Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD RACE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD RACE SERIES :Phillip Island blairun Corse;' came h~me 'sixth: g .~ bad tire choice. "1 had picked a harder compound than in the first race," he explained, "but that didn't work out very well. There was no traction pretty much from the start, and I had to do with that." Edwards finished seventh after having opted for 17-inch rear wheel in the second race after using the 16.5-inch wheel in the first race. "It worked a lot better and my race time was nine seconds better, even though the race winner's time was about the same for both races," Edwards said. "The rear tire started moving wi th five laps to go, but that's no surprise here. It's very hard on tires, as I am sure just about every rider discovered. I've taken a couple of seventh places - John Kocinski had a' seventh in his first dry race on the Castrol Honda last year, so maybe it's an omen." Russell finished right behind his fellow American. "My start wasn't bad, but not as good as the first one," Russell said. "[ rode hard today, buf it didn't fall for me. r don't like this track and I think the problem is me and not the bike. r came here with the wrong attitude, so now [ have to go home and get motivated for Donington. I'm disappointed, but we know the bike can do it, so I hope Donington is good for me and gets my season going. It's a long year and ['m looking forward to getting into Europe." 0 Pederoni (1 :35.947); 16. Piergiorgio Bontemp; (l.36.sm; 17. Alessandro Gramigni (1:36.648); 18. Malcolm Campbell (1,36.788); 19. Shawn Giles (1:37.212); 20. Andrew Stroud 0:37.351); 21. Igor Jerman 0:37.4(0); 22. Gregorio Lavilla 0:37.645); 23. Alistair Maxwell 0:38.227); 24. Tony Roes (1:38.807); 25. Fredcrk Prota, (1:39.770); 26. Daniel Vanolini 0:40.040); 27. Jean·Marc Delclang (HO.300); 28. Ed Miller (1,40.506); 29. Dcan Fulton 0:41.169); 30. Iir1 Mrkyvka 0:41.323); 31. lohn Phelan (1:41.853); 32. Chris Ognerus 0:41.926); 33. Scott Webster (1 ~43.242). a SUPERPOLE: 1. Troy Corser 0:34.971); 2. Aaron Slight 0:35.097); 3. Pier-Francesco Chili 0,35.175); 4. Carl Fogarty 0:35.186); 5. Akira Yanagawa 0:35.250); 6. Colin Edwards 0 0:35.278); 7. PcterGoddard 0:35.37S); 8. Noriyuki Haga (1:35.380); 9. Piergiorgio Bontempi (1:35.549); 10. Scott Russell 0:35.889); 11.. Chrb Connell 0:35.957); 12. Steve Marlin (1,35.976); 13. Mark Will,. (1:35.996); 14. eil Hodgson 0:36.001); 15.Iames Whitham (1:36.234); 16. lucio Pederoni (1:37.798). RACE OrJE, 1. earl Fogarty (Due); 2. Troy Co...r (Due); 3. oriyuki Haga (Yam); 4. Pier·Franccsco Chili (Due); 5. Akira Yanagawa (Kaw); 6. Mark Willis (Suz); 7. Colin Edwards II (Hon); 8. Neil Hodgson (KOlW); 9. Aaron Slight (Hon); 10. Scott Russell (Yam); 11. Gregorio LaviJIa (Due); 12. Piergiorgio Bontempi (Kaw); 13. Lucio Pedercini (Due); 14. Malcolm Campbell (Duc); 15. Igor Jerman (Kaw); 16. Shawn Giles (Hon); 17. Andrew Stroud (Kell (Yam); 9. Mark Willis (Suz); 10. Steve Martin (Due); 11. Gregorio Lavilla (Due); 12. james Whitham (So2); 13. Shawn Giles (Hon); 14. Chris Connell (Due); 15. Alessandro Gramigni (Due); 16. Andrew Stroud (Kaw); 17. Alistair Maxwell (Kaw); 18. Daniel Vanolini (Due); 19. Frederic Phillip Island Phillip Island, Australia Results: March 22, 1998 (Round 1 of 14) Superpole a go-g-,--o__ Time: 35 min., 38.433 sec. Distance: 22 laps, 60.698 miles. Margin of victory. 1.040 sec. Bontempi (4). Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Donington Pari<, England, April 13 Round 3 - Monza, Italy, May 10 with the longevity of the rear tire being crucial." _ Slight as well as his teammate Edwards used a soft race tire from Michelin and both decided to use the single swingarm, which seemed to perform better on the bumpy trad:. Chili qualified third and had yet another argument against the already-unpopular Superpole. . "I am happy that nobody crashed," the Italian said. "I am happy also about the lap time I made, but I can do even better. But it is very tough to stay concentrated when you have to wait in the pit box for more than hall an hour after warmup before you can get out to have a go at the pole position. It was very difficult for me to keep concentrated all that time." Fogarty and his Ducati filled the front row. "1 was pretty happy to finish that lap:' the Brit said after he had stated before the start of the wannup that he was only going to get into the groove on the third Superpole lap. "It was not particularly a smooth lap. But I went out on the race setup, which is a good tjUng, thinking about tomorrow. We finally have the. bike behaVing pretty nicely, and I'm also starting to wake up after a long winter." Kawasaki's Akira Yanagawa qualified fifth, and was one of the only front-runners not too worried about the new Superpole. '1 have some experience of the format from the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours race in Japan:' he explained. "I had my race face on wnen I was doing my flying lap, giving it 110 percent as always." Finally, Edward settled for ixth, despite leading the way early on. "I haven't yet acquired that ability to tum my brain off," he joked after saying that he had enjoyed his first Superpole experience. '1'm stiJl getting used to the bike and to the tires, The rear suspension is also a new thing for me. I never had a singIe-sided swingaml befQl'e - until I got on the. RC45. Due to the bumpy surface, I'll use it here tomorrow, but expect me to .use the double swmgarm more often durmg the season. Now we're also getting the bike turning better into a corner. It took me a while before I got used to feeling the ,front Michelin. With the Dunlops, that are . moving more, it's easier to get feedback." Haga, Bontempi and Russell completed the top 10. and Russell wasn't overly concerned about starting from the third row. '1'm happy with the rear tire we've got and I was actually much more relaxed out there:' Russell said. '1t hooked up well. I got it out of shape a few times but the Superpole lap wasn't too bad. 1 had two little wobbles getting on the throttle too early, but 1 can't complain. The whole thing doesn't bother me none. It's kinda cool in a newway..."

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