·ROAD' RACE .Rli~·Series. . Round 11: Brazilian Grand Prix
CharilpionshipRoa~
. World
I
By Michael Scott
Photos by Gold & Goose
RIO DE JANIERO, BRAZIL, SEPT. 17
arlboro Roberts Yamaha's Luca
Cadalora confounded the weather,
the critics and threats of race boycotts to claim a second successive
Grand Prix win in the first motorcycle GP at the newly rebuilt and resurfaced Nelson Piquet circuit.
The race was watched by more than
30,000 'people, in warm but overcast
conditions - but there was a time when
it seemed there might not be a race at
all. The newly laid tarmac proved slippery in the first dry practice and looked
lethal when it rained that aftem09n, and
with no break in the weather the next
day, riders threatened a boycott if it was
wet again on race day.
Cadalora led from start to finish,
leaving World Championship leader
Michael Doohan and his Repsol Honga
trailing by more than five seconds at the
finish. Norifumi Abe was an equally
lonely third, his first-ever Grand Prix
rostrum in the Marlboro Yamaha rider's
first full season, with title challenger
Daryl Beattie and his Lucky Strike Suzuki slipping further out of touch in
M
fourth, after having problems throughout practice. His teammate Scott Russell
was only half a second behind in fifth,
his best-ever result since his midseason
switch to the 500cc class from World
Superbikes.
Earlier, Chesterfield Aprilia's Max
Biaggi became the first World Champion of 1995, concluding his successful
title defense with a high-risk second
place in one of the fiercest and best
250cc races of the year a narrow victory,
the first of an awful year, went to Agostini Honda's Doriano Romboni, but
Biaggi managed to fend off four more
close-packed riders in spite of running
off the track on the last lap. With Tetsuya Harada and the Rainey Marlboro
Yamaha fifth, outpowered towards the
back of the group, that was enough for
Biaggi to win a second consecutive title.
HRC's Tadayuki Okada was third,
HB Honda's Ralf Waldmann was fourth,
and Elf Honda's Jean-Philippe Ruggia
was sixth, behind Harada, with two seconds covering the ~up.
The· title was also decided in the 125cc class, with defending champion
Kazuto Sakata crashing out, leaving
Haramuki Aoki's third place enough ·to
clinch it. The 19-year-
