Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) Valentino Rossi (46) won for a fourth time, this time topping Tomoml Manako (3) and Garry McCoy. (Right) Harada celebrates his first 250cc Grand Prix win of the season. Briefly~ ••" Ma.r1boro denied ru":'ors ihat they have issuEid arr' ultimalum' fo 'No motorcycle ~as ori hand, but technical ~~awirigs and phot09raphs showed a handsome, spareV-lwin. with greal'littentiori Team Roberts about ihe Poor'performance o(the Modenas V3.·A paid tq use, of space, The, rear While'Power suspension unit Is , report in an ItaOan magazine stated that, they had threatened to slung underheath the motor. and oil is carned in the single ba,ck' pull the plug on the 'project - which cornered all ttieir 50Occ-c1ass .Y";"aha has follo';'ed Suzukj's.b8ck"to-the.-Mur~ trend.. brlnging a sponsorShip at the expense of Team Rainey,Yamaha - before the bone frame tube, which Unks a. pair· of castings 'top and liottom. ·W bike ou\'of mothballs for Nqrifumi Abe in a bid to find'out . end oflne season, jf better results were not forthcoming.. ~This is Steering angle will be 26 degrees, and 25 degrees for the Cafe where his former competitive speed has gone, Abe won the completely .untrue:" said a spokeSman· for Phillip Morris, 'We do RaCer version, The battery is slung ,loW in fiont of ,the' r!'ar ·v;heel, Japanese GP last year.. claimed three'podium'finishes and placed' ask (or reports: b~tthere has bee,n no 'such threat In the firsl sea' ':and the fuel is just abo:,e it With regional government backing a.s fifth overall, bUlthis year his best result has been 'a trio of seventh' ,son "I a new bike, you cannot· expect toO much, Even ,Honcja has, well as commeroial backing from ANVAR and Michelin, the bike had deyelop'(T1ent problems wilh new de,signs. We do exp,ect ':wiil be'shown to the pulilic for th",· first tim!' in ·SeptE!mber, Poyvplaces.as he. struggles ·to get his Yamaha to match -the pace set by Cadalo.ra's machi"e - let alOne the Hondas, "Luca likes the '97 .things to be beller for the ,next GP. af Assen.' The Modenas has ered by a 72-degree'V-twin with twin overhead ,camshafts and' bike. bUt his style is different, .fro", mine:The -engine of the old· scored a best of eighth.thi. Ileason at the 'l.talian,GP. in' the bands four valves per cylinder, the Voxan has. no ·bal'mce shaft - one Will" bike 'is not as good a~ the new one. but I thin~ ifs helpi~g'in!, to , of Jean-Michel,Bayh;>, but has been pragued' With a variety of'diffj· be filled if, vibration.is a probl\'!m. b'ut this is, not expected to be ' the· case. said Alain Chevalier, furmer GP' constructor, who has have the old bike," commented Ab!" after. placing a disappointing' culties and breakages: while' second rider Kenny Roberts,'Jr, has l4th on ,thE! first day of "ractice' "Nonck do",sn't have a 'good yet to score points: Kenny Roberts Sr., has prCimisea ,re,viseo' been 'responsible for the chassis design, Two engin.,. sizes' are' feeling gOing into the turns on this year's bike', 'so we've 'brought equipment, for ttie Dutch IT, niis we~kend, they' had revised ' plaimed: ~ ooacc and 1240c':. with'different verSions of each availback the '96 bike to see'what happens:" said team owner Wayne, 'crankcas,es. after tuner Bud Aksland' flew from the 'States to ·their' able, One Will be Iiniited to lOG :bnp for the, French market, but an ' ynrestricted'125-bhp version ';'ill also be available: The power Rainey,'"We're trYing'lots 01 things: and' this is orie of them," ,English heapquariers, 'lucky Strike Suzuki rider 'DarYl Sea!:!ie h.as ,b'llen racing a' hybrid . " "islric,tion will, be ach,ieved ,by electroriic; engine-management' Telease, 'full . '961'97 bike si~ce the Japanese GP:' combining tbe tatest motor Fon'l1er unexpectedly 'free-Jance, rider, Luca Cadalora 'has" 'technigues" In ,,?ther, words: all you bave ,to do power i~' chang'e tlie' chip', ·AlthOugh ;!ie ful[·po",er engine :win rev with last 'year"s chassis: Teammate'. Anthony·,Gobert, 'as' vilell ,as·, agreed Qn ierms ',with, Bob Maclean·" new oWner of, the 'Hed Bull bis.' earlienubstitute Peter doddard,"have stayed ,with the, latest 'Yamaha'team" following the take,over, after thr.ee 'races, from.' 'to 950,0 rpm" the goal has been high torqiJe at'lowe'r revs.. The slimline IIghtw,eight.. ' ,,,. , ':: " " : ' -: ", " " ' " Alfred Inzinger'and PQwer Horse, BiJt teammate Troy C9rSer bas'" cams operate,a tappet. ratherthan' acting directly' on the valves; ,. ' not yet been signed up, Both .riderS had been in a'questI9nable·, with' careful ramp design offering ultra-quick ,valve' openln·g,and, , , " ' . " ' The, 'reigning radng king 'M,ici.a,el :~an' and Yo~ng P.l:eiim>ler. ' situatiorr after the, team folded' with' fiAanCial problems at the start ,closing, Cruiser: sports and cafe,racer variations aie planned, : ' Anthony' Gobert clashed ilt Paul Ricard witti an all-Australiarr "9f th~,season·:,CadaIOra,best non-Honda sq far this 'year by far; war of words: followln'g an incident in the ,fiiSttimEid practice ses- . , had bee,n ru~or~ to be coMidering offers from other teams, "There'were a numoer,of ;,re..... 'at the French cireuii: which is' including Suzuki and Pons Honda, But even as these rumors. wefe' ''';'uch,disliked not only for lhe facl'that there are,only two left-, ,sion, Doohan. going ,for a fast lap, cut inside Gobert unexpected" denied, be was agr.eei.ng o'T,term~ Witb tlie new,owner. 'Ar:ne;;can ':hane) corners. making life hard for tires, but also' because the surIy,' forcing the former:ri1otocrosser to, run· on straigh'l across:the gravel, narrowly escaping a crash, After, the session, Gober! commillionairelTacirrg fan Maclean, "It was done on a handshake , face g.fip,changes a great deal with differen·t c.onditions, The worst injury of practice ,Was ,suffered by -British, 25,Occ .suzuki rider after the Austrian' GP:" said team manager Peter Clifford, "We mented, "I 'thought ,it was 'a lillie bil unnecessary, He was obvi·ously going for a quick 'time and he thought there was room to are still negotiating' with, Corser, and we all 'agree the situation' .Jamie RobinsOn, He crashed on' pne of the left-handers, break. i'1g 'his ankle' and:his wrist -- but he' hopes to be fit'in time for come inside'. but there wasn't. I had to pick it up and run' off orito' , must be resolved .before the next GP at Assen, in three' wf;!eks" Assen, Kurtis Roberts broke his:tibia in a similar crash, Others the dirt.. If ne:>t for my collarbone, injury, I probably would bave car- , We have be~n W?rkin!1 through lingering 'contracts with 'the 'prev!injured 'incJuced Jorg'e Martinez. With a' ,finger that required ried on tipping it over, and maybe we' d have 'both gone down,' ous team owner. but there are no ronger any impediments to sUrgery and a broken scaphoid; Luca Boscoscuro. with a wrist r~ching an agreement.." What' goes around.. C9ffi\'!S around: H,e'll get' his,"' Doohan, con' fracture: and Masaki Tokudome. with. dislocated Shoulder, ' fronte,d with this, respon~ed Ie:> an intervjewer: "If he thinks I just . ' ..' . . arrived yest\'!rday. he's in for a big surprise," Later, the pair ran, W9rld'$uperoike Ch~mplon Troy Co~r. meanWhile, 'has' been naving, a' d&eply, disappointing GP debut season. With three race, - Frenchmarstials were criti~ized after Sete Gibemau crashed , into each otlier in Dr, 'Claudio Costa's clinic, The Italian doetor.s his _Rain\'!y Yamaha in the final ·sesSion. A small fire started under stood back in ama~ement as angry word~, were exchanged: c,!,shes in· the firs! five,races. and no indication that he'is close to Doohan felt ~hal the tnreat to knock (lim off was not appropriate, 'achieving mastery of a' 500ce twerstroke" Former works rider Niall, the bike', 'bul it seemed'like more than a minute betore the panic· while GQbert had his oWn view, "He seems to think ihat he ,had _ Mackenzie was a visitor' to the team. brought in' to try and help stricken coroer yvorkers managed to 'find a fire extinguisher.. Amlizingly, the bike'did not go up in flames, ' , the r:acing line, but 'I dio~'t e'(en 's~ him until after I''!''as already' Corser find his fee.t ."I'm not here to,wave my '"!,,gic wand;" he '.' . . ' , ' , tipping it in," said Gobert later: Obs80'ers relished the confrontasaid, Irish rider .Jere",y ~cWil/i.",s'had'a lucky escape "n the first, lion, while the "mused Cobert pull!,d up outside the' Honda pit the next morning on the way out to prectice, taunting Doohan:by, A number'of Gmad 'Prix' a~d:World'SupE,rbike rid~rs were preparday of pr~ctic,!, with a freak crash, at the ·Cqurbe,de Signes at the rewing his bike and ,gesturing, with his·,head:- "W~ just laughed,"' ing for. this year's Suzuka 8-Hour on,July'27, Michael Doohan and. eAd of the Mistral Straight. one. of the fastest 'comers in GP 'racMax Biaggi Will no~, however, be among them,·in spite of report: ing, !'lis, QUB Honda sprang,a waler leak onto the back tire, on the said a m.ember o~ Dooban's team, The pair clashed also at 'preedly heally pressure from Honda, This, ye,.r marks .Honda's' ~trnigtit. and, a,s he ,tipped the'bike oller. the rear' stepp&d right, ,season tests at Phillip Island.. after a similar dispute over a comer . Hne, ' , , 50th anniversary, and tbe 20th of the prestigious race, and 'out.:and he was thrown out of the saddle, He, hit his helmEit on the , " ,4l' . .., repor:ts from Japan are tbat HRC was very anxious' for poohan to front forks and smashed the screen, but landed back in 'the· seat. Former'three-time.World Cham.pion l(enny Roberts - now heed ride. He'has'declir>ed, however, and defused the rumors'as best ,"I Was beading straight for a.barrier, but somehow I,managed to· ,6f the tvlaribori:i,Modenas team -- ~as eecome a. grandfathe'r, His he could .. saying, ".l'told f'lRC I didn't waAt to, 'and they said get it ,turned away," he said, McWilliam.s fell agai,; the next day, ' ·"da'ughter, KristiE1 gave birth to a son in tne·week betWeen,'th e Aus, "O~y.'" AlexC.riville wilJ ride there, probably with John Kocinski: 'w.itliout injury,"but then crashed heavily again in morning Warm·up, , 'trian'and,French GPs, " 'Taday_"i Okada is e~pected tobe teamed with Aaron'Slighr;w!iile' Another leak Qf-some 't)ipe 'seemed to 'be ihe ca~se,' ,Ta~ul1)a and No~,uatsu AQki will sha,e a,noiher Hondit, Troy. Cors- . . "Fr~n~h 5bbcc.~las~ 'P.ri~ateer,'Regis ,L8~oni,is m,a'klng ,a.'g06d , er and ~colt RUllSell are expected to sh~re one Yamaha, ,Cplin' Thi~ve's were, in g~od for;'" ~t,Palli ·Ri';',~, On'e victii1) 'waS a· Edwards and Hilga'another: Sil1)on Crafar and Akira,Yanagawa will, . Michelin technician, who was late 'to, the circuit'on thefirsl day of , recovery from s,enou,s Int\,!mal injuries' sustained'in his first'corrier 'cn;sh ,in last weekend's Austrian-GP, The' Frenchman .was, r.un share a ,Kawasaki, Anthony GQ~erl wanted to race 'thEire" but has ,practice, He'cj parked h)s VV:J. Golt'in'the usual secur,e packing lot' over by'two other rlqer,;, and suffered' a .hematoma of the IIv\'!r: as' , bee;' told he'may n9t, '."1 also, waoted to rape at, t;'aytom., but, , outsid.,. his hoteJ the night' before, .lhieves .had' struck, but the, -.yEiIl as eigh,t bro.ken ribs, On Saturday. the news from France was' Suzuki, seems' to think that might affect my .op peiforrriance,: immobiljze·r system had foiled tneir atte'mpt : ,so' they 'took the wheels instead, ,leaving 'the 'hatchbaCK on its .belly, Anoth'er ca~' though I don't' see whY," -he said," '" tha't M',-had regained consCiousness

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