Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

comer later, forcing his way inside Biaggi's red Yamaha. Biaggi's crash came just over one lap later, also over the bumps on the way into the downhill hairpin, taking him quite by surprise. '1 thought I could win that race," he said later. '1 could stay with the Hondas easily, and I was thinking about my strategy for later in the race when suddenly I was down." This sim plified rna tters somewha t, with Okada closing up easily in third, and Abe also closing up behind. With 14 laps remaining, there was still plenty of racing left, but the Repsol Armada was looking pretty impressive - all the more so when Abe slid to earth on the 18th lap, another victim of the Yamaha's frontwheel vagaries, though the improved Japanese rider did blame himself. "I'd started well, but then I slipped back a bit," he explained. "Then, when' I'd burned off some fuel, the bike felt better and I could catch up again. Then I outbraked myself trying. to catch Criville." This left just the three up front, with Okada now in the lead, Criville holding . a watching brief, and Gibemau right in the thick of it. The V-four novice was riding very impre sively, setting the fastest lap of the race - fractionally short of last year's record - on the seventh tour. But his presence up with the leaders, for the first time in his career, did impose a bit of a worry - he might tum out to be over his head, and possibly take one or even both of his teammates down with him if he did crash. This looked more likely as he started to become more erratic, having trouble holding the lines and sliding more than the others. But he is a sensible rider, and there was a reason. "I had trouble on the sighting lap with the tire that 1 chose, and I had to switch to another one at the last minute, softer than I wanted," he said later, though he observed that "with the Vfour, when the tire goes, you can still ride fast by sliding it, which 1 can't do with the twin." • (Above) Jurgen van den Goorbergh (17) qualified on pole position on the MuZ, then finished eighth in the race, behind Carlos Checa (4) and Kenny Roberts Jr. (10). (Left) Max Blagg! lost the front end and crashed the Marlboro Yamaha after being passed by Criville and Co. straight. Okada stayed with him to cross' the line less than a tenth adrift. A close group had formed up behind the leaders from before half-distance, with slow starter Harada's fast V-twin moving through to the front of it by lap nine. He was still forging ahead, and he passed Checa for an evenfual fourth just after half-distance, overcoming his many practice mechanical problems for a smooth race, just far enough in front of a big gang to remain untroubled by its vicissitudes. Checa dropped back through it He 10 t a little ground and by the finish was five seconas adrift. Now it was between Okada and Criville, with the Japanese rider holding a fair advantage and circulating teadily. "I had no problems for once, and my lap times were consistent," he said. "My last lap was the same as all the others but Alex went faster than me." Plainly so, closing an eight-tenths ga p by the time they reached the final set of corners and sailing inside Okada into the bend at the end of the back • • Sur rise sur rise sur rise A s usual, qualifying came alive at the end of the final session. Less usual were the names at the top of the list. First up was Sete Gibernau, in his second race on Mick Doohan's V-four. Then carne none other than the MuZ, ridden not by the all-European team's star rider, Luca Cadalora, but by second-stringer Jurgen van den Goorbergh. And though Max Biagg; managed to slot his Yamaha between the ·two, and though Alex Criville was trying to do something to upset the order, van den Goorbergh stayed there for the first class pole position by a Dutch rider since the late Jack Middelburgh, at Spa in 1982. 'lt was one of those laps that you get every so often, when everything just goes smoothly - no slides, tight corner lines, and everything perfect," the 29-year-old Dutchman said. "All the same, I was surprised to be on pole, and surprised that nobody went faster in the last few minutes," Pole was a landmark for the MuZ Weber, much improved this year . not only with refinements to the lBO-degree "Screamer" singJe-crank engine's throttle response and power delivery, but also with a new chassi , in a new team run by former sidec31-class giant Rolf Biland. Frequently one of the fastest bikes in top speed, it is now a much better package. But van den Coorbergh's relative inexperience on a V-four, plus the machine's reputation as not yet completely reliable, were a comfort for Biaggi, sitting just a quarter of a second down. He was still, of course, nursing hand injuries, but two more weeks sin.ce his second in Italy meant he was significantly better, and, as he said, "1 think that riding a motorcycle is the best therapy." Like everybody, Biaggi was battling with poor grip on the bumpy and dirty circuit. "We need very soft tires to do "fast times," he said. "The race wiU be very difficult for that reason." He was complaining about chatter going into the corners, and trying all sorts of minor suspension variations right up until race morning. Cibernau ended up third fastest, full of praise for his team in finding the settings that allowed him to be top Honda. "I am still learning the V-four," he said of the race, "but I will obviously go for the best finish I can get." Criville, on the far end of the first row, was disappoint~d at not making pole, but quietly confident that his experience would count over full race distance. 'lt has been very difficult to set the bike up - every year it is more bumpy here," he said, explaining why he had not been able to replicate his former pole time here. "Usually we come here in September, when it is cooler." Jean-Michel Bayle led row two, in his best showing so far on the Modenas after threatening for the front row. In fact, times were desperately close aU the way down to the back end of row four. Van den Goorbergh had an advantage of almost a quarter of a second, but from Biaggi in second to obuatsu Aoki (the Suzuki rider back for the first time since breaking his wrist at Jerez) was covered by just one second. Norick Abe was next, followed by Kenny Roberts Jr., complaining that the Suzuki was, quite imply, short of power, and what power was there came in so suddenly that it made short work of the tires, and hence his comer-speed ad vantage. "W

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