Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RACE TWO The second race lacked any real sus- Troy Corser was unbeatable In both legs of the Czech round. The Australian ran away and hid both times oul to move Into second In the World Superblke point standings. pense. After some three laps, everybody seemed to be happy with the positions they held and were determined to hold them until the very end. It v.:as only some five laps before the checkered flag that things' started to change. With raindrops starting to fall, Gobert was the most notable victim of this sudden change in the grip conditions. The Kawasaki rider went straight into a gravel pit, managed to stay on board, but lost so much time that he completed the last couple of laps cruising around and finishing 19th. The unfortunate Australian had been as high as fourth after one lap. "What can I say? There was nothing I could do. The bike just didn't work, and neither did the tires," Gobert said. Several riders slowed when the rain drops hit their visors and windscreens, hoping for the race organizers to stop the race. But the light shower passed quickly, and the final three laps would be held on a nearly dry surface. By that time, Corser had once again taken such a comfortable lead that nobody along the track expected him to fail. Aboard the Promotor Ducati, however, things weren't going as smoothly as they appeared. "To be honest, I thought I wasn't going to make it," Corser explained. "After a few laps, I noticed that oil was dripping. So I thought that it was either going to stop or I would crash. Never did I think that I was going to make the end or that the bike would keep on going. The left side got a little greasy, so . I tried to keep the bike 00 the right side much as possible." I The Ducati held for the whole disI tance, however, and the Australian was able to notch up his second victory of the day. Slight claimed second- a spot he held from the third lap on. The New Zealan- Boring, for a chan'e F or a change, the second qualifying session was quite boring, with only a few riders getting their feet wet (literaJly) on the damp track on Saturday afternoon. John Kocinski and Colin Edwards II were definitely the most .active men on the track at that time, even though they knew that they would never come close to the lap times they had set one day before in dry conditions. The change of the weather was good news for Troy Corser and the other three riders who had made it to the top four on Friday afternoon. "1 like this track," Corser said after the final qualifying session. "After our tests here last week, we knew that we had a good wet and dry setup for this track. I was, however, surprised by the drastic way the track condition had changed due to the rain. We had to look for a new lire that worked under these new circumstances. During tl:te private tests, I also spent a lot of time finding different lines on this wide track. I found some that no one else uses and that are also pretty fast. It's important here to get a good start, as you immediately get to a few slow comers in the first kilometers. If you can get away at the start, you can make a gap pretty easily. And the Ducati seems to like the uphill sections. And finally the new brakes that Brembo gave us for the first time in Monza really seem to make a difference here. In the beginning of the season, l'd sometimes had some trouble braking into the comers. The riders that outbraked me a couple of weeks ago might be surprised now." Carl Fogarty stormed to second position in the closing minutes of the first practice session. Somewhat of a surprise for most, as the World Champion had dreaded the circuit because of the emphasis placed on the front end at Bmo - an area that has always been a problem with the . RC45. And the man from Blackburn had also only managed to tum the ninth-quickest lime during the private prac.tice sessions a week before. "Things weren't really as awful as they might have looked," Foggy said. "I just didn't feel too well last weeR. We changed some internal elements in the front fork, and that gave me enough confidence to go fast." . Neil Hodgson and Kocl1tski were pretty surprised to find themselves on the front row of the grid, especially as both Ducati factory riders had missed one and a half days of the two private tests in mid-Tune. "I stayed on race tires yesterday," Kocinski said after the second practice session ort Saturday. "And I set my qualifying time after some six laps. I know that I could have gone faster on softer tires. Today I made a lot of laps because I enjoyed it out there. And I also did a race distance on intermediates. This experience might come in handy if the weather stays like this for the rest of the weekend. In the meantime, we are still looking for a good setup. The Ducati is a very sensitive bike as to geometry and suspension. But [ feel confident; I've always been on the ros-trum here in the past. I hope to continue that tradition." Anthony Gobert, Aaron Slight, John Reynolds and Edwards were the men on the second row. "My fitness is still down after my crash at Hockenheirn," Gobert complained. "I could only walk properly ~gain a few days before Monza. Testing last week was okay; unfortunately, yesterday I was held up most of the time by slower riders. The acceleration seems to be okay here, and I think that the aggressive way I ride the bike can make up for its bad condition and lower speed. Apart from that, 1 kinda enjoy the slippery surface." Aaron Slight felt he would have bettered his time substantially if the rain had stayed away on Saturday afternoon. "This morning, I ran an engine in and 1 went already faster than yesterday," the Honda rider said. "The slippery condition of the track on Friday made us rethink a lot of the lessons we had learned last week. That's why I would prefer a dry race. 1did 16 laps on the same tire, and there were no problems." Like most of the other Dunlop riders, Edwards wasn't confident about the longevity of his tires on the very abrasive surface of the Bmo track. "I hope it rains tomorrow," the Yamaha rider said. "We have problems finding a lire that will last the whole distance. We'll have to use one of the hardest front tire compounds available from Dunlop. But apart from that, everything has gone pretty well. This morning during the second free practice session 1 went half a second faster." Kirk McCarthy qualified the second Suzuki in 10th position, after having struggled with some electrical problems, both on... and off the bike (electricity went out during the practice session on the whole circuit, which meant that the lire wanners did not work anymore). "This is my first time on wet Michelins on the Suzuki," the diminutive Australian said. "We struggled with some front..,nd problems, just like most of the other riders, but we found a solution in the setup of the front suspensiort. We were surprised that some tires that had worked during the private tests last week didn't work anymore this weekend, and the other way around..." -Simon Crafar put his Muzzy Kawasaki on the 12th spot on the racing grid. "The private test sessions last week were a waste of lime for me," the Kiwi said. "I only did some 20 laps, and my sore foot didn't allow me to go as fast as I wanted to. Apart from the traditional horsepower problems, we spent some time on finding front forks that did not bottom and put the tire too much 'to the test in the comers. But most of all, I want to go out there tomorrow and ride as hard as I can. [ have been sitting on my bum for long enough now." Mike Hale qualified 16th. "1 need every minute of practice that 1 can get," the Texan said. "I wasn't able to test last week and Friday morning because of my. foot injury. But things start to fall into place now." Shawn Giles and Rob Phillis, the youngest and the oldest members of the Australian delegation, notched up 21st and 22nd practice time, respectively.

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