Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.ROAD· RAC·E World Chartlpionship Superbike Road Race5eries Round 6: Laguna Seea Raceway • By Paul CarrutherslPhotos by Henny Ray Abrams and Gold & Goose \0 ~ ,.-l 6 MONTEREY, CA, JULY 21 hether or not John Kocinski and \ his Ducati could have beaten the Kawasaki of Anthony Gobert on the final run to the flag in the second race of the World Superbike O1arnpionship round at Laguna Seca Raceway is now a moot point. With Gobert screaming to victory as Kocinski and a soured Ducati coasted to a 12th-place finish, the world will never know what would have materialized had the pair run together for the entire final lap. What we do know is that both riders turned in stellar performances in two scintillating races in the hills of Monterey. What we also know is that when all was said and done it was Promotor Ducati's Troy Corser who gained the very most from the two races that made up the sixth round of the series, as his two second-place finishes place him atop the World Championship point standings. While a focused Corser did exactly what he needed to do for his championship aspirations, the true stars of the day were Kocinski and Gobert. With Kocinski winning the first race despite unrelenting pressure from Corser, the 35,000 spectators were robbed of what could have been a heart-stopping final half lap in the second race when Kocinski's·Ducati failed him heading up the hill toward the Corkscrew - just as he was bearing down on Gobert for a fitting conclusion to a race-long battle. DependJng on who you listen to, Kocinski's Ducati either ran out of fuel because of a faulty fuel-injection control sensor that caused the V-twin to use 30 percent more fuel, or a cable that controls the fuel-injection system was broken, causing the Ducati Corse machine to simply stop running. Both stories add up to the same result: Kocinski was robbed of at least a second-place finish to go with his first-race win as he coasted to the finish line in 12th place. With Kocinski out for the final half lap, Gobert won easily, topping Corser by almost five seconds and making up in part for a disastrous first race that saw him crash out of the lead on the 12th lap. If Kocinski, Gobert and Corser were the quickest men on the day, then Castro! Honda's Aaron Slight left Laguna Seca Raceway as the most relieved. After a horrible Laguna Seca experience a year ago, Slight left California this time with fifth- and third-place finishes to show for his efforts. And although he lost his points lead to Corser, the New Zealander was more than pleased as he trails the Australian by only four points, with what he calls his good tracks ahead of him and his worst behind him. . Corser leads the series over Slight, 204-209, with World Champion Carl Fogarty, eighth and fourth at Laguna, third wi th 170 points. Kocinski lies fourth in the series with 157 points after six rounds and 12 races. It wasn't a good day for the AMA regulars in their one-off World Superbike appearances. With both Smokin' Joe's Honda's Miguel DuHamel and Muzzy Kawasaki's Doug O1andler failing to finish the first race, Chandler's sixth-place finish in the second leg turned out to be.the highlight for the locals. RACE ONE The first race started under brilliantly sunny skies with high temperatures scorching Laguna Seca Raceway for the high-noon start of race one. When the light flashed green it was Corser grabbing the holeshot with the 25-rider field storming over the hi]] toward turn two. By the end of the first lap, it was Corser and Kocinski running in tandem out front with Kocinski's teammate Neil Hodgson running third, and starting to lose touch with the lead duet. Yamaha World Supelbike's Colin Edwards 11 was hot on Hodgson's tail, followed by Gobert, Promotor Ducati's Mike Hale, DuHamel, Chandler, Muzzy Kawasaki's Simon Crafar, Slight, Fogarty, Yamaha World Superbike's Wataru Yoshikawa and Team Suzuki's John Reynolds. A lap later and Chandler was forced to pit with brake trouble. "It boiled the fluid," O1andler explained later. "Woe'll put the '95 brakes on for the next one and see what happens. This place is hard on the brakes because there's no

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