Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Looking back, looking forward clutch works when the lights turn to green, and he's already lost valuable points just because of his slow starts. Veteran Fabrizio Pirovano hasn't had a bad year either on his Taurus Ducati, especially after having had a terrible 1994 as a factory rider in the Tardozzi-Ied team. The "'pocket rocket" from Milan, Italy, is now falling into his old habits again - incredible consistency which earned him several rostrum finishes in his first years of World Superbike racing. Pirovano scored his best result of 1995 in the first heat at Hockenheirn when he was second to Fogarty. AMA Superbike Champion Troy Corser was tipped as one of the main title candidates at the beginning of the season. On the track, the Australian hasn't fallen short of those expectations. He nearly won at Donington Park, and also did very well in Misano. A disastrous Monza weekend (with crashes in both races) made him lose bunches of points and that costs dearly in World Superbike racing these days. Mauro Lucchiari did exactly what was expected from him in the first half of the season: the young and quiet Italian did very well in front of his home crowd in Misano (winning both races), but elsewhere he'.s spent most of his such as Troy Corser, Gobert and Colin Edwards ll. The superbike school is creating its own legends now, and superbike racing is desperately hoping that they can be persuaded into staying with the four-stroke class instead of wandering off into the glamour world of Grand Prix racing. But there is another factor involved: Scott Russell said that his decision to quit World Superbike would have been more difficult if he still had a chance to win t·he title. With the Kawasaki ZXR750R in its final year of active service, Russell was also hampered by problems with his Dunlop tires. But that wasn't the entire problem. With Fogarty, Corser and Mauro Lucchiari and their Ducatis showing everyone the way in the opening rounds, something had to be done to level the playing field. And something was done between the Donington Park (Russell's last race) and Monza rounds. After consultation with Flammini, the FlM decided to finally do something the Japanese constructors had long been pleading for - a change in the minimum weight requirements. Still, the unannounced decision by the FIM to lessen the weight difference between the twins and four-cylinder machines from 33 pounds to 11 pounds was received with mixed emotions by all concerned - especially as the new rule was to take effect immediately. During the Monza race weekend (only four days after the FlM's announcement), the repnesentatives of.the Japanese constructors called for an emergency meeting with the FIM and Flammiui; they were concerned that the rule had been introduced without them being consulted. In the paddock, the reactions ranged from moderately happy (the diplomatic team managers), to unhappy (most riders of.Japanese four cylinders), to extremely unhappy (everyone associated with a Ducati). The riders argued that FIM should have at the very least made the weight limit the same for every homologated motorcycle (much like the AMA did last year), and some argued that the capacity limit should also be changed. Ducati engineers, meanwhile, showed a study carried out by an independent (Italian) university stating that four cylinders should yield much more horsepower (Above) Yasutamo Negel (25) has produced good results In his first year of World Superblke racing on the factory Yamaha. (Right) Colin Edwards " explains a faw things to Yamaha team manager Christian Sarron. than they were currently producing, suggesting that the Japanese engineers should do a better job with their homework in the future. On the track, however, nothing much changed, partly because most of the fac~ tory Ducatis weren't even trimmed down to the former weight limit. The extra weight could simply be stowed away in a handy place, lowering the bike's center of gravity. It will be very surprising if Carl Fogarty's lead position in the World Championship comes under attack when the superbike riders arrive in the Laguna Seca paddock. After five rounds, the Brit had amassed a 95-point lead over second place. The World Champion has clearly demonstrated in the first half of the season that the 916 has reached its cruising speed. After a painless maiden year in 1994, the new Ducati has proved to be reliable, almost unbeatable and the very best on both fast and slow race tracks. To make matters worse for the competition, Fogarty seldom makes mistakes, especially when he is able to pull away from the pack in the early laps. Slight has proven to be able to cope with the extra pressure of being the sole rider in the official Honda team. The New Zealander has only had one off day, scoring only three points in Misano after the Japanese suggested he try some specially developed suspension parts. The Kiwi had his finest day as a Honda rider when he took the RC45 to its first-ever World Superbike victory in Albacete, Spain. Since Monza, the bike has been fitted with power-boosting engine parts, fixing Slight's only real problem with the bike. Without any doubt, Pier-Francesco Chili is the surprise of the series. The former Grand Prix 250 and 500cc rider had no problems whatsoever in adapting his style to the Ducati 916 (after having competed in some races aboard a Supermono in 1994) - and he even raced to victory in Monza. The blonde Italian has only one problem - he tends to forget how the time somewhere in the lower top 10. But he is the perfect second rider to Fogarty. He knows the bike inside ou t (as Ducati's test rider, he develops this bike and the 1000cc version during private test sessions) and he willingly shares his knowledge and experience with Fogarty, who rides more on instinct than on technical expertise. For Simon Crafar and team owner Oscar Rumi, the season has been full of surprises. After Polen had left the official Honda team, the young New Zealander was entrusted with one of the former Polen bikes, while awaiting the arrival of the special parts that had been promised to him. He was given the opportunity to ride the factory bike in Hockenheirn... just this one time. In Misano the team was loaned the bike... just this one time. On the Friday of the Donington Park round, his mechanics didn't even have to blither to take the Castrol Honda fairing off. (British team sponsor Castrol ivsisted on having two bikes in their colors for their home event.)

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