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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127839
ROAD RACE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD RACE SERIES Carlos personally congratulated the Barcelona boy made good. "1 was crying in the last lap, I was so happy to win," said Criville while Doohan congratulated him on a fine ride. "I had no answer for him today," Doohan said. ''I'm not sure what was wrong, but my bike wouldn't rev. The result's good for racing and good for the fans. Especially the Spanish fans." Later, Doohan's pit crew found "a broken component affecting one cylinder." Crew chief Jerry Burgess said, "The new engine has some vibration patterns different from the old one." It is thought the component was part of the exhaust power-valve linkage. "1 was lucky to finish where I did. We also had a handling problem with the bike tracking badly that we haven't identified yet," Doohan added. The race was another Honda whitewash. Repsol Hondas took the first four places, with Takuma Aoki's V-twin fourth, and NobUatsu Aoki's FCC Technical Sports machine fifth. The best of the rest was returning injury victim (Left) After coming so close a year ago, Alex Crlville finally won the Spanish Grand Prix at Jel'llz. (Below) Crlville gets the jump on Tadayukl Okada (7), Carlos Checa (8), Michael Doohan (1) and the'rest of the 500cc GP pack in front of a partisan Spanish crowd estlmsted at 100,000. By Michael Scott Photos by Gold & Goose JEREZ, SPAIN, MAY4 here was one phrase that didn't come to Alex Criville's lips after trouncing Repsol Honda teammate Michael Doohan in the sun-drenched Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday: "May the Fourth be with you." The date will doubtless remain etched in his IDe\IlOry. After a crash and bitter disappointment in a last-lap battle here last year, everything went the 26year-old Spaniard's way at Jerez. While defending champion Doohan ~truggled with an engine that wouldn'.t rev, counting himseU lucky to take a narrow second place trom Tadayuki Okada only in the final laps, Criville had pulled steadily away from the first lap to the last, to take his first-ever clear start-to-finish victory in the 500cc class. He even had time for a rare celebratory wheelie on the la t lap, still finishing IJ;lore than six seconds ahead. The vast crowd of well oyer 100,000 was ecstatic, but this time did not spill over to invade the track in the closing laps. That was left until the rostrum ceremony, where royal patron King Juan- Doriano Romboni, who fought through to claim a narrow and popular sixth on the newly enlarged 460cc V-twin ApriIia, ahead of two works Yamahas. .Daryl Beattie took his first finish of the season in a disappointed 12th; Lucky Strike Suzuki teammate Peter Goddard, riding again in place of Anthony Gobert, crashed out in the early stages. Others to fall included overly ambitious Spanish MoviStar Honda riders Alberto Puig and Carlos Checa - the latter in second place at the time; and World Superbike champion Troy Corser, in trouble all weekend with the handling of his Powerhorse Yamaha. Jean-Michel Bayle sCored points for a second race on the Modenas KRV3, finishing 13th; Kenny Roberts Jr. was second to last in 8th, giving Modenas their first two-bike finish. Marlboro Honda's RaU Waldmann took a massive win in a dull 250cc race, .with title leader Tetsuya Harada and his Aprilia a distant second. Max Biaggi was third on his Marlboro Honda - after fighting his way right through the field. Biaggi had been batted off into the dirt by Harada on only the second lap, lucky to stay wheels down as he dirttracked for a long way across the gravel. The race was robbeq. of much excitement by this and another early incident, ':'lith front-row qualifier Loris Capirossi and his Aprilia colliding with Honda fast man Tohr:u Ukawa in the first corner - both falling.