Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Right) Chicco Chiodi finished second in both motos and only allowed puzar to gain a single point in the World Championship point standings. Chlodi now leads by 22 points after five of 12 rounds. (Below) American Badar Manneh only just missed out on finishing on the rostrum In the second moto as he was beaten to the line by Max BartolinI. Brieflv ~~. • Michele Fanton had a party on Friday evening to celebrate 15 years ot GP competi· tion, It is a number few can match. but it is not a record, England's Perry Leask, still a GP regular in the 500s, actually rode a complete season on factory 125cc Hu~kys as long ago ,as 1979, while Jacky Martens and Gert Jan Van Doom were also already on the scene in 1982, For the first four GPo Sand... Puzar has had "Cleany" on the back of hiS motocross pants, It's. an Anglo·German connectie;," for the Ital· ian: putzen" it) German. pronounced as Puzar in Italian, being the word for "cleaning," And the tw",time ex·champ is cleaning up this year. 'for his second 'GP win of the year at Maggio. ra, . however, the message had been changed to "The Wild One, " ' M Race two restored the supremacy of the Sandro and Chicco show, Federici made a total hash of the start - 20th on lap one - and clearly panicked, "I was right behind him when he crashed," Nunn explained. "He just seemed to take a big handful of throttle and looped out on that cambered tum, But he was riding so bad, getting in my way. [ would have passed him anyway." Nearly last when he got back on, the first-race winner was a thankless 16th (only 15 score in the GPs) at the end of race two. He was not the only one in trouble. Teammate Thomas Traversini" fresh from his best result of the year - fourth in race one - was nursing an arm injury after being T-boned, series number three Frederic Vialle was in the Clinica Mobile getting a sprained right wrist strapped up after a similar incident elsewhere on the first lap - and Malin toured in a distant last after a nasty crash at the top of the track while holding seventh. "My own fault," Malin said. "I clipped the tire track markers. My bike stayed there as I tumbled to the bottom of the hill." Czech champion Kuchar came over the brow of the hill in the pack and slammed into the Yamaha and the gear pedal was wrapped around the footrest and the bottom of the frame. Keen to at least ride a 45-minute race, Malin stopped to have a new. pedal fi,tted, but only lasted one more lap. "The internal mechanism must be damaged," he said. "It won't select gear properly." Manneh had made one of the patented starts for which he was once famous, but Puzar knows of old that Bader can be more than a little obstructive once in front and took him all the way out to the track markers in turn one to let Bartolini through. Chiodi was fourth and his fourth-lap move on Manneh was the signal for Puzar to pass his fellow TM rider. By the time Chiodi had done likewise the gap was seven seconds. The Yamaha man tried hard, but puzar was not going to let his rival close enough for a repeat of race one, and he stopped his advance when the gap got down to five, The moto and the GP went to Puzar, but Chiodi still leads by 22 points. Manneh withstood a strong challenge from Erik Camerlengo, the number two in the Magic Bike team for which Bob Moore rides, and got close to Bartolini at the finish - but just came up short of his first podium finish since 1994. Italians ,often have their own rule., 'It is .co;;;. pulsory to provide washing areas for bikes in the paddock, and there were nearly 50 boxes in Maggiora· but the leams all had to drag their own ppwer~washers there each. time as none were provided by the organizers, You see, the FIM rule does not specifically, say that: )/ou ,must also provide ,equipmen'l. One hour after th'e start of technical:control on:Friday,it'. started to' rain, Even though onI}' about 30 bikes had been tested by then. ·the. federation· 'official with the noise meter decided h'e was going ~",me - and the other 50 bikes h'ad to be pr~sented for noise·testing on '$aturday ,mom· i~g', The main support race at M~ggiora was a ..,ootel'·cr:os•. IndeeCl the event was con· sidered such an attraction that there' were as many advertising posters in the area for that , race as there were for the GP. Among the competitors were ex·GP riders Giuseppe Gas· pardone and Paola Caramellino, For the first time this year. there was a KTM in qualification at a 125cc GP, England's Ryan Voase had been missing previously after.a tumor was found on his right lung and he had to have an operation to remove a third of it. Currently using a 1997 production bike with a factory engine, Ryan has only been ridin9 again for two weeks and flot surprisingly did not qualify, HI' shoold have a '98 modei by the end of the month. Multiple World Enduro .Champion Peul. Edmond....., 'racirig in cross co'untry events fo'r American Suzuki ,this year.. will ,race the 125cc class of the British double:he-ader GP: Pll!ul Mll!li" was' back to try again in Italy:, "The specialist says tbat I'can't have another' injection.. and thaI I may occasionally get twinges' in my back like' I,did last week. I have been having physiotherap~ every day and have ridden twice this ~ek, • Bob Moore had not been able to rid,e aU' week and quit OR Saturday, afte~ first P"'!'tice: "I simpiy don't have any,strllngth in my upper al'lTls to hold.the bike on the dovmhills, " , The support program at the famous Namur trac'k, scene of tne Belgian 5ClOcc, GP, in Augu,st, will be a veteran'cross· and Dll!ve' Thorpe has been invited to compete.. ' The '_n~re~ chemPJ-SllIpll! now read: 125; Yamaha 186. TM f 54. Husqvama . 122. Kawasaki 104, Honda 100, Suzuki 42. 250: Honda 2 t 2: Kawasakf 178: Suzuki·168. ' Yamaha 142. K'fM 50, 500:' 'KTM t 02, Hus· aberg 92., Yamaha 82, ,I-!on~ 79" Hus!'l"ama 64, Kawasaki 63. Venemati.20.. ' , " "That was good for me," Manneh said. "It has helped my confidence a lot. [ changed back to the 125s this year because the 250s were getting real strong, but a lot of other guys did the same and the 125s are harder than ever this year." t:N Italian 125cc GP Maggiore, Italy Resulta: May 11, 1997 (Rouncj 5 of 12) MOTO : 1 Oa,udio Federici (Hus); 2 Chicoo Chiodi (Yam); 3 Sandra Puzar (TM); 4 Thomas Traversini (Hus); 5 Lui~i Seguy (TM); 6 Alex Belomelti (Kaw); 7 M.. Bartoli", (Thl); 8 Mickael Maschio (Hon); 9 Nicolas Charlier (Kaw); 10 Carl Nunn (Hon); 11 David Vuillemin (Yam); 12 Frederic ViaHe (Yam); 13 Erik Camerlengo (Yam); 14 Patrick Caps (Yam); 15 Michele Fanton (Kaw). MOTO 2: 1 Sandro puzar (TM); 2 Chicco Chiodi (Yam); 3 Max Bartolini (TM); 4 Bader Manneh (Hon); 5 Erik Camerlengo (Yam); 6 Mickael Maschio (Han); 7 Michele Fanion (Kaw); 8 Alex Belometti (Kaw); 9 Brian Jorgensen (Han); 10 Luigi Seguy (TM); 11 Sebastien Trottier (Han); 12 David Vuillemin (Yam); 13 James Dobb (Suz); 14 Carl Nunn (Hon); 15 Nicolas Charlier (Kaw). Olk 1 Sandra Puzar (TM); 2 Chkco Chiodi (Yam); 3 Max Bartolini (TM); 4 Claudio Federici (Hus); 5 Mickael Maschio (Han); 6 Alex Belometti (Kaw); 7 Luigi Seguy (TM); 8 Erik Camerlengo (Yam); 9 Bader Manneh (Han); 10 Thomas Traversini (Hus). USee WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (Aft.r S of 12 rounds), 1 Chicco Chiodi (167/1 win); 2 Sandra puzar (145/2); 3 Frederic Via lie (105/1); 4 Claudio Federici (102); 5 Mickael Maschio (84); 6 Bob Moore (72/1); 7 Luigi Seguy (66); 8 Alex Belome.trt (58); 9 Michele Fanton (51); 10 Thomas Traversini (48); 11 David VuiUlemin (48); 12 Nicolas Charlier (45); 13 Philippe Dupasquier (45); 14 Xavier Colomer (41); 15 Max Bartolini (38); 16 Erik Camerlengo (27); 17 James Dobb (27); 18 Bader Manneh (25); 19 Jerome Hemery (6); 20 Erik Eggens (16), Upcoming Rounds: Round 6 " Foxhills, England, May 25 Round 7 - Orehova Vas, Slovenia, June 1

• Cover