Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

• Round 14: Brazilian Grand Prix was impossible, I decided I would finish behind Ralf, and though I could have gone a little faster there wasn't much point in taking any risks." But he wanted to prove the point anyway, and waited until the last run down the back straight before wavi11g Waldmann past. Then as he crossed the line, a second behind, he gave an eloquent shrug. Waldmann said he'd had something in reserve, but that he didn't know if he could have passed Fuchs. "My teammate gave me a gift, and I have to thank him for that," Waldmann said. Whether he wanted to or not. Almost 20 seconds behind, Benetton Honda's Tohru Ukawa and Chesterfield Elf Honda's Jean-Philippe Ruggia were glued together for the whole race, the Japanese rider always fractionally ahead. That's the way they stayed across the line. Another 10 seconds back came Roberto Locatelli after a storming ride through from 16th on the first lap. He had l"uis d'An tin hanging on behind after passing him in the closing stages. Both of them had closed up on Sete Gibernau, who had been holding an impressive sixth for , most of the race until he slowed in the closing stages by sliding tires and fading engine power. Privateers Luca Boscoscuro and Takeshi Tsujimura had lost touch with 125cc GRAND PRIX Five riders broke away in the early stages, including the three title battlers Haruch1ka Aoki, Tomomi Manako and Masaki Tokudome - and we seemed set for a dose race to the flag. So it was for the first four laps. Then Manako crashed out when his throttle jammed open, while Emilio Alzamora joined up from behind, and Aoki decided to change his usual wait-and-see tactics. He went to the front on the sixth lap, and was never headed. It took a little time for the others to sort themselves out, with Tokudome trying hard to hang on to Alzamora, but by half distance Aoki and Alzamora had started to move out of reach, leaving the Japanese rider to a safe third, with Jorge Martinez dropping back behind. Now the lap record started tumbling as the leading pair stretched away. It finally went to Aoki on the 17th lap as he broke away to win by an eventual eight seconds. This turned the rest into a procession, with Tokudome another ]0 seconds down and Martinez dropping back behind him. But Garry McCoy was providing the excitement. "I got a bad start - it was popping and banging. Maybe I used too many revs." Twelfth at the end of lap one, he picked them 301 points over Criville's 235. Cadalora has 159, Abe 148, Barros 145 and Russell 133. 250cc GRAND PRIX \0 0\ 0\ .-; \O~ .-; ~ (l) ..0 o .... u o 22 All Biaggi had to do to secure the title was to finish four points ahead of Waldmann. If that was not possible, he could have retained a fairly comfortable lead just by finishing close behind. "The important thing is not to crash," he said. The Italian dearly forgot all that once the green light shone, and he was riding very aggressively as Fuchs led WaldmanIl. Aoki and himself off the line. There was plenty of shuffling over the bumps on the first lap, and by the end of it Waldmann was leading Aoki and Biaggi. Then more confusion on lap two, as Aoki went flying off in a big way, and Ruggia got ahead of Fuchs, Biaggi and Ukawa, with Waldmann running away up front. This was too much for Biaggi to bear, and he was in second again one lap later, riding furiously to try to close a gap which had stretched to two seconds. At the same time, Jacque was slicing through from a bad start - eighth on lap one - and he passed Fuchs and Biaggi in one lap and did start dosing on Waldmann rapidly, his good setup paying dividends. It was probably this that finally blinded Biaggi with red mist. Jacque surged past Waldmann on lap six, Biaggi followed him past, and then it happened he lost the front over the bumps on the last left-hander, regained control only to run straight off mto the gravel at high speed for a looping crash from which he was very lucky to escape with nothing worse than a cut on the chin. It was a foolish error, from trying much too hard - and it could have changed the course of the champiOnship. "I was trying to ride the same race as Jacque," Biaggi said later. "I really don't know why I crashed. Now it's a straight race between me and Ralf. The way [ feel now, what will be will be." It was smooth sailing for Jacque from then on, and his long-awaited first victory was achieved by a very convincing 4.5 seconds. "I got a bad start, possibly because I (Above) Chris Taylor had his flrst-ever GP ride on the WCMbacked Roc Yamaha. (Right) Max Blaggl (1) leads Jurgen Fuchs (11) arid Olivier Jacque (19) In the 2SOcc Grand Prix. Blaggl crashed, handing the victory to Jacque (below). off one by one, his final victim being Stefano Perugini, who was fading fast after leading from lap two to lap five. McCoy carried on to catch right up to Martinez, "But he was looking over his shoulder and he saw me coming. By that stage I was pretty knackered," McCoy said. oboru Veda was sixth, prevailing ove.r a three-bike battle with Lucio Cecchinello and Youichi Vi, with the troubled Perugini behind them, just fending off Dirk Raudies. It was only Aoki's second win of the year, but other strong results mean he takes a lead of 23 points to the final round in Australia - 200-177. Tokudome must win and his rival finish 14th or lower if he is to be champion. Manako has 160, Alzamora 158 and Perugini 128. CN Autodromo Nelson Piquet Jacarepagua, Brazil Results: OCtober 6, 1996 (Round 14 of 15) was nervous," Jacque said. "But [ knew I was the fastest rider out there, so I pushed very hard early on, then 1 made the break, because I knew this was my chance for my first win." Behind them, the HB Honda men played a little cameo. Fuchs had got ahead of Waldmann, but his senior teammate stayed right on behind. Meanwhile the pit crews were showing Fuchs a board reading firmly: "P3." '1 tried to go with Jacque, but he was too fast," Fuchs said later. "Once that d'Antin in the dosing stages. Then came Giuseppe Scalvini and Sebastian Porco, with lurgen van den Goorbergh dropping away in the second half of the race to finish 13th. Jacque also claimed the lap record, and moved a step closer to securing third overall. But the focus is on the title battle, with just one point between Waldmann and Biaggi. The Italian has 249 points, Waldmann 248. Then comes Jacque (177) and Fuchs (163), with d' Antin just ahead of Ukawa 130-129. UScc QUALIFYING: 1. Haruchika Aoki (2:Q1.583); 2., Stefano Perugini (2:01.918); 3. Tomomi Manako (2:02.63'1); 4. Noboru Ueda (2:02.651); 5. Masaki Tokudome (2:02.668); 6. Emilio Alzamora (2:02.788); 7. forge Martinez (2:00.005); 8. Garry McCoy (2:00.155); 9. !'rederic Petit (2:00.170); 10. Dirk Raudies (2:00.272); 11. Valentino Rossi (2:03.315); 12. Yuichi Ui (2:00.581); 13. Kazu'o Sakata (2:00.854); 14. Lucio CecchineUo (2:03.930); 15. Ivan Coi (2:Q4.Cl24); 16. Jaroslav Hules (2:Q4.480); 17. Manfred Geissler (2:04.783); 18.)osep Sarda (2:04.797); 19. Mirko Giasonti (2:04.844); 20. Y05IUaki Kotoh (2:05.263); 21. L. Ancona (2:05.382); 22. Gabriella Dcbbia «2:05.396); 23. Loek Bodelier (2:05.658); 24. HerTi Torrontegui (2:05.973); 25. Akira Saito (2:06.014). 250« QUALIFYING: 1. Oliver Jacque (1:55.955); 2Rail Waldmann (1:56.19Q); 3. Jurgen Fuchs (1:56.447~ 4. Nobuatsu Aoki (1:56.969); 5. Jean-Phi1lipe Ruggia (1:56.753); 6. Max Biagg; (1:56.762); 7. Takeshi Tsujiumura (1:56.944); 8. Tohru Ukawa (1:57332); 9. Lu", d' Antin

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