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/127973
more powerful engines to Harada. The japanese rider, however, doesn't ag ree . " H e ' s always been saying these things," Harada said . "In 1997, during private testing at Mugello, the mechanics fitted my engine to his bike, but he still coul dn't go faster than me. Aprilia has been very correct in giving the three facto ry ri ders th e sa me ma te rial. Ca pirossi says he only got the goo d stuff fro m Bar celona onwards. He obvious ly didn't do mu ch with it, however, beca use (Valen tino ) Rossi won the next races. They're just excuses." Asi de from the d efea t, Harada consid ers his seco nd season wit h Aprilia to be a posi tive one. "Aprilia is a grea t ma nufactu re r and has got some really good engi nee rs," he s ai d . "Th ey prepared a 250 that w as unbeatabl e, and th ey alwa ys behaved co rrectly. Even thou gh I am japanese, I h ad th e sam e rna te ria l as Ros si and Ca pirossi. After Arge ntina so me of the co m pa ny's top d irectors pho ned me to say tha t I should consider myself the real Wo rld Cha mpion . That gave me a lot of pleasure." Harada had a fanta stic season, winnin g five Grands Prix (more than anyone else), but he made a big mistake at Im ol a . He cr ashed in qu alifying after earning pol e position, fracturing his left ankle. It wa s an incid ent he pa id for at the end of the sea so n. "I mad e a big mistake on that occasion," Harada admi ts. "I thought I wa s goi ng slowly, but instead I was on the li mit. I s lid o ff in th e race d ue to m y crash on Sa turday . I didn 't ha ve an y feeling in my left foot, and I ended up on the ground ." . Despite the bitter defeat, life goes on and Harad a is already hard at work in preparati on for the 1999 champion ship. His mov e to 500cc Grand Prix racing is so me thi n g that Aprilia w an ted badly, and the y hope Ha rada can brin g so me life back to the twin-cylind er RSV that wa s put aside at the end of 1997 because of poor results . It wi ll also mean a clea r ru n to the 250cc title for Valentino Rossi. Ha rad a savs he s till ha sn 't made a final' d eci sion' on movin g to th e 500cc class, b ut af ter se tting th e 500cc la p record at Jer ez in his debu t on the bike, his choice seems to be a foregone conclu sion . "I know that if I stay in 250 1 would ha ve a gre at chance of becoming number one again, and it won't be easy to refuse this opportunity," Harada said. "But I'm also att racted bv the adventure in 500. Riding a 500 is a' unique experience; there is so mu ch power that 250s seem li ke scoo te rs . I a lso fo u n d the Ap rilia wasn't as bad as everyone said it was. We've go t the whole of the wi nter to work on d evelop ment , and I thi nk I can get rig ht up there wit h the 500s." What Harad a wants more than anyth in g is never to see Capirossi in th e same garage agai n - and his requ est wiII most likely be met by Aprilia. Ca pi ross i has a contrac t that expires at the en d of 1999, but Ap rilia has a lready mad e it clea r that it doesn 't want him in Grand Prix racing. The 250cc World Champio n didn't even take part in the mid-Novem ber tests at Jerez - a test where the entire team was presen t for shakedown rides on the new 1999 bike. "W e are no lon g e r friends, a n d I hope he has the courage to come up to me and a po logize so me time," Ha rada said . "I wo uld ha ve liked him to have done so already, but I will even acce pt his a p o log ie s a fte r some time ha s passed . I know he wo n' t do it, beca use 1:\ he knows he'ma de a mistake." P erfonnanc e B i kes: Video Nasty 2 (#130A) The Performance Bikes guys do it again with 170 mph insa ne road action. Also an on-bike camera wh ile a guy is doing 140 mph on a Pari s freeway d uri ng rush hour traffic. Lots of the read ers home videos including a police chase, tire shredding burn-outs and some goons doing wheelies on pizza delivery mopeds. Contains explicit language and content not appropriate for minors. 55 minutes from X-Factor . 29.95 Each release $29 .95 incl ud es s hi p pi ng. Performance Bikes: Video Nasty 3 (#130B) "Lost in France" is the story of four bikes and four riders on a mad tear-up acro ss France aboard the fastest bikes of '98, put to the test the way only Performance Bikes can . Insane road speeds and flat-out around a race track, also mor e of their reader's certifiable home videos. Contains explicit language and content not appropriate for minors. 57 minutes from X-Factor. $29.95 Order Videos On -Line at www.cyclenews.com/prpduct.video.html ('aYlon Memoria' oundaripn 00 0\ 0\ ,...... \0' ,...... l-< (l) ..n E (l) u (l) a 23