Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS 500cc WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES By Alex Hodgkinson SCHWANENSTADT, AUSTRIA, APR. 26 . ermany's Bernd Eckenbach finally added his name to the list of MX GP winners with a fantastic performance in an Austrian GP that led FIM MX boss Wolfgang Srb to exclaim: ':sao GP racing is wonderfuI." And indeed it was - with virtually every place in doubt until the checkered flag fell in both motos, and with five different marques in the top six at the end of the day. The dash to the first turn in Schwanenstadt is fairly short, but it made no difference to the Huskys. Their horsepower supremacy is so great that they can outdrag the opposition everywhere at present, as is evidenced by Eckenbach's taking £he hoIeshot over Darryll King. The Yamahas had headed both groups in qualification but were down in the pack. Peter Johansson was to eventually finish second, the misfortune of others helping him to recover from an early collision with fellow Swede Mats Nilsson. Teammate Andrea Bartolini had needed just three laps to advance from seventh to third, and was holding second two laps from the end despite 'W illrunning motor that finally stopped. Officially there was a "carburretor problem" - it is believed that the bike was flooding and, that Bartolini eventually ran out of fuel. Early leader Eckenbach complained of shock problems, which meant he was passed by both Yamahas and teammate King, but the Kiwi was once again dominant. "No problem again," King said. "I was always in control and could have taken the win even if the others hadn't . had problems." So, a four-stroke one-two-three, even without champion Joel Smets. The Belgian had crashed already on lap four. "The pace was very high, and if I wanted to be on the podium, I couldn't afford to let them get away," Smets said. "1 tried a risky pass on Orris Burnham, we touched and I went down." Rob Herring was the best two-stroke, with a storming ride to fourth after an Round 3: Austrian Grand Prix early fall cost him the contact with the leaders, but KTM leader Shayne King was a frustrated 10th. ''I'm giving 110 percent but it just won't happen for me," Shayne King said. A comment from Heinz Kinigadner the previous day was possibly relevant. "There is no stopping the fourstrokes now," ~nigadner said. "They have reached such a high technical standard." On Sunday morning a KTM director announced at a press conference that the four-stroke KTM will race GPs this year! It was again Eckenbach and Darryll King at the start of race two, and this time the German offered stem resistance. "A perfect start, and then a good ride," Eckenbach said. "1 made one small mistake after 25 minutes to let Darryll past, but I was then able to see his lines and closed right back up on him even before he hit trouble." The Kiwi later explained those difficulties after crossing the line in seventh. "The radiator suddenly dropped all its water," Darryll King said. '1 felt it go over my legs. I spent the rest of the race riding as gently as I could, knowing that it could seize at any moment." Second place was inherited by his brother Shayne. Briefl "At last a good ,start and then I can mix it with them," Shayne King said. And Smets was a storming third. "I made so many mistakes this weekend," Smets said. "In that race I had convinced myself that I had to do it all in the first 15 minutes, and I was riding so tensely. I was all over the track, and in the end I bounced off Johan Boonen and went down. Then in the final 15 minutes 1 suddenly found my lines." The Belgian advanced from a distant sixth to cross the line in the wheel tracks of the first two. Bartolini could not believe his luck as he gave up fourth place after half an hour with the same problem as before, while Johansson was to finish in that position after getting dirt in his goggles. Darnien King made it three brothers in the points of the same race when he achieved his maiden score with a deserved second-race 12th, but the youngest of the Kiwi brothers was lucky not to see his ride go unrewarded after losing his silencer on the final lap. LuckCN ily, he didn't get noise-tested. Austrian SOOCc GP Niederholzham, Austria Results: April 26, 1998 (Round 3 of 12) MOTO 1: ]. DarryU King (Hus); 2. Peter Johansson (Yam); 3. Bernd Eckenbaeh (Hus); 4. Rob Herring (Hon); 5. Erwin Machtlinger (Hon); 6. Chris Burnham (Hon); 7. Joel Smets (Hbg); 8. Rupi Walkner (KTM); 9. Gert-Jan • •• Shayne King caused a sensation at Friday's technical control in Austria when he presented his factory KTM with revolutionary exhaust and handlebars for inspection. More than 6 feet long. the exhaust was wound in a knot! "I've been looking for more bottom-end power. and this has certainly achieved that." King said. "'In fact,. the power is so strong now that I've had,to fit the shock to the handlebars because I was getting arm 'pump from the 'vibration, and we were afraid the bolts might noi h0Id."' King was referring to the VVP shock that had been fitted in place of a normal crossbrace. The bike passed technical control. "lhe technical stew- .. ard was a little concerned about the sh·ock. however. and wanied to knpw if Iwould be fitting a foam protector," King said. At the opening GP in Mantova, Kin.g crashed when, under full compression of the forks. the front wheel had touched the exhaust. "This is an aiternative tbought process," King said. "We thought if we made it even worse. the problem might just go away." The more observant will remember that the KTM joker suffered broken triple-clamp bolts in Italy and lost points in Swi~er land when he had to stop to straighten bars badly bent in a crash avoiding the fallen Boonen. Half an hour later. the KTM was baCK in normal trim. The pi~ was made at Mattighofen by Hans Damberger in his spare time. Factory Husky riders Darryl King (2) and Bernd Eckenbach (9) power their way to the front of the pack at the start of the Austrian SOOCc MX GP at the Niederholzham circuit. Eckenbach went on to score the overall win for the day, with King third. Van Doorn (Hon); 10. Shayne King (KTM); 11. Johan Boonen (Hus); 12. Mats Nilsson (Hon); 13. Avo Look (Hon); 14. Franco Rossi (Yam); 15. Edwin Evertsen (KTM). M

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