Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) Cadalora (2) was able to stay ahead of Doohan to win his second successive SOOcc GP. (Below) Japan's Norifumi Abe was able to score a career-best third place at the Nelson Piquet Circuit near Rio de Janeiro. farther back: Balked at the start, he'd bogged the engine. Soon the five we,e locked togetller, and as Russell tagged along behind and Barros faded backwards with tire problems, Beattie started moving inexorably forward, picking up one place on lap 11, another the next time round, and moving into fourth on lap 14, where he stayed until the finish, by which time he was comfortably clear of the Hondas. "The bike wasn't perfect, but compared with what I'd had in practice it was good, and I knew when the Honda riders' tires went off I'd be able to pass them:' he said later. "But if I hadn't braked too soon for the first turn I wouldn't have had to:' he added regretfully. Russell had an exciting time. He tried to follow Beattie through one lap later, only for Criville to repass him under power on the straight. At his next attempt he dived inside the racing line to pass Criville. "Usually that' would be okay, but it's so slippery here that I slid wide and hit Criville:' Russell explained. That batted the Honda rider way out to the outside, but he narrowly managed to stay on. Russell was also slowed so that Checa got ahead again, but it was only a matter of time, and at the finish the ex-superbike rider was right on his teammate's tail. "It was a great race, but frustrating. If I hadn't been slowed at the start I'd have been with the front guys," he said. The Hondas continued to dice back and forth, and it seemed that CrivilJe was getting the worst of it. In the end, however, he proved otherwise, taking sixth with Checa and the luckless Barros on his heels, the group covered by less' than three-quarters of a second. Marlboro Pileri Honda's Loris Capirossi was a disappointed ninth after failing to correct his bike-setting problems; an off-form Shinichi Itoh a distant 10th. Then came eil Hodgson, also desperately disappointed after he failed to reproduce his practice form, stricken with tire trouble. The last points were fiercely contested 1:?etween Jeremy McWilliams, Laurent Naveau, Sean Emmett and Adrian Bosshard, who finished in that order, aU four covered by just over one second. There were no serious crashes. Loris Reggiani was among eight non-finishers. His better Aprilia V-twin 400 had blown up in morning warmup, and though he started on his spare, he retired after four laps because it was not race-ready. ~. Doohan drew slightly further ahead More than 10 seconds back came Nobuatso Aoki, who fended off Roberto Locatelli and Luis d'Autin. Jurgen Fuchs dropped off the back of this group and was 11th; with Eskil Suter's Mohag Aprilia leading the next battle, with Kenny Roberts Jr. and Jose-Luis Cardoso on his back wheel. The last point went to Luis Mauret There were 21 finishers, wi th a dispirited Patrick van den Goorbergh 18th, orie place ahead of teammate Niall Mackenzie. Jean-Michel Bayle retired his Aprilia early with his rear tire disintegrating; there was just one faller - Gregorio Lavilla, who was not injured. Biaggi's points total of 233 is now unassailable. Harada has 180 and Waldmann 177. 125cc GRAND PRIX AU year long there have been. u1traclose multiple battles without the on points, 210 to Beattie's 184. Cadalora has a threatening 160. 250Cc GRAND PRIX Oliver Jacque leapt into the lead, but it didn't last. Romboni was on his tail, and leading by the end of the first lap, with Waldmann and Ruggia behind. Then came a gap, with a lot of sorting out to follow. Biaggi was in seventh behind the soon-to-fade Luis d' Antin, and Japanese riders Okada and Harada 10th and 14th, but destined for the front after plenty of hard work. Jurgen van den Goorbergh was not to be part of it. "I'd tagged on the back of Biaggi and was taking it easy when the motor seized on the se.cond lap. It's the first time all year:' he said. Jacque's RS gradually lost touch with the leaders, and Waldmann was the next to take a turn up front, while first Biaggi, then Okada and Harada found their way past the Frenchman. And now there were six. Over the course of the remaining 15 laps, the crowd and TV viewers were treated to superbly close 250cc racing reminiscent of the privateer days or the 125 class, as the sextet swapped back and forth, with Romboni doing most of the leading, and Okada also taking his turn. But they were so close that it could still have been anybody's race. In the end, the tactics were obscure, and it was not certain who was trying to do what to whom. Biaggi needed to get more than five points on Harada to make the championship secure, and he did try to win. Instead he ran right off the track on the last lap, giving Romboni the chance to escape, but getting back on the tarmac in front of everybody, and very much in their way. Biaggi had lost speed, naturally enough, but then Waldmann made a mistake of his own and instead of taking advantage he was passed by Okada. Then, with Biaggi playing it really safe, Okada didn't make the expected overtaking move. It was almost as though he was willing to follow Max, as long as he made sure Harada was behind him. In this way he could prevent his old Japanese rival from having any chance of the title. Waldmann was right behind him, and Harada in fifth, with Ruggia on the back of the group. Romboni was thrilled at. his belated change of fortune. "Finally, I found the exit of the tunnel that has lasted one full season," the hitherto luckless rider said - he has been plagued by breakdowns, tumbles and a costly wrist injury. "We had so many problems adapting to Michelin tires; but now I've shown that if everything is okay we can win. lf I had doubts about my talent, I now know that I can fight for the title, and I hope to do so in 1996," he said. It emerged later that team owner Giacomo Agostini and crew chief Kel Carruthers had simply combined their experience to guess at suspension settings, after the fruitless practice. Biaggi was likewise overjoyed at his second successive title. "Today was a great day:' he said. "My bike was not so perfect, nor my tires - I'm the only person on the rostrum on Dunlops:' he said. "I made a mistake on the last lap, and I thought it was better then to take a rest. Second was enough." Third-placed Okada insisted that his failure to attack on the last lap was because his tires were sliding too oadly. "My problem was the first lap, when I got left behind at the start," he said. "I had to work the tires too hard to catch up." Harada, now condemned to defending second overall from Waldmann, He was philosophical: "I already knew Max was too far ahead on points for me to win the title, so I'm not too disappointed. Wait for next year. It was a hard race for me - my front tire was sliding from start to finish, and the main straight is too long for the Yamaha here. I would lose 10 to 15 meters by the end of the straight." Jacque lost touch with the front group, but was unthreatened in seventh. unwanted corollary of multiple crashes. Brazil came uncomfortably close to changing that. This time there were seven bikes in a pack up front, with Stefano Perugini, Masaki Tokudome and Kazuto Sakata taking turns at leading, and Emilio . Alzamora's Honda having one lap up front as well. The .upset came on lap 17, when Perugini tried to get ahead of Tokudome, ran off the line and was viciously high-sided.. Tokudome took to the dirt to avoid getting involved, but Sak'lta' couldn't save himself, and he also went flying, his Aprilia somersaulting wildly through the air and actually landing on the back of Alzamora's bike, though the Spaniard didn't fall. Amazingly, considering the way the other two tumbled and rolled, neither was hurt. This handed the lead briefly to Herri Torrontegui. but Tokudome recovered quickly, and at the finish managed to hold off GianJuigi Scalvini's Aprilia by just two-tenths. Aoki was a similar distance behind, with Torrontegui fourth, right behind and the last survivor of the original leading group. Noboru Ueda led the next batch, with four bikes locked together; with Akira Saito sixth, impressive Briton Darren Barton seventh, and returned injury victim Dirk Raudies eighth. There were 21 finishers. Once Sakata was out, Aoki didn't even need to finish to secure the title. Fourth place made it even more sure: he has 197 points, Sakata127. CN

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