and Slight had stormed past. By then ; it
was clea r that one of those two riders
wa s going to take the wi n. Russell and
th e amazing Bontempi had been battling
all the wa y, but were too far behind
Kocinski to provide a threat.
As in th e first race, Yanagawa started
the last lap as the lea d er, and th ough
Slight go t very close on tw o occass ions,
Yanagawa wou ld hold his g rou nd and
take the win .
"The race was ver y hard and it was
run in difficu lt co ndi tio ns," Yanaga wa
said . "After having been passed by Carl,
I go t back to my oid , somew ha t aggressive racing sty le again, and that see med
to be working all right."
Slight took his second rostrum posi- ,
tion of the da y as he rod e to the runnerup spot.
"In this race, the trouble wa s rain,"
Slight said. "Althoug h it was dry through
the start and finish , up in the hills it was
raini ng for th e last 10 laps, and it was
tricky trying to pass wi th spo ts of rain on
m y visor. As to the last lap, I tried to get
close enough to Yanagawa to m ake a
pass, but I just could n't do it."
Kocins ki too k his damaged Honda to
thi rd :
"It took me time to get sorted out and
dialed into the race," Kocinski said. "I hit
the front-and then 1 was tryi ng to make a
break and Foga rty just ran straight into
me. 1 knew no thing about it. I didn't see
anything, just felt him hit me . He pushed
me into the g ravel trap, but luckily it
was no t the d eep gra vel and I was able
to get out and get back on the track."
Russell finished fourth aft er bo mbing
hi s way past Bontempi. .From his sec ond -row starting position, th e America n
(Left) Honda 's Aaron
Slight (left) was back
on form in Austria ;
he fin ished th ird in
race one behind
Fogarty and
Yanagawa. and
second In race two.
wa s up to third by turn two , but
dropped down in the ord er as he Wisely
chose caution in the ea rly stages,
"Now, that was a race," Russell sa id.
"I had a bat tle all race lon g and that is
wha t 1 love. It was actually spitting with
rain for more or less the who le race and I
was jus t prayi ng they would n't sto p it. I
go t a g rea t sta rt a nd 1 didn't th ink I
wo u ld be able to d o i t again . I was
passed on the last lap, bu t 1 thought, 'No
way, not on the last lap.' I ran " on the
in
i n s id e of tu rn fo u r and lo cked bot h
w heels up and wen t through to get my
place back at the expense of Piergiorgio."
Whit ha m wa s ne xt , a fte r battlin g
with his teammate Hal e for th e whole
race, with home-country rider Andreas
Meklau in the mix as well.
Like Wh it ham, Ha le sw itc hed to a
different tire and that proved to be a big
improvement. "I rode hard to get past
James, but he just came stra ight back,"
said the Texan.
Ud o Mark and Chris Walk er rounded out the top 10.
'"
after a week and is now back in Texas. Ac cording to t he doctors.
he should be ht again Cat th e earliest) after a s!x-week reValidation
A1 Ring
Zeltweg, Aust ria
Resuns: August 17, 1997 (Round 8 of 12)
QUALIFY ING: 1. PiL Francesco Ch ili (1:30.8061 2.
-r;
Akin, Yan.'gilwa (1;.30
.816); 3. joh n Koouski (1:30.688);
4. Ca rf Foga rty 0 :31.176); 5. Aaron Slight 0 ;31.180); 6.
Simo n C ratar (l :31.1 94 ); 7. Pierg torgic Bontem p i
(1:31 .3041; tt Sco tt RU !l ~ 1I (1:31.3K4); 9. Neil Hod gson
0:31.4%); 10. james W hit ha m (l : 3 1.~); 11. And reas
Mc kla u (1:31.95b); 12. G regorio Lavilla (1;32.244); 13.
Mike Hal e 0:32.b361; 14. C hris Walkt,. r (1:32.784); 15.
j ochcn SChm id (1:32.956); l b. Ud o Ma rk 0 :33.320); 17.
lame s Ha yd on 0 :33 .776); 18 . Pere Riba C a ba n a
0 :33.788); 19. Anton C ruschka 0 :36. 138); 20. Roberto
As si re lli (1:36.464); 21. Igor lerman 0:36.500); 22.
Gcrh.1r d Este rc r 0 :37 .290) ; 23 . C h r ist ia n Hau slc
(1 :37 ,560 ); 24 . G io rgio Ca nta lupo 0 :37 .96 0 ); 25 .
H ermann Sch m id (1 :38.360) ; 26. Johan n wolfst einer
0 :38.82b); 27. liri Mrkyvk a 0 :38.892); 28. Ond l'\.; Lelek
0 :39 .156); 29 . A li Cuettooc he 0 :39 .1 96); 30 . O s ei
N ieJt>r kirch~'r (I:39.268~; 31. Toni R« hb...·rg('T 0:39.454);
32. Johann Bichl~.,. (1:39511~.
R A CE ONE: 1. Ca rl Fogarty (Dud; 2 . A kira
Ye n a g a w a (Kaw ): 3 . Aa ro n Slight ( Han) ; 4. P ierFrancesco Chili il Hod gson
.
(Du c) ; 9 . Pit' rgioq~io Bo nt emp! (Kaw); 10 . Ja m t.'!>
'N h ithd m (Suz); 11. Milo.t.' H...I", (Sui); 12. Chris Wallt- r
(Y""m); 13 Ijdo M.ul. (Su;d; 14. joch",n Schmid (K.J,w) ;
15 Andrt"il~ \{t"Utu (Dud; 16 Pere RiN Cabana (Hon);
.
.
17. Igo r Jt'T11l<\n (K,aw ); 18. Anto n Cruttouche (Kaw); 25.
Jiri Mrkyvla (Hun).
ufacturer abo ut a possibJeWorld S uoerbke project. D ucati ls'willing to sup ply the bikes . but we wi n bave to take cere of the run...
period. This would mean"that' he could be back on the bike at · ning co st s and the top rid er' s salary: Thi s bo(ls down to so me
$2 .5 m illion . We might be able to get this sum tog eth er . as CoroAlbacete. but from a medi cal poin t of view. I think Sugo w ould be
a more re alis tic goal.... The Italian adm itted. however, that it is pos - · na Extra . Foxhound. and mo st 'af the other main sponsors have
sible that .the Texan 's W orld S upe rbike career might be ov er, as
already agt'eed to continue Wit h us in 1998 and. mo reover, w e are
Edwards is known to be nego tiating with Wayne Rainey .abo ut 1!I -cjos e to closi ng adeal with a manufaeturer o f leisure -w ear. But I
am not quite sure a f how I am g oing 't o u se th is m oney. Of
Yamaha 500cc Gra nd Prix ride. No d eci sion has been taken as to
who win replace Edward s in Aasen or the other rema ining moos. · cou rs e. part of it goe s ' to the supersport .team. but three yea rs
Yo shikawa -and -M ac kenzle are likely candidate s . eve n though
ago I ' also' c ommi tt e d my self to p rom oting ' the ·S BK ·p ro gram:
incl uding the superspo rt series. I have broug ht Corona Extra and
Yamaha might prefer
keep them in the ir own respective nation Foxhound to the' billboards on the circuits, and that Ise formula '
81 series . 'since they -bet h have a chance for titles . A s for Troy
Co rse r. Dav tde Brivio said..MW talked to him abo ut this po ssibil!-. ·wh ich is at least as attractive to the sponso rsas the trad itional
e
tY for the fir st time at Suzuka: and again in B rands Hatch . ,B ut w e . support of ;) top ridc r,'R
are still' waiting for his rep ly. Probably Troy thinks that his G rand
Prix ambitions will be put on hold if he decides .to co me back to ' V irginia Ferrari admitted that Duc:ati is co nsidenng .tm tering tvyo'
official teams next season. with Tearn Gattolon'e, A1 stare Corona
World Superbike ·racing. even for jUSt '8 few ,races.MU nti'l Brand s
Extra and Gia .Ca'.Mota being the most likely candidate s to run' the '
Hatch , the reigning W orld Superb ike Cham pion -hod some nape s
of repla cing' his c ountry man Dary l Bea tti e on ·the ·Lucky Strike . red bikes in. 1998. "Nefl Hodgson's .~ tu re wit h D ucoti is still very .
Suzuki team . But -now thi s place s'eems to have been' take n by
uncertai~ and Ferrari told Hodgson 'that he preferred to wait a,f,ew
N or iyuki Haga . the Japane se (Ya maha D rider 'w ho is .cu rre ntly
more wee ks beft?re talking,about a f'~w co ntract . .
leading the Japa nese' Superbike championship.
.'
Mauri zlo F.l mmini r.ev ea i ed ~ome m ore det ail s about n ext
a
year' s calendar. Pro Visionally. the ch ampionShip will run 14
With the three·year VZF project coming to an end by December
rou nds. starting mid-March and ending mid -October. A ustrali3 and .
1997 :' o fficial w ord h
it th at Yamaha is stil l.in d oubt , as to
a sou theast A sian 'venue win hos t the firs t rou nds , wi th Monza
whether 'it win co ntinue one ·mor e y ear w ith the old bike or skip
one season and then have anothe( go at the World C hamp ionship
opening the European season.·The season w ill probably finish in
in 19 9 9. In Au stri a. howev er. indications w ere found tha t th e
J a pan. In d one sia· or some other overseas round . Germany
ap pears se t to host two rou nds. wi th the brand-new ci rcui t o f
J apane se will continue. Ap parently : the th ree leading Japanese
Oc hsersleben already con firmed and Hoc kenheim (Rwhcre WSC
manu facturers closed a " ge ntleman's ag reenient M in '199 5 to
enter fac tory tea m s in W orl d Superbi ke racing as well 'as in
first beat the G rand s Prix as to public attendance. " Flammini saki)
up in the air. .
.
Grands Prix . in order to provide ' a healthy basis for both World
C hampion ships (and for the ir marke ting and 'other invest~nts ) .
Slower riders once again' proved a big problem at the A 1 RIng .
N ow .it see ms thot SuZuki Was firs t reminded.o f it s promise lNhen
they thoug ht .about pulling out of G rand Prix racing aher Luck y
with top speeds differing sometimes more than 30 mph on the '
S trike announced that 'this Was its last year of associa tion ' with the
long straights. During the weekend . the top riders met with Mau r~
izio Aammini and came to em agreement on some jnitia! ideas to
.'team. And a c ouple o f weeks ago. Yamaha ' ~as persuaded to
be presented to the A M for approval. "There will be no European
think again about Its W orld Superbike project for .the same reasupe rblke championship nders on the World Superbike Champiso n. It is very likely thot Suzuki will co ntinue ' in Gra nds Pnx and
onship grid s ne xt year: the Italian promotor annou nced. who
that YalllllI"!>t lap: Alira YdndKawd. 1:30.945/ 105.998 m ph
RACE rwo. 1. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw); 2. Aaron
Slig h t (H Im); 3. Joh n Koci ns ki (Hon): 4. Scott RusS(.'11
( Ya m ); 5 . P te rgtorgto Bon te rnp t (Kaw) ; 6 . la m e!>
Whi tham (SUZ); 7. Mike Hall' (Suz); 8. A nd reas Meklau
(Du d ; 9. Ud o M ark (Suz) ; 10. Ch ris Walker (Yam ); 11.
Iochcn Schmid (!t'C.
Dis u ncr: 25 laPs. 66.941 m ttes
A ve rage speed s 104 .~ mph
Mngin of victory: 0.121 sec.
h stest la p: A kira Yanagawa, 1:30.MO/l06331 mph
W O RL D SU I'I::R8 IKE CHAM PIONSHIP PO INT
STANDINGS (Aft~r 8 of 12 round!!) 1. jo hn Kocm:'iki
:
(273 / 5 wins); 2. earl Fogarty (267 / 4); 3. Aaron Slight
(223/ 3> 4. Scott Ru _~11 (til); 5. Pier-Prancesco C hi li
;
(147 /3); 6. (TIE ) A l.ir a Ya nagawa O )/Simon C ra fa r
(145); R. J"mL~ Wh ilhdm ( 02); 9. Nl"il Hudg.o;on (%); 10.
Pk-rgiorgio Bt.mtt'mpi (91); 11. Col in Edw.mh II (19); 12.
Milo.to Hillt' (52); 13. Pt'Tl:' Ribot Ca baOd (41); 14, Andrea !>
Md J a u (40); 15. Nidi Mdc~t" (33)'
Upcoming Rounds:
Round 9 - Assen, Holland, August 31
Round 10 · Albaeete, Spain. Septembe r 21
com e to the W orld. C hampionship if the homologation rules are
c ha·nged . and ot her manufacturers such as Aprilia ·· have th eir
bike up and running already . but ' th ey 'w ill no t be eligble fo r
hcmoloqation under the c urre nt rules ." Again,depender:lt on the .
RM' s approval, the Italian businessm an 'summed up some alteme~es t~ fill up the grid s'. "We h~ve s'tort ed talking to th e' top team s
. and hoPefully the manufacturers will fellow • about the pos'Sibility
to create so.called Junior teams, who' co uld have last year's fa'ctory . bike s attheir and their yo ung rider' s 'dispo sal and who could'.
receive special participation money in orde r ·to lower thethreshold
fo r them to' co me into W orld Superbrke raci ng . Like. tw o . yea r;;
ago . we :"'ould also like to invite so me 'proniising' yo ung riders to a .
test on ' several fact ory bikes,at the end of the season. arid we 'are
thinking about putting together a fund to give to a tea ni or a rider
'wh o goe s· from supersport t~ the ~uperbike' champ ionship ." As 'to
the ho mologation' procedur e, ~e w ould like to see one' minimu m ,
homolog ation amo unt o f 200 bi ke s for all manufacturer s ~ not.
dependent on the ir annual mo torcycl e production. .W e think it
. should ~Iso be po ssible for manufacturers to be allowed at the
start 'of the W orld Superbike Cham pionship races (ev en ·tho ugh
they wi ll not be eligible for po ints) 'as soo n as they have built a'·
minimu m number of id~n'tical bik~s' (20 . 50 ?) and promi se to bUild
8
the re st of the reqUired numbe r WIthin 1 months or so. If. after
tha t pe riod . t he final ve rsion . s dif.f~rent from the bik~s th~y
i
entered ill the race s at first. homologation will be stopped fo r two
years . This should be enough as 'a guara ntee . FinaOy. we should '
thin k abo ut a thorough ~hange of reg ufations WIthIn three
fo ur
years . W hen a techriical regulation ' is . maintained fo r to o long ,
deVelopment w ork on the bike s is getting harder and more expen sive to find that extra plus. W e would like to 're think the .regula ·
tions more in the direction of the curre nt (stri cter) superspo rt reg ulations. ~
>
or
The World S upers port S e rie s con tinues to offer extremely
thri lling races tmd a close-fought . arite for points .· A!3 in th e previ b
ous races , several title con tenders had more than ' their share of
-bad luc k at the A 1 Ring. keeping the top of the points table very
close. The unlucky ooes in Austria we re Step hane Mert ens (c rash
o n lap six). Ma uro Luec hiari (brakmg problemst Pao lo Casoli
(e·n
gine). M a-ssimo M eregalli and Serafi no Foti (clutch). Pole-sitter
G uare sch i ~on .quite easily in front of Pir o van o . Brigu'et and
Innamora ti . Si xth -placed' man Stephane Chambon took over the
. co~mand in' the chamPJons~lp WIth.a ftve--~int lead over Casali
and seve n-point advance over Mertens.
a
.....
rrJ
;:l
00
;:l
-<
21
