Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Kyoji Nanb., (1:45.480); IS. Yukio K.'gayama (1:45.497); 16. Simon Crafar (1:45.612); 17. Juan Borja (1:45.668); 18. Jurgen van den Goorbergh (1:45.783); 19. Sebastien Gimbert (1045.786); 20. Ga"l' McCoy (bI6.350; 21. Matt WaH 0:47.401); 22. Scott Smart 0:48.000); 23. Fabio Carpani (I :49.301); 24. Felsberto Teixeira 0:49.500. 125 GRANO PRlX: 1. Kazuto Sakata (Apr); 2. Tomomi Manako (Hon); 3. Mirko Giansanti (Hon); 4. Masao Azuma (Hon); 5. Noboru Ueda (Hon); 6. JarOslav Hules (Hon); 7. Youchi Uj (Yam); 8. Gianluigi Scalvini (Hon); 9. Gino Borsoi (Apr); 10. Marco Melandn (Hon); 11. Fredenc Petit (Hon); 12. Masaki Tokudome (Apr); 13. Angel Nieto Jr. (Apr); 14. Arnaud Vincent (Apr); 15. Alfonso Con7.alez (Apr); 16. Steve Jenkner (Apr); 17. Jose Ramon Ramirez (Apr); 18. Paolo Tessan (Apr); 19. Jeronimo Vidal (Apr). Time: 42 min., 19.751 sec. Distance: 23 laps, 63.071 miles. Average Speed: 89.401 mph. Margin of Victory: 2.101 sec. fastest La.p: Tomomi Manako, 1 :49.28'1 /90.337 mph, Lap 7. 250 GRAND PRIX: I. Loris Capirossi (Apr); 2. Valentino Rossi (Apr); 3. Olivier Jacque (Han); 4. Tohru Uk.,wa (Hon); 5. Marcellino Lucchi (Apr); 6. Haruchika Aoki (Han); 7. Stefano Perugini (Han); 8. Takeshi Tsujimura (Yam); 9. Luis d' Antin (Yam); 10. Osamu Miyazaki (Yam); 11. Luca Boscoscuro (Hon); 12. Franco Battaini (Yam); 13. Roberto Rolfo (Han); 14. Noriyasu Numata (Suz); 15. William Costes (Han); 16. Yasumas.., Hatakeyama (Han); 17. Ismael Bonilla (Han); 18. Frederic Gartner (Apr). Time: 46 min., 0.131 sec. Briefl Distance.: 71.298 miles. Average Speed: 92.993 mph. Margin of Victory: 3.415 sec. Fastest Lap: loris Capirossi. 1:45.250/93.796 mph, Lap 4. 500 GRAND PRIX: 1. Alex Cnville (Hon); 2. Mick Doohan (Hon); 3. Max Biaggi (Han); 4. Carlos Checa (Hon); 5. Alex Barros (Han); 6. Norick Abe (Yam); 7. Tadayuki Okada (Hon); 8. Nobuatsu Aoki (Suz); 9. Kenny Roberts Jr. (Mod); 10. Ralf Waldmann (Mod); II. John Kocinski (Han); 12. Sete Gibernau (Han); 13. Simon Crafar (Yam); 14. Regis Laconi (Yam); 15. Gany McCoy (Hon); 16. Kyoji anba (Yam); 17. Sebastien Gimbert (Han); 18. Jurgen van den GOOY'bergh (Hon); 19. Yukio Kagayama (Suz); 20. Matt Wait (Han); 21. Scott Smart (Han); 22. Felisberto Teixeira (Hon); 23. Fabio Carpani (Hon): 24. Juan Borja (Han). Time: 47 min., 21.522 sec. Distance: 27 laps, 74.041 miles. Average Speed: 93.804 mph. Margin of Victory: 0.393 sec. Fastest Lap: Alex Cnville, 1:43.457/95.413 mph, Lap 6. 125 WORLD CSHlP POINT STANDINGS (Alter 3 of 15 rounds): I. Kazuto Sakata (60/2 wins); 2. Tomomi Manako (56); 3. (TIE) Noboru Ueda/Mirko Giansanti/MaStlO Azuma (36/1); 6. Masaki Tokudomc (25); 7. Gianluigi Scalvini (21); 8. Frederic Petit (9); 9. Lucio Cecchi nella (17); ·10. Angel Nieto Jr. (14); 11. (TIE) Joroslav Hules/Marco Melandri (12); 13. (TIE) Nobuyuki Osamu/Roberto Locatelli (11); 15. (Tie) Hil"Oyuki Kikuchi/Yokhi Vi (9). 250 WORLD CSHlP POINT STANDlNGS (After 3 of 15 rounds): 1. Loris Capirossi (45/1 win); 2. Olivier ••• Mick Doohan is working with Dr. Claudio Costa to avoid any repeat of the arm problems that cropped up at Suzuka. "I am doing more foreann-stretching exercises With Dr. Costa." he said, adding that the character of the Suzuka circuit. with Its back-andforth turns. made the problem particularly bad there. At Suzuka. Doohan was obselVed rubbing his arms. and he commented jokingly. "I'm getting too old for this." Two weeks later in Malaysia he won the race and said. "I guess that proves that anyone who said I was past it was wrong." He admitted later that his arm had pumped up in the Malaysian race as well. Tendonitis or compart· ment syndrome is the curse of the longtime racer. It was this ailment that ended Freddie Spencer's career. and a number of other riders have suffered from a variety of complaints dubbed" Racer's Wrist. " There were at least three fatal accidents as the annual Spanish madness took hold of the huge crowds at Jerez. The main street of the town and others nearby were closed off and bikers given almost free reign for wheelie displays and other impromptu excesses. HRC will be missing the IRTA tests at Jarama in the week after the Jerez race - reputedly because of a shortage of spare parts. This follows a broadside from Mick Doohan in the Spanish press. criticizing· their lack of commitment. and a continuing chorus of complaint from the works 250cc teams. ·beginning to despair of ever getting the parts they need to make their all-new twin-crank 250s competitive. HRC's malaise seems to be compounded by a variety of problems. including reliability weaknesses exposed .by the new no-lead fuel. After Doohan' s catastrophic crankshaft failure in Japan. selVice life of the V-four NSR crankshaft has been ·cut from 930 miles to 310 miles. This has been a major factor in the shortage of parts. The NSR crankshaft has always been difficult and very labor~intensive to manuf~cture accurat~ly. though HRC had been on top of the situation after the first few years of the V"four engine. which was introduced in 1984. The V-twin 500cc Honda has also been stricken with problems since the advent of the no-lead fuel. Privateers have found serious difficulties in getting the carburetion set right. while works rider Sete Gibemau has reportedly been reduced to using production parts because of problems with the works development motor. The hard-pressed 250 runners have been told thatthe new parts they have been demanding since the first race will not be forthcoming before the French GP. a month away. A fuel scandal is brewing after only ·two races regarding the new low"lead formula. after one of the works Repsol Hondas was allegedly found to be running an illegal brew in the Malaysian GP. News leaked from Switzerland. where the fuel sample was tested. But so far there has been no public confirmation. giving rise to suspicions that the FIM are trying to sweep the matter under the carpet. Then. halfway through the weekend. the FIM made an officiai announcement. "In order to stop all the rumors. we officially communicate that the fuel tests carried out at... Johor Bahru are still under consideration. The results will be communicated very shortly. According to Switzerland-based journalist Gunther ,Wiesinger. the sample in question Came from Tadayuki Okada's V-four Honda - and since the Japanese rider crashed out of the ·race. this means he can hardly be penalized. However. his teammates Mick Doohan. Alex Criville and Sete Gibernau were presumably running the same fuel. and Doohan won the race. The sample was tested at the state-owned EMPA institute. along with nine other samples. Ten samples were aiso tested 'from the Japanese GP. All were found to be within the regula~ions. It,s not known in which aspect Okada's sample failed. but it is thought that the FIM are seeking. a second opinion from the lochcape Institute in England. The potential scandal follows con- troversy·overfuel. with both "Elf and Repsol runners suffering compared to most other teams. which use New-Tech fuel from an independent company. There were rumorS that Repsol runners actually used Elf fuel in Japan. and Elf barrels were seen in the Repsol pits in Spain. .lean-Michel Bayle's retum to racing was postponed indefinitely after the 'French former motocross superstar failed to make it back for the Spanish GP. Bayle suffered a severe concussion after a testing crash before the season. but he had hoped to return to his saddle on the factory Rainey Yamaha for the first race in Europe. But he is still not recovered. and doctors say that they can make no definite prognostication of when he will·be able to race again. Japanese Yamaha factory tester Kyoji Nanba took his place in Spain and for the subsequent races. Nanba took the opportunity of an unexpected European GP to apologize to Mick Doohan for suggesting he had knocked him off in the Malaysian GP... At the time I felt as though I had been hit from behind. but studying the video footage clearly shows that was not the case." he said. He fell off on the straight soon after the start of the race. Former 500cc World Motocross Champion Hakan Carlqvist was a visitor to the Spanish GP. The Swedish rider, who won the 500cc championship in 1982. spent most of his time with top Yamaha officiais and in Wayne Rainey's pit. The race is on to build a brand·new circuit in time for a South African Grand Prix for next seasOfl, with track engineers and architects visiting Jerez as they prepare to bring the bulldozers in to the new site at the end of May. The race is proposed for April 18 next year at a new track to be built on the site of an existing circuit at Welkom. but can only go ahead if the track is completed for final FIM homologation inspection by the end of December. "We should make the deadline." said Bobby Hartslief. chief executive of the newly formed Phakisa Corporation. which is backed by the Orange Free State provincial government to promote international sports events and development. "We must have the racing surface and safety provisions in place by that deadline. Pit buildings and other facilities can come later." The site is very flat. which they hope to exploit in order to give spectators extensive views of the whole circuit. he added. The proposed bike GP and associated new circuit is the corporation's first project. and although they hope to build a multipurpose motor-sports facility. there are no plans to seek a car GP. This frees the new track from having to cater primarily to Formula One cars, which has been the reason for the current fashion in building twisty stopand-go circuits favored by the Formula One establishment because they tend to make the cars bunch up. It has the opposite effect on motorcycles, which produce closer racing on fast circuits with sweeping comers. such as Suzuka. Assen and Phillip Island. The time has come to consider dropping the two-stroke 500s as the premi.er racing class, according to Mr.• Toshimitso lio, head of Yamaha's racing division. "We should be thinking about instituting a Feasibility study for an alternative." lio told journalists in a series of smaJl·scale press conferences... But it will be difficult to find an alternative. We should continue to have twostrokes racing in the 125 and 250cc classes, as a low-cost series for privateers and smaller teams." he said. The idea of dropping the obsolescent two-stroke 500s is not so radical. The news is that such a senior representative of the Japanese industry spoke about it publicly and on the record. In private conversations with this reporter. other senior industry figures have expressed the same idea, while there is a similar body of opinion expressed behind closed doors at top levels of racing management. Sports two-stroke motorcycles have become unfashionable over the past two decades. while the green lobby is also against smoky twostrokes. Honda has announced that they will cease production of all two·strokes in the near future. However. any replacement class would have to have sufficiently free regulations for the motorcycles to be significantly faster than the 250s. The current Superbikes. fairly closely linked to production machines. are faster only Jacque (43); 3. Tetsuya Harada (38/1); 4. Tohru Ukawa (33); 5. Haruchika Aoki (28); 6. Daijro Katoh (25/1); 7. Stefano Perugini (23); 8. (TIE) Valentino Rossi/Shina Nakano (20); 10. aoki Matsudo (16); 11. Jeremy McWilliams (15); 12. (TIE) Jose Luis Cardoso/Takeshi Tsujimura (14); 14. Nonyasu Numata (12); 15. Marcellino Lucchi (11). 500 WORLD CSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 15 rounds): 1. Max Biaggi (57/1 win); 2. Alex Cnville (51/1); 3. Mick Doohan (45/ I); 4. Carlos Checa (41); 5. Tadayuki Okada (29); 6. Alex Barros (20); 7. John Kocinski (19); 8. Nobuatsu Aoki (18); 9. Kenny Roberts Jr. (17); 10. Noriyuki Haga (16); 11. Raif Waldmann (13); 12. Norick Abe (12); 13. Kyoji anba (11); 14. (TIE) Yukio Kagayama/Simon Crafar/SeteGibernau (10). Upcoming Rounds Round 4: Mugeilo. Italy, May 17 Round 5: Le Castellet. France, May 31 Kazuto Sakata dominated the 125cc Grand Prix, leading from start to finish despite starting on the second row of the grid. at a handful of higher-speed circuits. Sufficiently free regulations would open the door· to escalating costs. and make it increasingly difficult for anyone other than major manufacturers to remain involved. With the retirement of veterans .Iorge Martinez and Luca Cadalora at the end of last season. the most experienced GP racers this year are Alex Barros and Alex Criville. each with 134 starts. Barros. still only 27 (he lied about his age to start racing at 15) has 103 500cc-c1ass starts. and Criville has 80. Six other riders have made 100 starts. with Ralf Waldmann third with 125. then Mick Doohan with 123. But Doohan far outstrips the other members of the "100 Club" on race wins. having recorded 47 to next·best Waldmann's 18. Norick Abe had a scary moment in practice at Jere2 when a brake disc shattered at close to maximum speed on the back straight. "I did a wheelie. and when the front came down it wasn't quite straight." he said. "I also think I might have hit something. When I put on the brakes. there was nothing. so I jumped off the bike while it was still on the track. Luckily I was not hurt. but my bike was almost destroyed." Mick Doohan' s absence from the front row of the grid broke a run of 29 consecutive front-row starts - removing his chanc.e of breaking the record of 47 set by·Eddie Lawson. Max Biaggi (with a full house of front rows in all three of his 500 GPs) took advantage of Doohan's absence from the front-row press conference on Friday night f6r some gentle but effective needling. He was defeated by Doohan in Malaysia. Asked in Spain if Doohan had been his toughest-ever competitor. he repiied: "Mick has ridden the bike for 10 years. That was only my second race. I don't want to say any more than that." The MuZ (nee Elf 500> was absent from the Spanish GP. after the team failed to find a replacement rider for the injured Doriano Romboni. The Italian. who broke his scaphoid (wrist) bone in Malaysia. is out for an indefinite period. Takuma Aoki. paralyzed from the waist down after breaking his back in a preseason testing crash in Japan. has gone to China seeking a miracle cure that will return sensation and movement to his lower limbs. The Australian GP at Phillip Island may have been saved for an extended period of time by behind-the·-scenes negotiations with GP rights-holders Dorna after officials from the Melbourne-based Grand Prix Corporation flew to Spain for -crisis talks at the end of March. GP Corporation chairman Ron Walker and then-chief executive Judith Griggs visited Dorna managing director Carmelo Espeleta in Madrid before the Japanese GP. and it is thought they were seeking a reduction in the annual fee for staging the GP. Espelata. intelViewed exclusively at the Spanish GP. agreed that they had met. but said the renegotiations went beyond just the fee. "We are talking about increasing the' duration of our contract with them. It currently runs to 2001. and we are talking about adding more time to it. along with renegotiating the fee. But there is no problem with this year's race." he said. The state-owned corporation got the race back from Sydney's Eastern Creek circuit last year. It is thought that they paid $3 million for the privilege - a record fee. which is furthermore subject to an inflation· proof escalation clause .. The GP Corporation had recently broken all records in car racing. paying a very high price (thought to be about $15 million Australian) to capture the car GP from Adelaide. Now. after taking a loss on the first bike GP. they are thought to be trying to cut costs. As a state-owned corporation. it is taxpay, erg' money they are losing. Judith Griggs has since left the corporation ~ for personal reasons" to return to London, where she works as a contracts lawyer. working closely with Formula One racing's Bernie Ecclestone.

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