Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127928
ROAD RACE IRTA Test at Phillip Island (Left ) Four-time World Champion Mlck Doohan started his 1998 preseason test in g in muc h th e same manner as he completed his 1997 seaso n : He was the fastest of the fast at Phil lip Island. (Right ) Jo hn Koc inski had his second tes t on the Mov iStar Honda NSR500 and ended up fi ft h-fastest of th e 10 500Cc riders in att endan ce. (Far left) John Koc inski poses with his new team owner, Sito Pons, and new teammate Carlos Checa . (Left) Youn g Califo rn ian Matt Wait had his fi rst offic ial test on the 500cc Honda V-twin, and he was impressive. In the end, no one on a V-twin went fast er than Walt. By Darry l Flack Photos by Gold & Goo se PHILLIP ISLAND,AUSTRALIA, JAN 2()'23 ou r -ti me 500cc World Ch a m p ion Mick Doohan has qu elled any sug gest io n o f wa ni ng m o ti vation b y IJ pos ting the fas test time .at the IRTA tes t a t Phillip Island. Followm g pro tracted n e g otiat io n s - fi r st wi th Wayne Ra in ey, the n HRC /R epsol - D o oh ~n cou ld ha ve been fo rgive n fo r a qu iet buil d-up to 1998, but he chose instead to demoralize his opposition yet again. Carding a best of 1:33.394 from his 153 laps the 32-year-o ld Australia n finished of a second ahead of Su zuki 's Nobuastu Aoki, and even further ahead of rival and teamma te Alex Criville. Carlos Checa slotted his MoviStar Honda NSRSOO into fourth position, just over a tenth of a seco nd faster th an new teammate John Kocinski, wh o lapped in a best time of 1:34.554. Tad a yu k i Okada was s ixth fastest behind Kocinski with a 1:34.670. Both ma jor Honda team s opted to.sit out the first two da ys of the test, leaving the track to Aoki and Suzuki teammate Ka ts u a ki Fuji wara , She ll Adv anc e Hond a V-twin mounted Juan Borja and G a r r y M cCoy , a n d s u rprise p a ck et America n Ma tt Wa it. It w as the fir s t tim e the team s ha ve ru n unlead ed fue l un d er n e w re gu lat io ns fo r 1998 , prompting Doohan' s crew chief, Jeremy Burgess, to declare that the c~ange has cost the NSRSOO 5 to 8 percent in power. .715 16 Biaggi's not so secret test o u r-t im e 250cc World Ch amp ion Ma x Bia gg i made his wo rld debut on a Ho nda NSRSOO at Ph illip Islan d on Sa tu rday, Janua ry 24, riding th e facto ry machi ne norma lly ridden by Tada yuki Okad a in a supposedly secret test.. Biaggi sur prised himse lf and ma ny observers in th e Hond a camp with his early speed. After just 30 laps in the morning, Biaggi turned in a best of 1:35.3 - just 1.2 se co n ds off Mick Dooha n's track record . During the previou s . two da ys of the IRTA test , Doohan turn ed a best of 1:33.6, usm g un leaded fuel for the first time. "For sure, a 500 is much pow er an d speed," Bi,agg~ said . "I d idn' t not expect to be so fast so quick ly, but there s stlll .a lon g way to go. I have to do man y lap s to be comfortable WIth the 500." . Biaggi's learning curve rose steeply in the aftern oo n session. Just 30 minutes into his return to the track, the Italian crashed a t the uphill left-hand er on t~e approach ~o L~ key Heights on the back section of the 2.72-mlle course. Biaggi wa s u nh urt, c~m plaini ng that he'd been surp<.ised by a gus t of wind - some thing that' s not u ncommon at Phillip Island . Biag gi 's cr ash brough t an immed ia te end to hi s test, as F Oka da's bike had to be shipped to Syd ney for Honda's upcoming test at Eastern Creek. Biaggi will have sole use of Okad a's bike on Wed nesda y, ~~ry ~. . ' h "I have nothi ng left to prove in the 250s, so now IS t~e ng ,~ time to com e and race Mick (Dooha n) and the ot hers In 500, Biaggi said . "I almost did this at the end of the 1996 season, but it was no t possibl e to hav e eve~ thi n g i n o rde r. But n o w , WIt h Honda and Erv Kane moto, I ha ve everything I need." . Biaggi was un usually mo dest In his pred ictions for the coming season, saying he wo uld be "happy to finish in th e to p 10" in his d ebut soo« season. Colin Young (Ab ove) Fourti me 250cc Wor ld Champion Max Blaggl had his first-ever test on a Honda 500 in Aus tralia. (Right) Biaggl rod e Tadayuki Okada's NSR500 and went well befo re crashing .