Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD RACE Round 8: Imola Grand Prix WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD RACE SERIES Dooh an lasted in th ird for one la p, then was up to second behind Chec a on the fifth of 25 laps. Doohan wa s in no hurry , so he sta lked for two laps before poun cing on the seven th lap' with Aoki coming along wi th him. When Doohan crossed the line to en d the lap he had a little mo re tha n a second lead on Aoki. It ap peared tha t he wo uld split, but he did n't and the marg in didn't g ro w a p p recia b ly . It wa s som eth ing Doohan noticed . "It's a hard place to pass so I thou ght I'd ju st bid e my time and settle into a gro ove and pic k th em off as I cou ld: ' Doo han said . "Then I got u p to the fro ': t and I noticed that Aoki was just follow ing me, pr etty much doing what I w as do ing , and I thought I'd br eak his concen tra tion a little bit, let him have th e lead at the front. " That ha ppened on the 15th lap, w hen Doohan trailed for three to urs of the 3.03-mile circuit. "Altho ug h when I did that, I noticed when I com e aruund there was only 10 laps to go so it caught me a little by su rprise as wel t " Doohan ad ded . "Then I just tried to show him a wheel whenever I cou ld wit hout actua lly passing him, again to just try to break his conce ntratio n - to jus t let him know that I can pass him. Then when I di d get by him, I ju st put ,m y h e a d do w n a nd h ope fu ll y pulled a little bit of a ga p on him. And aga in for his concentration, again it's a different way of thinking. I thin k, also, I Rail Waldmann (2) leads Max Bl agg l (1) and Tohru Ukawa in th e 250cc Gra nd Pr ix. Blaggl won , recap tu ring the champi on sh ip points lead In the p rocess. u ntil the probl em stru ck and, because I used a hard tire, I was able to keep up th a t p a ce to th e e nd : ' H a r ad a sa id . "Ma x is q u i te luc ky to have won, because if I cou ld ha ve cau ght him, I w ou ld h a v e b een ab le to p a ss hi m towa rd the end of the race." He was one bet ter th an Ap rilia test rid er Ma rce llin o Lucc hi , the wild car d taking sixth by himself in fron t of QUB Team Optimum' s Jeremy McW illia ms. McWilliams scra p ped w it h An tena 3 S.S.P. Com pe ticio n 's Lu is 0 ' .... in atmost the entire wa y until the Spariiard fell off on the finat lap whi le in pursu it. Th at left McWilliams in se venth a n d ga ve e ig h t h to Ma tt e oni Racing' s Haruchika Aoki. tion . From the pole position , he wa tched as N obu Aoki go t the hol eshot, only to ge t passed by Carl os Checa on th e ru n to tum one. Gobert was third, then came Doohan. Th e order did n ' t cha nge until the fourth lap when Dooh an took over third wi th a clean pa ss aft er Gobert ran wid e in a Ie ft-ha nder. Giv en th e acrimony built up between the two Australians, it w a s a relief to see it done well . 500cc GRAND PRIX Mi chael Doohan does n't n orm ally start well and thi s ra ce was no excep- ... the suppo rt to ha've a ' brand-new motorcy cle at ' every rBC~ • not just. one that' s 90(3 'couple thou sand kilometers on it . We' and .: the o nly' th'ing' , thoug ht' ;;"'ould hold me back. Buronq-.V I'm ' reolJy ·in the position w here, I thought I wo uld be at the start . It was.' only the co llarbo ne thet was holding m back. I've. got that aut of the way , e so now l'rri readi .to-go . With the, Dun lop I used to go stra ight out, At Imala. Yamaha , Tea m Rai n~Y' s W~yne R~i n ey reafflrm~d . l'd do an out lap. and assoon as 1crossed the. firn line I'd try to ah comments he'd made 'e arlier about his pursuit of Aepsol Hondo'a . Lucky Strike Suzuki' s Antho.ny Gobert co~tinued his attack on go for my time. I've so rt of bee n doing that w ith the Mi chelins.'· l've Michael , Doohan for the 199a seaso n, " According to Mic k. jf ' Repsol Honda's, M ichael Dcohan ' w ith a scathing co lumn ' in Enq-: been seeing how hard l can push if stralqht a'way, And I was 'sort 'of we' can do this, it' s done." Rainey said abo ut the 'po ssible deal ' land 's " S uperbi ke ", magazi ne . ·~ I don 't Hke him or his a tti t ude " only giving it one lap on the way ,out' and going for' it as soonas I t hat. wo ul d put t he, three -ti me ,W orld C ham pion o n Yama has: tow ard or anyt hinq to,'do with him, He's justsomebody I have. v. cross ed the line. So it's the kind of thinqwherel basically qotkind Rainey 'Said that Da ohan approached, him about jOining the ,team ' ~ no ti me f. r at all, " . Gobert said in the colu mn. aft er describ ing a , of cauqht .out.'I had a co uple of big slides on thetep .cn a new tire o at the second race of the year in .Japan. Because he nearly signed r iear crash' he held hod with Doohan. He elso clclrns that Doc hon and I said t o mySelf I should sort of 'Nai~ another lap for a time , BU,t hun twoyears ago (before 'it a,l fell ,messilY apart) , Hainey w anted . has 'nearly tak en him out three time s, 'including once' dUring a test . , I want it all so bad-t hat it 's very hard to bepatlent and that' s really' l to make .sure 'that this deal was solid .'." lf we 're going to db it;: I , iil Phillip Island, ." 1 got quite angry at Phillip Island andl did give' rriy doWnfaJl ·l'm not patient. I wa nt it so.ba d. lqot caught out. but want ,it to be co ncrete _ not th e way rt was in 'the past. ~ Though " him,the bird. W e had a talk abo ut it then and worked out that we it' s the kind of thin'g whe re I' m y oung: I' m fit. and I'm strong', and -D c ch an said he'd likely know about his future by the next GP. at ' should be friend s: then he persist ed to keep doing it . " Gobert J m ready to do the se things , sa w hateve r it take s to do, I' m going ' t he N urbu rgring in t wo weeks ti me , Rainey 's aid t hat Ya maha . said that he's found too many egos In the G P pedd oc k. . " W hen to do." He said that when he crashed he w ent over the handlebars didn't need an' 'an swer until the end' of August. And, ·though the yo u get [ac k-o ffs like Mic k Do ohari, who think that they're- the : and ove r the front wheel, The bike slid on fop o f him. He 'said it had ' tw o vyo rld Ch ampions want to make the deal: it's no t Without its • queen bee, if 's really kind of a down er for the spo rt.... The column happ ened before on e .superbike. " but .the GP 'bike 's that muc h pttfalls., "There are a lot mo re . pr ob lems to having ' M ick. on the was in respo nse to one w hich Doohan had written 'after their Clash , Iig~ter and I w as able to.just push it off.,M" . ,... , . . , , ' team , There 's the' relation ship that Yamaha and Hond a have; If In France. That co lumn w as faxed to ,Spain. whe re Gobert was Afte r re turning Hometo Barcelonafrom 'A ssen. Hepsol Honda' s : ' Honda doe sn't went M ic'k. then o kay. If Honda w ants to keep him ', testmq, and, soo n after, while 'he wa·s still anqry .. he go t the call Alex eriville.underwent.a second ski,:! graft in 'a two-hour c pe r- . it could be a big pr oble m." .Halney also said 't hey 'd disc ussed from "Supe rbfke" ' to .do his' co lumn..The pair shared the dais at bringing Doohan' e tech.nical, crew, headed by fellow A usste 'J erry Satu rday' s pres aconference fo r the fron t row o f the Im01 O P . etio n at . the Clinica Dexeus, t ho~ g h his prognosis 'remains guard ~ a ed. If the' graft takes. the Spaniard . whowas seco nd in the 5QOcc . Burge ss, .into the Rainey fold . " lt'a prettyclear what need s to " grid,' H1 hove no pro blem with Ant hony. Msaid Dooh an. w ho w as on , happen, w hat J have to have. Doo ban isn 't the only rider that the pole, when as ked about the incipient fecd .. " I think he's the ' World Champ ionship at the time of.h is cras h, could make his Rainey 's pursuing . He's whittled a.own !'i previcushst of 15. ride rs one w ho 's qone to the pre ss, and said -vartc us th ings'. I really . retu rn to racing at the British Gr and P rix .et D c ninqt cn on Augu st . 17. If not, a second, 'more co mplicated graft may be req uired ,'and to 'six, Though he wo uldn't give all the names on the Jist. he admit· ; have n't' got 'a problem. I'm out here to race 'a mo torcycle. not to ted that two of them were Colin Edwards II and current rider get into a war of 'w ords, It's anot her ieee. 'That's the . ay ! view , . that wo ul d kee p, him out for tw o' months. That operatio n wou ld , w N orifu rni Abe , Luc ky S trike Suzuki' s A nthoriy Gobert isn' t among .. tt ." Gob ert . w ho qualifi ed 0 caree r-best third, responded by saying . involve' gra fti ng his left hand to his right forearm . then casting It Hetney's. c hoices,'.he .sa id , What Rainey k now s .he 'ne e d s to M ne t really intere sted in'off-track things , The press has sort of ' for 15 day s ,' It w ou ld 'be similar. to the one ' W orl d Ch amp io n I'm M ic hael Do o han w as fo rce d to unde rg o wh e n he cr ashed 'a t 'sec ure -Doohen 'a serv ices Is spo r.sc rs t u . To.thet .end. he has ' taken a lot of thin~is andtwis tedthem around and rnadea lot of p Assen -in 199 2 and w as forced to fus e th e frant of one calf to the . searc h co mpanies .In M alay sia. Spain 'and Eng land loo king -for thi ngs a lot wor se than wbet they really are. Personally , I've never bock o f.hia other'c olL ' A doctor wh o op erated ,on Cnv ille soid , money; th ough, as o f now.. he has' no spo nso r commn ments. , had a pro blem with M ic k. I've always res pected him as 0 rider , "We cannot do miracles and the recovery is 'a que stio n of ti me. ·Signing the W ond Champions hip leAder wo uld reju'venate not only And 1 basically .think we just go t off on: the wrong foot : ,I've said Alex has ,be en re spondin g' we ll t o the treatm ent and, for t he' Ri3 iney: but the closs as w ell, he beJicves. ·"The spo rt needs it 'as " several times to him that l'.m w illing to be frien ds , b ut the re's moment: we have checked it and tnere is ' no' infection ,' w hich is ' far as' I'm co nce rned: The Yamaha is good eno ugh to win, We can always some thing that pops up that seem s to just rui'n it all. It optimistic, M 'From Spain, Criv ille said. .M I show people the Yamaha is good enough by putt ing Mick on' it. If ' doe sn' tbother me , I've 'g ot many frien ds : one less does n' t bother ' the' reason w hy we ore fee.! bett er eve ry ' time, but ' l understa nd that the full recover)/ is a ' for,some reaso n Mick: ~ riot suc~essful: they c~uld ~Y 'the Yama: me. " Last yea r. after winning a race, the n stripping ' out o f ',his' , ~a's n.o goo d... · ' leathers and taking his helmet off ·to reveal dyed haIr, Gobert was : lon'9 process 'w hich' need~ ti'me ," Cnville consulted his phy sicians , ta gged as ~ Cru sty the Clown, afte r the character on M The Simp - ' on Saturday mom ing: 'they ' ~aid that it was .too· soon to determine W hen as ked dUrin'~ the pcisFra~e' pr~s~ , ~ onference' if planned s~ns. : His,c1ow nish bemayior this year has assured that the Ot . · if .he' needs ,the ~econd , more ,radical ·skin graft ;'The dec ision 1me likely be, mode .on M ondoy :July'7 , thed oy ofterthe Imola GP, : ' .on,re-signing w it,h the Repsol Hon da team.. Dooha n answered ,.M At , ha, stuck with him , i3nd the .Luc ky Strikc S\JZuk~ pits havc. become s the ' monient l con't imagine why not : Jt's·'early day s and 'silly 'to known as MCru styl~ nd ." In If!lo la , G ob ert had an impressive, i ~ prov~d pe rfo rma nc e' co m" s new pr~b lems : ' M arlbo ro e .spec ulate', also. Ho'nda' s a great team and at the mome nt not h- , rollg hly ,10-foo t-long', figure-a-shaped i n flat~b l e poo l outsi de:'o f ,his ing's been sig,n .. There' s 'been talk' with' vari0L!s teams, pretty . mot orh ome in wh ich he flo.ated on a raft . . ed Team fkibert s Ken.ny Roberts is disco ver ing j u.st that and 'in " .. Italy the talk of carburetors, The te'o m has been ,using a com: much all the teams that are capable o f running good. But noth- , ing 's really been 'o ffered. I don.'! feel ,there's any g'reat rlfs h' to Gobert , who come into GP racing full of predictions of iminiplleated earburetorlfuel' lnjeetion system which Roberts said may h , jump' in at the mom ent . Probably w ithin the next month so mething nent success , admitte d he was overreac hing a bit. " I reckon if 1. . ave been to o amb iti ous. ~ I n hinds ight, w e pr obab ly sho uldn' t have been doing .that, Roberts said. M e should proba bfy have W ,w ill have to be done ; t hen we 'll be .abl~ to' co ncentrate o·n .racing hadn't bro ken my, collarbo ne s O' many ' times in the off -seaso n I'd again, ,This w ould have been good last yea r. If ,w e'd have done hav.e been in, this ', po sition i.n M E:ilay sia, " , Gobert said : ~ Strajght ' gone with carbs . It looked like. for ,the ~rst few races, we weren~t going to· have probl ems. It' s only wh en t he perf orm ance level ' tw o-year deal, eve ryone w ould have ,been happy and I'd have fir:laway. ,as soon as I got on the bike , I felt goo d. my lap times were cOmes up that we sta rted having pro qlem s, Wh en the engine is ished my career If-{lth Honda. I want to: weigh uP' the be st options , :, co mpetitive . ,I was only about half a seco nd slow er than M ick had .I'm not 100 per-cent 'concrete with Honda. If theY,offer m e eve ry~ done,at a lot of places, So I felt very confi dent at the front. l knew 90 to 100 pe rcen t deve lope d.. we have problems w e didn 't have At 80 'percent ~ore co nven tional c~uretors .with float ,bow ls, thing' l'm afte r, th~n w~lIa nd good . It' s not ji.i.st all about money . If that the 'only.'t hing that wou ld hotd me back was r.acing wit h guy s ', .I' m going ,to rocc , I.'w ont" win, So I'm not going to ,ride somc ~ , hadn 't raced with before, and not knowin g how deep they brake.: · w hic h had been 'tested at :the, team"s base in' Banbury , England. thIng that's 'no t capable of win~ing, and that includes' the bac kup ' There's so many things to leam about different rider's. A nd that's . arrived.' in lmola on Friday .eve ning, though Rob ert s chose flOt ·to , , . . , ' ; ,: ' " , .' need a ' new one like we run on such " tall ask!hg order." · · a ' O Uf team and I 'don't think that's m e ft • so w il ft he V liith Was ft a. H ' to 10 , '. . '. . ' " ' " ., . . ' ' .', " ' ~

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