Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

fourth-best time at Jerez of 1:43.58, ahead of not only eight Japanese works V-fours but the other main 500cc mavericks, Modenas and MuZ. The busiest-ever year for the Noale factory (with full-on efforts in 125, 250, Superbike and 500cc GP classes) may see the 500 marginalized all season long, but Harada is acknowledged as a master tactician and thus a formidable race-day opponent for anyone. The best of the three Modems riders in attendance was Jean-Michel Bayle, who poSted a rpightily impressive sixthfastest time of 1:43.91. The heavily reworked and 15-pounds-lighter Modems is a vast improvement over the previous bike Bayle campaigned in Team Roberts' rookie season of 1997. Team chief Chuck Aksland confirmed that the 1999 bike is much different from last year's, not just due to the reduced weight, bu t also to the new chassis and the adoption of a full ram-air system, the latter complete with heavily extended air coops. The same improvement cannot yet be claimed on the 1999 Yamaha, as once more the best YZR time was set by yet another of 500cc racing's prodigal sons, Norick Abe, on a 1998 Antena 3 machine run by the 0' Antin team. The young but experienced Japanese rider has thus far dominated Yamaha's much-hyped signings of Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa, and was fifth fastest, with his 1:43.714 taking him three-tenths of a second ahead of Biaggi. Abe may be enjoying life outside the blinding glare of publicity which now follows Biaggi like a Messianic shroud, but the 1999 Yamaha has proved to be a difficult beast to set up for the four official works riders - the aforementioned Biaggi and Checa, as well as the retained Red Bull/WCM pairing of Simon Crafar and Regis Laconi. Crafar struggled badly to a very poor 16th position, lapping at 1:45.80, completely unable to come to terms with a chassis-and-tire combination which robs him of the feel he so successfully utilized to win the British GP in 1998 while running Dunlops. Laconi was little better in 12th place (l :45.01), with Biaggi (l :44.06) and Checa (l :44.18) seventh and eighth, respectively - even after trying out 1998 equipment on the final day. Spaniard Juan Borja, Barros' fellow new boy in the MoviStar setup, put the last works Honda on show at Jerez into the top 10, with the ninth-best time of 1:44.19. (Above) Valentino Rossi again showed that he's the man to beat in this year's 250cc World Championship, as he emerged with a new lap record. (Right) Luca Cadalora was impressed with the allnew MuZ. Luca Cadalora, obviously on one of his better days, gave tlle once-more-rejuvenated·MuZ GP team every reason for optimism wi th an 11th-best time of 1:44.91 on his heavily revised 1999 Vfour. The multiple 500tc GP winner was ably backed up by his teammate, Jurgen van den Goorbergh, wllO finished a mere two-tenths of a second down on his illustrious fellow MuZ man, and ahead of Crafar's works Yamaha. Randy Mamola, 39 years young, put in another sterling testing performan.ce to hold off Suzuki test rider Yukio Kagayama for 14th on the time sheets. The privateer Honda V-twin battle went to 500cc rookie Markus Ober, closely followed by Sebastien Gimbert but a mile ahead of lone 500cc Bri t Michael Rutter, who spent all three days gamely·wringing the neck of a woefully slow Millar Honda V-twin. Multi-time South African Champion Brett MacLeod had a harsh lesson in just how hard CPs are with his 1:47.61 for last place. Nearly five seconds off the pace, MacLeod is seen by Team Roberts as another possible star of the future, given the right coaching and opportunities. There are many tests left for all the ~uzuki test, rider Yukio Kagaya";a. 'has' been confirmed as'the thir'Q official Suzuki rider for at least fh'e first four GPs ·of. 1999. The lack of sire'ngth i~ ,numbers has always 'restricted Suzuki since the departure of Kevin Schwantz. and the inclusion of 'Kagayama is seen as a way to redress that balance - albeit four . ye.ars too late, .... (Above) Max Biagg1 tested three different Yamaha chassis over the course of the test. (Right) Norick Abe at speed on the Antena 3-backed Yamaha YZR500. 500cc teams, but at this rate of progress, Honda will again be the ones to beat in 1999. 250cc Aprilia took off where it left off in 1998: with total domination of the Jerez 250cc timesheets. The leading machines in 1998, the Italian V-twins took the first five places at Jerez, with Valentino Rossi breaking Max Biaggi's 4-year-old circuit-best time with a 1:43.96. With the departure of the shamed Loris Capirossi and the wronged Harada to pastures new, the factory appears to have laced almost all its faith in Rossi, winner of the last four races of the 1998 season. Ralf Waldmann, a 500cc refugee back for another crack at the 250cc World title he has never quite won, was second fastest on his Docshop-sponsored bike, .42 of a second behind Rossi. Veteran factory tester Marcellino Lucchi, the man who has developed the RS250 into the world-beater it has become in the last few seasons, has taken his new role as factory racer to heart, setting the third-best time, just a smidge behind Waldmann, with 1:44.40. Arguably the strongest performance of all the 250 tests, however, came from Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams, who set a 1:44.47 on only his second outing on his '98 spec f;;ctory Aprilia. Niggling problems prevented a higher lap count, and therefore opportunities to better his times. CM effect on th"e.runll'ing of his satellite factory-team. WCM Red Bull 'exp"erime:nt with rider~ to back up' Jear)·Micrel Bayle's q~est for Yamaha team chief Peter Clifford commented that. -We couldn·t. the podium. Pruden'ce' would. seem to dictate hiring a proven be better off (In terms. of equipment and technical support)." He" Wo'rld-Ie;"el rider for this task. but thus far we have had World said he didn't foresee any change in that 'status. ' Superbike' flop Mike 'Hale and a total rookie oil the wand scene.. Brett Macleod, Marlboro Yamaha threw a vast launch party for Btaggi and Checa during the Jerez tests', Held in ,a covered bullring. the glitZy The four-strokes-in·GPs 'debate flared up 'Once more· in gathering was topped off by tlie sight of Checa joining with the, Jerez: insligaied mostly by ,the following quote from lyn', world's top Torero, Fran Rivera. for a 'session of pretend bullfight- Jarvis in the offiCial Yoamah;, launch 'press kit: "Yamaha is a ing. The bUll proved to be, some form oi· bovine smaller than the' firm. supporter of Uie move' (to four-strokes), At the ·moment average Greai Dane.. Earlier. 'the shorthom of ind.eterminate sex :we are racing top:level fou:r-strokes in the World Supe~bike had been repeatedly "st~'ck' with ,an 'electric nerve spike in, place - Champio.nship'.' a ve'ry expen'si,ve a~d full 'prog'ram, At the Yamaha wheeled out their big guns ~t Je~ez. i~ the form of Yamaof the usual lances and swords. to test its resilience - somewhere ha motorsports chief Toshihiko lio and the boss of the 'newly during the main course .of'dinner. In fact. Checa sports a bull tat, founded Yamaha Motor Racing BV company. lyn Jarvis. T'be new too on his left arrn. plus one on his crash helmet. end is said to be company Is primarily, Involved in helping to oversee sponsorship a big fan of ihi,s .sport,' \Vhich is seen as highly socially acceptab,le deals, team coordination and finance for all the officially supported ,in Spain but as bai-baric almost everywhere else. A curious way to 'Yamaha teams in GPs. with the engineering division still based in launch a race team to the world's media. ., . Japan. It is also th~re as a liaison between the satellite teanis, such'as Red Bull and Antena 3'and Yar)1aha,itsetf. ,The 1999 MuZ racer proved to have all tlie'necessary Ingredients at Jerez: a proven GP winner in luca Cadalora: an all-up weight , With the official Yamaha 500 team 'of Ma,. 8ia99i and Carlos claimed to be right on the 286-pound limil; and 'a beautifully craftCheca going ~in house: again, and with Yamaha Motor Racing ed alloy chassis supplied by Fabrication Techniques. the same BV as the ultimate controller., the obvious. question is. How will British company that supplies Team Roberts. Both riders raved this affect Yamaha's other works-bike clients? Will it mean that about theirnew·mount.;md its claimed 190 bhp. but Cadalora won. technical development will be based around only Biaggi and' the gush'ing-praise war. with his assertion that "the bike is like a Checa? "With all of the team working within our companY. making. raw diamond that now needs to be shaped," the lines of communication shorter and more dfrect.., thirik it will have' some influence." replied' Jarvis, 'When questioned about In their third year. with a more' competitive bike than ever, d,espite. whether the newly formed Yamaha Motor Racing BV will have any .a vastly reduced profile, Tea~ ,Roberts. seems very willing, to s,ame time we are "racing two-slroke machines in "Grand Prix,. and these bikes don"t have the same relevanc,e to our street machines as they once.had. so the logical 'move is to,' use four-strokes in the, number-one motorcycling areha. since the bikes .would 'have' more retEwance tO'the production technolo.gies. We would then 'continue 'in the Superbike etass. 'but with . bikes l:!ased much more closely on stock street machines." ,The theme was c9ntin~ed by lio at the Saturday press confer-, ' ence. -with his staten')ent that there hadbeen much discussion between the GPMA memb,;rs on this subject. "Many c'Ompanies who work in four-strokes await this new rule. too." lio ,added, Questioned further as to how many and which compa" ' nles lio WqS referring. he claimed that he had heard that BMW, Harley-Davidso.n or Kawasaki were pro-four-'stroke, With tbe new rules governing the cost and complexity of modIfications' allowed in Worl(j'Superbike about to change in a .couple' of seasons. the firsffcundations o'f a major GP rule, 'change rnay have ,been lai& ·S.tay' tuned: '

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