Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127834
PREVIEW YAMAHA RAINEY Wayne Rainey took over the works Yamahas from Kenny Roberts after a complex series of multiple shifts of loyalty. Then a switchback on-ag.ain offagain ride with sponsors Marlboro 'Ieft the team (maybe) without backing with less than three months to the first GP. Too late to find another sponsor, Yamaha stepped into the breach themsel ves. Meanwhile, Loris Capirossi had unexpectedly quit to go back to 250s, and the late search for a replacement was further hindered by sponsor interference. Rainey does have Norifumi Abe back, after two full years "on loan" to Kenny Roberts. Norifumi Abe: Spectacular on his good days and always willing to try hard, Abe made his life difficult last year by reliably qualifying way below his eventual racing speed. If he can achieve more consistent strength, he could be a title threat. Sele Gibemau: The Spaniard was a last-minute recruit, after standing in for the fired Tetsuya Harada in the closing rounds last year on a 250. He'~ a learner on a fast bike - a make-or-break scenario. (Above righl) Loris Capirossi raturns to the 250cc class In '97 on a factory Aprilia. (Above) The youngest Roberta, Kurtis, loins the World Championship on a PJ1 -backed Aprilia. (Below left) Lues Cadalora could prove 10 be a threat for the 500cc title. (Below) Tatsuya Haradll on the ex-Biaggi Chesterfield Aprilia. can he ragain the magic that made him 250cc World Champion In 19937 TEAM YAMAHA PROMOTOR Circumstances have added weight and status to this new team, fresh from a couple of good years in World Superbike racing, and bringing their World Champion Troy Corser with them. Bringing the number of title-winning riders to two out of two. The level of equipment and degree of support from the factory remains to be seen. Luca Cadalora: Former 125 and twotime 250cc World Champion, Cadalora has a reputation for being blindingly fast on his day, and keen to pu II in to the pits when things don't go right. Back on a Yamaha on Michelin tires, can he become consistent as he once was on a 250? If so, he might even win the title. Troy Corser: Thoroughly professional, sensible and fast. That's the reputation Corser brings with him, along with the other baggage of a World Superbike Champion. This means he's avoided talking big, and sees this as the first year of a three-year drive to the title. Which is a very sensible attitude. TEAM LUCKY STRIKE SUZUKI An all-new bike addresses the deficit suffered last year, and the smallest of the Japanese factory teams is due for a good season again. There are many uncertainties, however, mainly centered around whether Daryl Beattie can regain his former title-leading form. However, new boy Anthony Gobert promises to be a welcome dose of good fun for the team, and for GP racing. Daryl Beattie: Consistently strong in 1995, he was Doohan's strongest rival. Then came a series· of battering crashes in 1996, the first caused by a seized engine, which set the tone for an 'awful. year. Steady pressure is his specialty, and it could pay big dividends this year. Anlhony Gobert: Talks big and has already embarked on an impudent campaign against top Ozzie dog Doohan. Nor is he overawed by the speed and power of a GP bike. Might discover there is more 10 learn than he thought. Uninpibited fun-loving personality should spark up the general atmosphere. MARLBORO TEAM ROBERTS With the season drawing very near, Ihe all-new Moaenas V3 is looking increasingly less likely to be ready for the opening rounds. Accumulated delays have left an impossibly short time for development of a fully fledged racer. A tendency to smile indulgently should be avoided. Backed by the Marlboro millions, this is a very serious and highly significant venture, even if it is a few months out of kilter with the calendar. Kenny Roberts Jr.: Impressive last year for a kid who arrived at the highest level lacking extensive racing experience and burdened with a famous name. If he hadn't been the old man"s son, he wouldn't now have to lose a season or so developing an all-new racing bike. But if he hadn't been the old man's son, he probably wouldn't be on a 500cc works team yet anyway. Jean-Michel Bayle: The world's most versatile motorcyclist started to get pretty good at the end of last year, his first season in the 500cc class. If he'd stayed on a V-four, he'd have got better still. Now it's up to the bike. APRILIA One last chance for the 410cc V-twin, which came so close last year, qualifying on the front row severa] times, only to be overwhelmed time and again in the brutal rush to the first corner. If it doesn't fulfil) its potential this year, it's due for the chop. Dorlano Romboni: Fast but fragile, Romboni suffered wrist injuries last season that threatened his chances of riding this year. Hopefully they will not shadow his season. If he fails to show up, he'll be replaced by fellow Italian Alessandro Gramigni. ELFSOOROC The newest V-four is a well-funded semiprivate venture marrying the suc- cessful high-power sidecar Swissauto motor with ROC chassis skills. Spasmodically promising last year, they now have a Big Bang engine. But it's hard to beat the Japanese at their own game. Juan Borj;>: Consistently fast, Borja's talent showed well as top privateer in 1995, but his first Elf season gave the . Spaniard few chances to progress. Could be more to come, however. Jurgen Fuchs: Late-starting 250cc star, the German was rideless after the withdrawal of sponsors HB. The move to Elf wasn't his first choice; he will probably be of more value to them than vice versa. PRIVATEERS Twenty-five-strong grid numbers are made up by eight privateers, three of whom will ride production-model Vtwin Hondas. The most notable is exworks man Alex Barros, with the other two going to ex-250cc works man Nobualso Aoki and fast-rising ex-250cc Frenchman Regis 'Lacon1. . The rest ride variations on the ROCYamaha team, with Harrises notable by their absence. Watch out for Italian tough guy Lucio Pedercini, ex-works man Jean-Philippe Ruggia and ex-250cc Dutchman Jurgen van den Goorbergh. And welcome Kirk "Shagga" McCarthy on the ex-Niall Mackenzie Wc:M bike. 25Occ: WHAT ELSE WILL MAX AND TETSUYA SWAP? All change in the smaller class, with a massive reshuffle triggered by the falling-out of triple champion Max Biaggi and his title allies Aprilia. Biaggi moved in with Honda, with Marlboro backing and Erv Kanemoto preparing the machine, determined to prove that it was the rider not the bike that had dominated for three years, while Aprilia shipped in not only former 125cc champion and 250cc star Loris Capirossi but also Max's most feared rival, ex-Yamaha World Champion Tetsuya Harada. The pair make a formidable team. Honda has retained last year's runner-up RaIf Waldmann and the highly impressive Tohru Ukawa. Not to mention Olivier Jacque, perhaps the brightest of them all. Its also gained double 125cc champ Haruchika Aoki and tiddler rival Emilio Alzamora. Aprilia add another ex-l25 iller SIefano Perugini to a volatile mix. . And Suz\lki is back, with Japanese champion Norlyasu Numata joined by Briton Jamie Robinson in another attempt to move back into the class. Yamaha has no works presence this year. Garry McCoy joins the class this year on an Aprilia, yet another top 125cc man to move up. 125cc: TOKU, ROSSI AND THE REST The 125cc class has been somewhat depleted by wholesale moves to 250s good news for '96 runner-up Masaki Tokudome, whose own plans to move up came to nothing. Valentino Rossi, also on an Aprilia, will bear watching the mad kid of '96 is a serious championship threat. Likewise the similarly mounted former champion Kazulo Sakata. Honda has Tomomi Manako in the top slot - very fast at the end of last season - as well as Aprilia defectors Roberto Localelli and GianJuigi Scalvini, while Yamaha have two hot Japanese riders, Yoshiaki Kaloh and Youichi Ui. (N