Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

. Teenage Italian Valentino Rossi won the 125cc GP on his Nastro AZZUTrO Aprilia in the first and most exciting race of the day, pulling through from 15th on the first lap to battle it out to the line with second-placed Noboru Veda and pole starter Jorge Martinez. Australian Garry McCoy started from the front row only to retire after four laps with engine trouble. (Left) Okada holds off Doohan. The Repsol Honda teammates battled for most of the race with Doohan eventually getting the nod over the Japanese rider. (Below) Olivier Jacque (19) tries to make a break early in the 250cc GP. He is being chased down by eventual winner Ran Waldmann (2). SOOcc GRAND PRIX Criville sprang straight into the lead, and was never headed. But while he waited for the expected challenge, instead his main rival Doohan appeared to be biding his time in fourth, while the youngsters sorted themselve out. Okada was chasing in second, with Checa in third. The Spaniard was clearly ready for anything, and was out of the sad d Ie twice on the fourth lap as he pushed and pushed against the Japanese Honda. Then he was ahead of Okada, with Criville still only a few yards ahead. The red mist saw to the rest of it. HaIf-a-lap later, on the corner before the back straight, he slid again and this time he couldn't save it. He crashed unhurt - but it was not to be his tum to meet the king again today. This gave Criville a half-second lead over Okada, and though he didn't expect it to last he made the most of his chances, riding fast but within himseJf to pull away gradually. He set the best lap of the race the eighth time around, half-a-second lower than the record; by then he had a second in hand. He kept on stretching away, to the delight of King and fans - five seconds on lap 15, eight seconds 01) lap 22, and needing only to stay on. He had a couple of slides, "but that was only to feel the tires - no problem," he said. As this unfolded, so too did the Doohan question. Biding his time was one thing, but he was gradually losing ground to Okada in second, and that surely wasn't right. At half-distance, he was more than two seconds adrift, and though he did start to re.el him in toward the finish, he only caught him with less than three laps to go. When he did pass him under brakes at the end of the back straigh t, Okada promptly passed him back into turn one at the start of the next lap. It wasn't only the shortage of power, with one cylinder preventing the engine from revving out. "1 could have lived with that if I could have kept up a high comer speed, but the bike wasn't tracking well. We don't really know why," he said later. He did repass Okada, and stayed in front to the finish, but he was only hundredths ahead across the line, and Okada actually passed him a few feet later. '1 feel lucky to have finished where I did," Doohan said. Okada was happy enough just to be third. '1' m still learning how to ride the V-four," he said. A long way back came the fourth member of the Repsol team, Takuma Aoki, who had pushed his V-twin past his brother Nobuatsu's V-four on lap 21, and "finished some two seconds clear. The others were fighting over sixth place, and the group had grown to four as the race wore on. Battling Rainey Yamaha teammates Sete Gibernau and Norifumi Abe - the former passing the more experienced Japanese rider, who was ha ving a scary time trying not to lose the front wheel, and then both of them catching Alex Barros' s V-twin Honda for a good scrap. Meanwhile, the returning Romboni ' was charging through on the new bigger Aprilia Vtwin in his first race for some nine months after breaking hi right wri' t badly. He'd finished the first lap in 19th, and meant to treat it all a"5 a test session, "but the bike was going so well I thought I'd make a race of it." And how. He was surging through the field and caught this group with five laps left. He made short work of getting to the front of it, and stayed there to the end, with Abe, Barros and Gibernau right up behind. Regis Laconi impressed again, starting well, then gradually dropping back. But he did fend off Luca Cadalora's Yamaha to finish 10th, ahead by' three seconds. Later, Cadalora said he'd ridden the w.hole race without a rear brake. Beattie dropped off the back of this group to finish an unhappy 12th, still getting to grips with the task on a bike he doesn't much like. Bayle had been ahead of him on the Modenas, but dropped back to within one second of Jurgen van den Goorbergh; Kirk McCarthy took the last point. There were three more finishers: Jurgen Fuchs, Lucio Pedercini, Kenny Roberts Jr. and Laurent aveau, Roberts giving Modenas their first two-bike finish. There were several crashers. Peter Goddard was the first. Starting from way back he was trying too hard to make up time and fell heavily on the second lap, banging his head but without serious.damage. Corser fell later on. the same lap, losing the battle of stopping the front wheel from tucking under. Puig also fell after eight laps, trying to escape from the second group to challenge the leaders. The points gap closed up to just five Doohan on 70, Criville on 65, miles al1ead of Okada and Nobuatsu Aoki on 38 apiece, with Takuma Aoki on 37. Criville earned the satisfaction of his home win with a fiRe ride. But he wasn't tested. The story is not over yet. 2SOCC GRAND PRIX .Once again, the promise of revived close 250cc racing '(Japanese wild cards notwithstanding) was not fulfilled. It was a procession. The reasons were clear - a couple of early incidents that cut a swath through the front-runners. The first happened in the first comer, as Olivier Jacque led Waldmann and the pack. Just behind. them Ukawa swerved tight on the exit, straight across Capirossi. The pair collided and both fell, and .though the Japanese rider continued, Capirossi did not. Then on the second lap, after Biaggi had moved into third past Harada, he was knocked flying by his Japanese rival, apparently unwilling to be overtaken. He took to the gravel, and though he managed to stay aboard, he was way· down in 22nd when he rejoined. Jacque was full of painkillers and mesotherapy, but couldn't stay with Waldmann when the Gem1aTI went past on the third lap. The reason was a rear tire that was way too hard - the reason rather embarrassing for Dunlop. He'd made a good d1oke, but the rubber supplied was wrongly numbered, and he didn't get the compound he expected. Thus the German had an easy ride to a relatively easy first win of the year. Harada had not come out of his collision unscathed. An exhaust was damaged, and he dropped right back to seventh as he assessed the problem. He was down on power, but managed to move back through steadily, catching the sliding Jacque just before half-distance to secure a lucky second place. Meanwhile, Biaggi was charging through. On lap 13 he caught a gang of three disputing fourth place and moved straight through. Takeshi Tsujin1ura and Aokj came with him as he caught Jacque, and both also pa sed the Frend1.... man in the closing stages. Stefano Perugini was left slightly behind, but he too passed the Honda rider to take sixth. On the last lap, Jacque lost even more ground, and only just held on to seventh from Suzuki rider Noriyasu Numata, who had outpaced fast-starting Jeremy McWilliams on the QVB Honda in the closing stages. Ukawa had fought his way' back up to seventh befor.e retiring with two laps left with engine problems - possibly caused by his first-lap crash. Migliorati and Porto were among several crashers; Kurtis Roberts did not finish the first lap after a fuel breather blocked. Harada hasn't won a race yet this season, but maintained his championship lead, 56 point to Biaggi's 50. Waldmarm has 49, Ukawa and Aoki are tied on 30. 125cc GRAND PRIX Airtel ApriIia's Jorge Martinez was a

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