Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127721
o 125cc : WHOSE TURN NEXT? Only a fool would attempt to pred ict the results in the 125cc class, where a small alteration in form from either rider or machine can make a huge difference in race resu lts. Surprisingly, in spite of the closeness of the races, this class freq uently sees one rider rise to domination. However, it is not very often the same rider yea r after year. In 1993 it was Dirk Ra ud ies on his Ho nda ; last yea r Kazuto Saka ta on the works Ap rilia. And it was Sakata again fastes t at Jerez. He faces formi d able rivals, ra nging from evergreen former multi-champion Jo rg e Martinez, in a second Yamaha year , to fello w Aprilia rid er Stefano Perugini, a newcomer who showed up last year and was running with the leade rs at the en d of it. And of course Noboru Ueda, now a season ed veteran after spea rheadi ng th e Japanese in vasion. One can d o little more here except list the nam es. As well as Sakata and Perugini, Aprilia hav e Peter Oettl, newcomer Gianluigi Scal vini and Japan's Masaki Tokudome on works-backed machines. Loek Bodelier is one of several notable privateers on the Italian bikes, with a tota l o f 11 Aprilias in the 30strong grid. .The muc h revised a nd upgrade d H ondas outnumber Aprili as b y five, with their usual mixing of kitt ed bikes for the top runner s. Th ese includ e o f co u rse, Raud ies a nd Ue da, and a lso Hideyuki Nakaj yo . Sp anish veteran H erri Torron tegu i is a H onda rec ru it from April ia, likewise his risin g young countryma n Emilio Alzamora; and Stefan Prein from Yamah a. Garry McCoy is also back on a Honda. Stalwarts of the brand includ e Akira Saito and girl-racer Tomoko Iga ta; a new Honda recruit is Tomomi Man ako, wh o made a stunning debut in Germany last year as substitute for the injured Yamah a rider Katoh , finishing third . Yamaha 's effort is miniscule by comparison , with the two works bikes ridden ag ain by " As p a r" Marti nez and Yoshiako Katoh , and Gabriele Deb bi a riding a third private bike . THUNDERBIKES: WELCOME ABOARD Plus , this yea r for the first time ever, the Sound of Thunder. Which will tum out to comp rise a high-pitched screaming noise, punctuated by the clash and scrape of fibergla ss , once the 600cc Thunderbikes get moving as a post-GP crowd-pleaser class at the first European GP. The current entry list is onl y provisional, and numbers 16 - the rest of the grid to be made up of nominees from the HM 's road race commission and the local national federation. The most notable name is that of Wileo Zeelenberg, who has finally given up the struggle to find backing to support his 250-elass ventures. Now Wileo's DC Racing Team backs two Thunderbikes, one for himself and one for Austra lian Europea n vice-champion Fred Bayens. Also signed up, former GP privateers Juan Lopez -Mella and Serge David, exD u cati Superbike cha rger St ephane Me r tens , Is le of Ma n TT Supe rhero P hi llip McCa ll e n and Ge r man ProSuperbike champ Udo Mark. Ho nda is the motorcycle of choice, nu mbering 12 out of 16. Non-believers . are Italians Giovanni Bussei and Marco Risitano, riding Bimotas; and Mark and Spaniard Oscar Sa inz on two lone Kawasakis. (~ OMINANCEN AYrONA D.I D's G . oldPremiumX-RingSeries chains were designed with the same DRing tec hnologyas ourE xclusive RacingSeries 520ERV2 and530ERV chains. The 520VM and 530ZVchains were created to meetthe strength requirements of today's high performance street riders. For the ultimate in • Low friction is achieved by an oil reservoir sport bike cnsin. ask your dealer between therubber a-ringand side plates • Tighterseating = Longer liI e for D.I.D'sdistinctive looking • 17% Stronger tensile strength Gold Premium X-RingSeries. Te3nr Le••I _mounl of frict ion 01 any O-R ing. (D.1.0 P'ltet'll) lYJ! AMA National 600cc SuperSport Rac e : Smokin' Joe's Racing / Miguel DuHamel. I st Place: Erion Racing / John Kocinski. 2nd Place: Smokin ' Joe 's Racing / M ike H a le . 3rd Pla ce . Smokin' Joe's Racing (520ERV 2 equipped)