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/127991
Roberts, in his first race on the revived Suzuki, took control on the second lap and just kept pulling away. While defending champion Mick Doohan and his Repsol Honda - in trouble with a lack of traction throughout practice - struggled to make an impression from a poor second-row start, and Max Biaggi's wild cornering lines and overlate braking in his first Yamaha ride ended in mechanical breakdown, the 25-year-old American ran inch-perfect from start to finish, concentrating, in his words, on "managing my tires and getting to the finish." On the last lap he looked over his shoulder on the final straight, and shook his head in disbelief at the sight of an empty track. "1 can still hardly believe it now," he said later. "It's always been my ambition to be the best motorcycle racer in the world - and today 1 was." Second was hotly disputed to the finish, with the place going to new Marlboro Yamaha rider Carlos Checa, narrowly defeating Repsol Honda rider Alex Criville. Doohan was fourth, coming through only in the closing stages as his fuel load lightened and he got more grip from the front wheel. He claimed fastest lap of the race in his closing charge, also consigning third Repsol Honda man Tadayuki Okada to fifth, after the Japanese rider had earlier been with the second-place gang. Pole qualifie,r John Kocinski saw his dream turn into nightmare on the unsponsored Kanemoto Honda. Running with the leaders but struggling, he left his braking too late and crashed on the fourth lap, taking Yamaha's Norifumi Abe down with him. Earlier defending champion Loris Capirossi, sacked by Aprilia last year, won his first race back on a Honda after a thrilling racelong three-way scrap. Tohru Ukawa was inches behind on another of the much-improved factory 250cc Hondas, the Shell Advance machine, with longtime race leader Shinya Nakano and his Chesterfield Yamaha a close third in his first GP as a full-time rider. Aprilia's pole qualifier, Valentino Rossi, was never on the pace, making a slow start just in the top 10 and climbing to fifth behind injured Chesterfield Yamaha rider Olivier Jacque. Playlife Honda rider Masao Azuma won the first race of the year, with Via Digital Honda's Emilio Alzamora inches behind after a racelong battle. It had been a three-way battle, with pole qualifier Arnaud Vincent getting the best of it until he slid off just after half-d.istance, hastily remounting to claim fourth behind Gianluigi Scalvini and his Inoxmace! Aprilia. 500cc GRAND PRIX Kocinski got away first, with Doohan slowed at the first comer when Nobuatsu Aoki stole his line, as he later complained. He finished the first lap down in 11th, with Criville leading Kocinski, and then Roberts and Criville. Roberts took the lead on lap three and immediate!y started to pull away. "When 1 saw the gap was opening, 1 just concentrated on being smooth, and doing what 1 knew 1 could do," Roberts said. "1 knew 1 cd'U1d pull away from Criville, but 1 thought somebody else, like Mick, might get past him and close up, so 1 wanted to get a cushion." He stretched it to almost 10 seconds by three-quarter distance and started to feel safer. "I was going easy on braking and accelerating, but in fact I could have run fast laps alI race long," Roberts said. '1 had a great bike on good tires, so it made my first win easier than 1 expected." Biaggi was with the leaders on the second lap and had even been ahead briefly now and then. But he repeatedly outbraked himself to run wide and drop back again, and he was never higher than third across the line. He was continuing in this cavalier manner when it alI came to an abrupt halt on lap 10, his Yamaha sputtering to a stop with an "unprecedented" electrical problem. Checa had gotten away in seventh, and he picked his way through quickly, riding in a much more controlled manner than his teammate. He moved into second on lap eight, and he stayed there to the finish. "Second here today was better than (Top) Alex Criville did the best job of attempting to thwart Roberts' (10) advances, but his run at the top was also shortlived as the 25year-old American was able to sweep past and pUll away. (Right) Marlboro Yamaha teammates Carlos Checa (4) and Max Biaggi (2) battle early in the race. Checa eventually finished second, .but Biaggi was forced out with a mechanical failure. (3) 0.. « 25