Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD RACE Come the race, however, it was the man who had been written off by most experts, Dunlop, who was to come through to claim a 22nd IT win. Quarter-liter Grand Prix bikes are notoriously unrelia ble on the Isle of .M an. The numerous bumps give the lightweight bikes a terrible hammering, and it was Moodie who was first to suffer. Despite holding third place through the first two split times of the opening lap, his Honda lost all its gears on the way down the mountain, and he was forced to retire at the pits. Moodie had only been one second behind Dunlop at the time of his retirement, who in turn was just two seconds behind McCallen. By the end of the opening tour, however, it was Dunlop who was back in front - just. Behind the front two, top qualifier Ian ,Lougher could not match his practice pace and, although now lying third with Moodie's demise, he was hampered by a motorcycle which had seized early in the race and which was obviously prone to doing so again. Dunlop still led by one second at the half-distance pit stops, and it was here he was to win the race. In an ironic reversal of the preceding Saturday's events, it was McCallen who was to experience the pit-stop calamity. His crew belatedly decided that the rear Michelin tire was worn enough to warrant a last-minute change. Phillip lost 18 seconds, and effectively the race. In his effort to pull back the deficit, he crashed - at Quarry Bends on the third lap, breaking a bone in his left hand. Dunlop was left with a lead of nearly a minute over another Irishman, Gary Dynes, who had pushed Lougher down to third place. The last lap was a cruise for Dunlop as he romped home to another TI victory. Afterward, the Irishman was his usual nonchalant self. "I enjoyed it, althou$h it was tough battling with Phillip for the first two laps," he said with some understatement. '1 had no real problems and the bike ran very well. The back tire was quite badly worn on the last lap, and I had one almighty slide at Handley's Corner. But I didn't think it was worth the risk of making a tire change." It was a close call. If Dunlop had had a relatively easy last two laps, it was anything but for his pursuers. Dynes, Lougher, Shaun Harris and John McGuinness were swapping places at every split time. Eventually, it was Lougher who pulled through to finish as runner-up. He was relieved and surprised at the finish~ "After the bike seized on the first lap, I had to keep two fingers on the clutch for the remainder of the race, in case it nipped. up again," Lougher 5aid. "It played on my mind throughout, and this affected my concentration. Also, the revs were pulling very slowly, but I managed to find something on the last lap." It was just as well Lougher did find something, as young Englishman McGuinness rode a storming last lap to claim third spot just 1.4 seconds Behind him. McGuinness was ~ompeting in only his second TT, and made a little history as he gave Aprilia its first podium finish on the Isle of Man. His last lap was also the fastest of the race. Naturally, he was a happy man. "The bike was fantastic, absolutely fantastic," he said. "Honestly, it never missed a beat. I am pleased for Aprilia. I tried to keep the same pace for the whole race, although I took it a bit easy at the start. I would have been happy with a top-10 finish, if you had asked me my expectations before the race, so Isle of Man IT this (third place) is like a dream." New Zealander Shaun Harris was quite hard on himself after his ride to fourth place - despite riding the entire last 38-mile lap with his rear brake and footpeg hanging off, leaving his righ t foot trailing in midair. "That's pretty disgusting," he said, when told he had placed fourth. "I obviously didn't ride hard enough. I apologize to the team for that, because the bike went so well - the engine and handling were perfect. We should have been on the podium." Gary Dynes was also disappointed with the fifth spot - especially as he had been as high as second after McCallen's. (Above) Englishman Ian Simpson led a Honda rout of the Junior 600cc race, taking the win and setting a new lap record In the process. His average speed on the lap was nearly 120 mph. (Left) Dunlop (3) chases Rutter at the "Bungalow',' during the F1 race. Dunlop was running strongly until after his first pit stop - It took 83 seconds. acciden t. He had ridden a heroic last lap, though, as he had use of only fourtlt and fifth gears during that time. 125cc It was a former Aprilia man who took the 125cc honors. Lougher, now converted back to Hondas, took his second IT win after a nice-long duel with Irishman Dennis McCullough. It has been a long wait for the Welshman to add to his IT victory tally - seven years, in fact - and his triumph was very similar in method to his 1990 250cc win over Steve Hislop, in that Lougher trailed by two seconds at the start of mountain climb on the last lap, but pulled out a two-second lead himself over the final stretch of the course, breaking the lap record to boot. This is exactly what happened on this occasion, with McCullough ahead at Ramsey on the last lap. Lougher pulled back the deficit over the mountain and broke the lap record as well. The Welshman now holds both 125cc and 250cc.lap records for the Mountain Circuit. Robert Dunlop, Joey's younger brother, finished a heroic third on his Honda. This was the Irishman's first IT since his horrific accident at BaIlaugh in 1994, in which he broke nearly every bone in his body. His arms are still very thin and weak, and it is all he can do to race a 125cc machine, but with a "pushbutton" front brake, he was able to be on the pace for most of the race. In time , he will get stronger, and another IT win may still be his in the years to come. Joey Dunlop had his worst 125cc race in years. The Honda Britain team was unable to overcome handling and engine problems from practice, and Joey finished 10th. SINGLES The Single Cylinder race was run simultaneously with the 125cc event, and nearly brought the best TI result by an American since Pat Hennen's fifth place in 197{'s Senior race (that's if we exclude Dave Roper's 1984 Classic IT win - very much a support element of that year's race schedule). McLean was riding in his fourth IT, and is somethillg of a single-cylinder expert. He has learned the course quickly, considering his relatively little experience with the 38-mile course, and he was on the qualifying pace right from the start aboard his 570cc Ducati Supermono. Although pre-race favorite Dave Morris aboard the 650cc Chrysalis BMW eventually demoted him to second place at the end of practice week, McLean was only .6 of a second behind, and very confident before the race of winning. Indeed, the Californian started' out at a very hot pace, and led at the end of the opening lap by seven seconds from Morris. The rest of the field were alread y ou t of it. Morris, however, admitted that he had over-geared his bike, and it had taken him the best part of the first lap to get used to the drive of the bike. On the second lap, he started to catch up with the American and, by the pit stops at the end of the lap, Morris led by five seconds. McLean initially didn't let Morris get too far ahead, though, until the beginnings of an electrical problem set in over the Mountain section on the third lap, and the Englishman was able to lead by a comfortable 12 seconds at the end of the lap. Unfortunately for Mclean, he wasn't just about to lose the race, but any chance of a podium position, too, as the Ducati's electrics stopped complete- ly halfway around lap four, allowing Morris to win as he pleased. After finishing fifth in the same race in 1996, McLean this year demonstrated how much he has improved. This was a fine ride, and it will be interesting to see how he performs in 1998, in what could be the last year of the Singles TT. JUNIOR 600cc In the four-lap 600cc race, Ian Simpson twice smashed the lap record at 119.86 mph on his way to an emotional maiden TT win. The former British Champion dominated the race from the start on his V&M CBR600, and the expected main protagonist, Phillip McCallen, was never within a shout. Simpson led by 10 seconds at the end of the opening lap, and by 23 seconds at the half-distance pit stops. Thereafter, he wisely settled down to win by half a minute. It was a second IT win for the Simpson family. "My dad won here in 1976:' Simpson said. "And it's been a dream of mine to win a TT since then. It's difficult to explain how it feels right now. I really went for it on the first two laps, but once I caught Phillip up on the road, I knew I could just sit behind him to the finish (knowing he would win on corrected time). The bike was absolutely perfect, and so were the Pirelli tires." McCallen was expected to be troubled by the broken hand he incurred in his 250cc get-off two days before, but refused to use that as an excuse. "To be honest, my hand didn't give me any trouble," he said. "I was a little circumspect going through Quarry Bends (where he had crashed), because when you fall off at that speed, your confidence is affected. The Motorcycle

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