Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

" O Dionship Road. .Series .· Round 3: Japanese Grand Prix R A pRACE' WorldCham Rli~ (From left to right) Doohan, Beattie and Ta kuml Aokl spray the bUbbly in celebration of their 2· 1·3 finish in the 500Cc Grand Prix of Japan. Spaniard Cardoso, followed by Suter and Biaggi. But the Italian, who was battling with an Aprilia with a power valve jammed open so it had no bottom-end power, crossed the line in unconventional style, lying on his back at high speed w ith h is motorcycle sliding behind him . "I slid such a long way that I had time to think of the troubles of the day," he said later . This wa s the last straw, and the red flags were promptly displayed, just as Hikita fell a little furth er aro und the track. Results were taken from the 12th lap, with van den Goorbergh 10th, then Maurel, Fuchs, Kassner, Wild Card Moricane, and Regis Laconi taking the last point, There were only 19 finishers , The win. gave Waldmann the title lead with 63 points. Harada has 53, Biaggi 48, Aoki 40, with Ruggia fifth on 22. 125cc GRAND PRIX Aoki made no mistakes, springing Doohandry, Schwantz wet M ichael Doohan led practice for his third successive pole position this year by a comfortable margin of almost one full second . Or it would have been comfortable, had the weather not turned on day two. When that happened, with rain that settled in true Suzuka style, the important practice time was fully 17 seconds slower, and belonged to a rider qualified on the third row of the grid. His name - Kevin Schwantz. 5chwantz is a four-time Suzuka winner and an acknowledged master of the wet. But he'd been having trouble on day one, still chasing a lack of front grip, but in a different way from the slower tracks. "There it was unsettled under braking. It's more flowing here, but the front pushes wide when 1 try and drive it through the corner." That was in the dry, and a symptom still of his lack of preseason test .time. Some chassis changes overnight had iroproved it, he thought, but he couldn't be sure, because the track was now streaming wet and he was in his element. Doohan ran fifth-fastest in the wet, and said the same as if he had been fastest: "I'll just try the best I can and take as many points as possible." But with conditions as they were, a.third successive win was a long way from being a foregone conclusion . He had Shinichi Itoh alongside, his injured left hand now at 80 percent, he said, and his dander up in front of his home fans. He was fourth-fastest in the wet, and clear!y a factor. Then came wild Wild Card Takumi Aoki, middle one of the three racing brothers, and producing a remarkable performance in only his third-ever outing on a 500cc machine - he usually races an HRC Honda RC45 Superbike. "I'm not nervous of the bike," he said. "But I wish it was dry. "He was seventh-fastest in the wet, but had a directly into the lead and pulling away if not at his leisure, certainly.with a minimum of drama. There was plenty of that behind him. Raudies led the pursuit for the first three laps, then was overwhelmed by a small pack, with Perugini at the head of it. On lap five, the Italian was gone, sliding off on the last comer unhurt. Even though the track was now much drier, it was still full-wets conditions, and there were still lots of fallers. Wild Card Vi was the first, remounting at once; then Oliver Koch at the Spoon; Scalvini likewise, Fujioka a little further around, and Ballerini and Hiroyuki all off before Perugini. Martinez followed soon af ter, before it was the turn of Raudies to take a Spoon dive. Now it was Akira Saito second, but under enormous pressure from a flock of Japanese riders, with Emilio Alzamora in the thick of it before the young Spaniard decided that prudence was better than getting involved in a local civil war. Behind Saito's Honda, Sakata, Nakajoh and Shigeru lberaki were swapping back and forth, real tooth-and-nail stuff that seemed certain to end in tears . In fact they all finished , but only just. Sakata may have been the luckiest. He took to the dirt on lap 13, dropping back to sixth as he recov ered, then embarking on a wild recovery ride. At the fin ish he seemed likel y to claim second, with a fierc e attack on Saito at the chicane, followed by another one around the outside of the last corner. But the Honda rider kept his head down and hung on by one tenth of a second . Nak ajoh was right with them, then came the Yamahas of lbaraki and Katoh, also .in fierce battle, now some five seconds adrift. Alzamora took seventh, with the fourth Wild Card Miyasaka less than two seconds behind. Then came Herri Torrontegui on another Honda, with Manako 10th and Oettl 11th. The least points went to Noboru Veda in 14th and Vi in 15th; both had fallen and remounted . The last faller of the day was Garry high side crash that damaged his bike somewhat, and his 29th, after also losing much of the crucial dry session as a nerves. result of the morning crash. The last front-row starter was another Wild Card, In the 250cc class, onlv two of the real front row feathe experienced Toshihiko Honrna, who explained his .tured well in the wet. Doriano Romboni (fourth overall) success compared with the Yamaha regulars by saying: was significantly fastest in the rain; and Max Biaggi (sec"1 have developed the bike, so it suits me perfectly." He ond) was fourth when it was wet. Pole man Tetsuya was 10th in the wet, but his circuit knowledge meant Harada was down in 10th, and third-placed Tadayuki Okada second-last in 33rd. He had crashed in the mornthat he too could not be ruled out. Row two was led by Daryl Beattie, and like teammate ing, and damage to his bike ~eant he only completed Schwantz he had also gone better in the weI. "I' m also three laps. chasing the front - but it's not nearly so bad in the rain," Harada's pole remained impressive, another example of overcoming a power deficit with serious commitment, he said . Alex Barros wa s alongside, showing better at this skill and intimate circuit knowledge. But he didn't relish long "riders'" track where his problems getting his new the prospect of wet race. "I'Il just try and finish," he said. Honda set up counted for less. Then came Norifumi Abe, Second-placed Biaggi said much the same, but he was experimenting with a Michelin front, but far from happy. tom between the desire to beat the Japanese with his His chances of reproducing his 1994 heroic performance Aprilia at home and the need for a steady finish. He also on a Honda looked slender now he is on a Yamaha, and crashed in the wet, after losing the front wheel. He skathe was distressed to be only 17th-fastest in the wet. ed along for what felt like a second or more holding the Row two was completed by Luca Cadalora, also try- bike up with his knee, before finally accepting the ing a front Michelin in the dry . But Cadalora, who was inevitable and abandoning ship . on pole here last year, was another hoping it would stay Okada's crash was also smooth and simple, but the wet. He was fastest for a while in the wet session, and . lack of wet time meant that his chances for the race were ended up second, half a second down on Schwantz. uncertain. Certainly he was trying very hard in both conAlberto Puig led row three, also showing well in the ditions, hoping to repeat his first-ever win' here last year. wet in the early stages, only to drop back as others came Romboni needs a good finish badly, and was thrilled to grips with the streaming track. He had Schwantz with his first ride in the wet on his new Michelins. "I alongsid e; then Alex Criville, with the row completed by realized immediately that they grip much better than Loris Reggiani. One might have expected the light and Dunlops in the rain. I'm feeling confident." Ralf Waldmann led row two, and held fifth also in the handy Aprilia to do worse in the dry, on a fast track like this, and better in the wet. In fact he was the only 500 wet. Then Came Kenny Roberts [r., continuing his impressive first full season. Roberto Locatelli was next, rider to crash in the timed wet session. Loris Capirossi led row four, and was wide-eyed on another strong debutante. Both the newcomers had been Saturday after his first-ever 500 ride in the wet, when he among a spate of crashers in the wet. The row was comwas an impressive eighth-fastest. Then came third Toshi- pleted by Wild Card Toru Ukawa, another crasher. The hiko Arakaki, a privateer last year, this time having a All-Japan champion 'Vas sixth in the wet. There were 23 crashes in the 250 class, the vast majoriguest ride as replacement for the still-injured Jimmy Filice on the Padgett's Harris-Yamaha. ty in the wet, with Adi Stadler falling three times on FriThere were 32 qualifiers, last being Scott Gray by a da);. But with the lower speed there were no injuries. The huge margin . The American had collided with Sean most spills were iri the 125 class, no less than 26 separate Emmett in the first "untimed" session, and did not make incidents over the two days, again most of them in the it out 'in the only dry session that afternoon. Emmett was rain, and again with no serious injuries.

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