. GP.The right wrist has a fractured Mick's elder brother crashed heaVilyin the AMA U.S. Superbike Daryl Beattie for Lucky Strike Silzukl? 'Rumors of a surpnse ' scaphoid, which has been left to heal naturally. His left wrist, . '. National ,at Road Atlanta, suffering a number of injuries includ~ ' : rescue of the' aueensl.ander's foundering GP career following '. : 'injured at' Assen arid ctamaged again at every sUbsequeni'race, ing deep concussion, his left arm broken in two places, his is the real probll3m.Schwantz had surgery the week after the pelvis fractured, a punctured lung, and his internal organs bal- ' · his switc.h from Hondlfto Yamaha were given added weight U.S. GP,and ihree bones were removed from hisw;;st, inclurl-. · tered. ·He did regain consciousness after reaching hospital, but when he flew to Brilain afterthe GP, and was·tracked to a .hotel : close to·the team's·base 'in Kent:Beattie,who won the German : ·ihg the shattered Scaphoid. Earlier they had considered fusing . was'put under,again because of the internal injuries..However,. · GP in 1993 and finished fourth in the World Championship; ran ' ..some bones, but surgeons opted for removal: "I should .have 75 . he was recovering well, said Mick:':The doctors say that he will . straight into the doldrums after he was lelgo by Honda and was . to.80 percent of movement," said Schwantz. "One.goOd thing is .recover completely from the headinjuries.~ picked up by Team Marlboro Roberts. He has 'only finished . that I won 't have to . have carpal tunnel surgery . They had : three GPs in 1994,.and missed three others after lOSIng the tips : thought I would need two oPerations.'Now I should be ready io . Injured Spaniard Herrl Torrontegul missed the Argentine GP of his toes in .a practice crash before ,he'd even Completed'one . start .testing in December." . . . .. . after making a brave ' attempt to ride in the USA. The works lap of Le Mans. Cynics shOoktheir heads in Argentina toci when ' . .' ' . . . . . Semprucci-Krona Aprilia .rider,teammate to World Champion· he pulled in only three laPs from.the endcomplaining of sliding. What is it with Kevin Schwantz and roses? In 1989 he seni 500 .eleCt Kazuto Sakata, suffered leg andfoolinjuries in a start-fine · · tires~ taking the view that most other .riders would cruise round of thethomy blooms to' Argimtinian bilauty Gabrielle Sabatini to ' shunt at Bmo. Australian Gary McC.oy was reported to be Irying the remaining distance.- he was In a position to score.points. console .her for her loss of the Wimbledon womeri singles tll1e;' to take over his ride after walking out of hfs AGV-Attak team; but · The surprise'Suzuki link cOmes with a rumor that they will run'a .: now he. responded to an invitation.to the presidential palace in the plan was foiled by Torrontegui's Laguna Seca attempt. ' Ihree'riderteamin 1995; with Beattie jOining incumbents Kevin Argentina by sending 1000.roses ·to .the president's daughter. . · SchWanlzand Alex Barros. . . ' Schwantz presented president Carlos Menem with a helmet, . . SpaniSh 500 privateer 'Juan LopeZ-Melia was. sporting a cast . . ' .' . ' . _ : and also meih'is rally-riding Son Carlos 'Junior, as .well as his on his left 'arm: after a strange episode .in the USA. He had ' ,'Suzukes hope of running a 250ce team next year got a boost in ' . daughter ZUlemita~ 'who runs a motorcycle dealership; . crashed at Laguna and incurred a slight fracture. After.the race,'. .Argentina with news that current 125 star Takeshl Tsujlmura ' :, .,' ' . . ..' . ' .. .. ' ". driving a rental car,·an inspired pieee of steering:wheel twirling .' , :. may' be back on the market T~e tacitum 'JapanElSB rider, who . , Schwanlz's place .:0 .0 the Lucky Strike Suzukiwas taken by Completedthe job. The bone snapped; ' . ... as 'g, Round 13: Argentine Grand Prix

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