Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

when I joined HRC, they called me the third rider and I don't think Mick was worried about me, but when I started getting closer to Mick on qualifying times and finishing on the podium, the feeling changed. By 1996 I was determined to beat him at least once." in 1996 you beat him not once but twice in a row, , Q in Austria and the Czech Republic. How did. Ooohan take that? A (He smiles, glances at the ceiling. exhales sharply £\.and says, "Ha estado muy pew muy enfadado." In English: "He was really, but I mean .really, angry.") These two races were rough and wild. I had decided that there was no use trying to pass Mick early and make. a break because I had tried that before, so I was determined to match his pace and then have a go on the last lap. hi both races he mixed up the pace a bit, speeding up and slowing down, but there was no one else with us, so I hung there and waited for the last lap and then made my move. It worked in both places and Mick was angry. In Bmo (Czech Republic), it was so close (.002 of a second, the closest 500cc GP finish ever recorded) that 1 wasn't sure I had won until I came into the garage under the podium. I didn't manage to beat him again that year, but from then on I knew that I could. knowing that on a day, beat Q Justbest rider in theyou could,Aftergivenyou come the world must have changed the way you thought about racing. all, from a country that has never produced a 500cc contender and you come from the classic Spanish school of racing, starting with the Solo Moto Criterium for 80cc street bikes and then running the GPs in the 80, 125 and 250cc classes. This is the school that everyone said was not the right path to SOOcc GP. The 500cc class was the domain of Americans and Australians, and the Europeans who had worked their way up through the smaller classes had been unsuccessful. Yeah, it was hard to make the move because all of \IS Europeans were riding in the classic way - late on the brakes, big lean angles when we got to the apex, and then slowly feeding the power on as the bike came up on the exit. The American way was different, giving up comer speed to get the bike turned and then spinning up, using rear-wheel steering. It was very hard to change styles. A g YOU were second in your first full year in 80cc and then won the 125cc title in your first year in class. But in 250cc. things were more difficult. in 8Occ, I got in trouble with Derbi for refusing to obey team orders in Yugoslavia. They wanted me to slow down and let a teammate by because they want-. ed him to be second in the championship. I was 17 years old and running in third place and I just refused to slow down. They even told me to come into the pits, but I rode my race and finished third in Yugoslavia and took second in the championship. The next year I left Derbi to ride for n-Cobas with a Rotax 125cc engine. Everybody expected Jorge Martinez to win again on the Derbi, and I don't think anybody thought we'd win the championship - not even us. , A Sito Pons says that you were fortunate in that you moved up to 500cc in the year of the Big Bang englDe, which was easier to ride. He says that he believes that if he had been able to race that bike instead of the 18O-degree uscreamer,u he would' have }lad more success. I don't think I agree. Right now I'm using the 180, degree motor and I also tested Sito's 180 bike back ,at the end of 1991 in Malaysia and I liked it, but it's rPard to say what it would have been like to race that machine. There have been many improvements in the power delivery. We can have a different power curve for each gear if we want. In 1996 Mick and I were both on the "big bang" and the racing was close; then in 1997 ,I decided to stay with the ~ig bang" because I was "used to it and ~ck went to the "screamer." I saw that ,there was some breakage and wasn't sure that it would Q A " be the best engine for me. By the end of 1997, the "screamer" looked better than the "big bang" and 1 would have switched in 1998, but because we were going to use unleaded fuel, I wasn't sure what to do and I didn't want to introduce too many changes at once. But now that I am on the "screamer," I feel that it is the best motor for me. I love the motor now. Q What hasa it been like for you to in as Ooohan's teammate for these five years? A-It's very positive experience all. learned run I been ..t-lirom the best. In the beginning it was all good, but then when I started getting closer to Mick's times, it was· not so comfortable in that garage. It was hard for me because in every team there is a number-one rider, and that was Mick. I was, in 1996, at a point where I needed the full focus of a team, but there was never any doubt who the number-one rider was in HRC. Don't get me wrong. I had a great motorcycle and a great team, but there were little things that Mick seemed to have. There is only one number one and that was Mick. But even so, I feel it was good for me to stay in that team and try and beat him. I was so focused on Mick that I really didn't think much about the others, and maybe that helps me now. With Mick injured, I am getting t.he benefit of more attention from the Japanese engineers. I don't know, but it is all different now because I'm sitting in the center of the HRC team, looking out at my rivals rather than looking across the garage at my rival. you . Nowby points. Everyone in a you should Q leadtitle. have won three GPssayingrow and you take the There are going to be tracks don't have to that, but in Alast go well and I'll days andadjust towhere things the races my bike worked well and I've 40 three is has been able to win and with some margin of comfort. In Jerez I had a lot of understeer, but I felt I could hold Biaggi off and I did. In France, I got a bad start and I just took it easy, didn't panic, and saw that I could catch and pass Roberts and go on to win. Here, I went into the race running a tire that I hadn't practiced much with and that made me uneasy. If I had been able to use the "0" tire, I think I would have been much faster, but as soon ~s I was told by Michelin that they were withdrawing the "0" and putting us on "C," I knew the pace was going to be slow and that it would be a matter of winning on the last lap. Q What was the problem with the tires? A-I'm not sure. I chose my tires and then when we r t went to get them fitted, we were told that Michelin wasn't confident that the "0" would stand the heat. They said they were withdrawing the tire for safety reasons. TaIking about tires, when I spoke with you on Saturday evening, you were annoyed about los-ing the pole to Tetsuya Harada on the Aprilia twin. You said that you felt that Harada owed that pole to Dunlop qualifyfug tires. I'm not trying to take anything away from Tetsuya (Harada), but there is no way he could have done that time of 1:52.3 on race tires. He put in a good ride here and finished fourth and that little bike is getting better and will be tough to beat at tighter circuits. They say he was using a very soft Dunlop of the 1.85 width that Dunlop supply to privateer superbike riders, but I still suspect that it mighthave been on a narrow 250 tire, but for sure it was a qualifier. Michelin doesn't offer us "Q' tires for three-lap qualifying runs. We usually look around for a soft race tire for the final minutes of the session to put in a good time. I'll use a tire softer than the one I plan to race on to qualify on, but Dunlop riders have true qualifying tires and we don't. I was angry because I felt that our bike was working the best of all the fours and that without that qualifying tire, Harada would not have been on the pole. Q A never wanted to test much during the and that testing went to Q ooohanseasonthe lead rider, are loadnew stuff you. Now that you are you still interested in testing new parts? No. When we went to Bmo (Czech Republic) a couple of weeks ago, I tested a truckload of things that Honda wanted, and I ended up worn out and I don't think anything was really an immediate improvement. From now on I'm sticking to what I know, like Mick has always done. I understand that Honda needs to test, but I won't test in a GP situation anymore. Before, my position in the team wasn't strong enough to say no, but now 1 am taking the same attitude that Mick had. He used to send the new parts over to me; now I send them over to Tady (Okada) and Sete (Gibernau). A talk the championship and Q tion. Last aboutyou went intocapable ofyour situayear Madrid leading the championship and you looked winning, Let'S but you crashed trying to get by Carlos Checa. You yourself said you made a rookie.niistake w there. Was that mistake caused a bit by impatience? l was impatient, sure. The pace of the race was slow and I knew (Luca) Cadalora was back there and that he was going quickly on the YamalTa. I knew Mick Doohan was out, too, so I guess I should have waited a little longer and been more careful, but my real problem there was with the front fork. I had gone into that race using an electronic front fork that I had never used before. They changed my suspension technician halfway through the season, and the new guy sold me on using a new fork with lots of tubes and pressure transfers that activated when the fork bottomed. I thought it felt okay in private practice and in qualifying. so I used it in the race and that was a big mistake. I couldn't feel the front on the braking. That's what happens when you ani the second rider sometimes. I don't know if Mick ever tried the electronic fork; I don't think so." U A me that he have Q Doohan toldnonfinishes felt that you shouldtaking probably the championship year, advantage of and other problems. wo~ last his A Last year was not a good year for me. The death of rtmy father in the winter was a blow, because we were very close. I had some crashes and I just didn't have the motivation and concentration that I needed. The opportunities were there, but I didn't take advantage. I was still very much in the battle for the title when I was knocked off on the first comer in Barcelona, but last year was not a good year and I agree with Mick. I should have won the title, but I wasn't riding and thinking well enough last year to take advantage of my chances ~d so I had to work hard to get ready for this season. the of last Q TOWardplaceend Max turned thatMarlboro offered you a as Biaggi's teammate on the Yamaha team. When you down, you were season, saying no to Marlboro, probably the biggest sponsor in the series, and accepting a place as number two behind Ooohan rather than a potential number-one slot with Yamaha. As a result you lost Madboro as a personal sponsor, and you lost a chance to get out of Doohan's shadow. l always believed in my chances of being World Champion in 500 with this team, even with Mick here. I have ridden the NSR for seven years. This is my eighth year on the bike and I think it is the most complete GP package. The frame is really about the same as in 1992, but the suspension and engine are much better. I think I made the right decision. But what really made me decide to stay was that they told me I would be riding with Max Biaggi. I didn't look forward to:that. Mick Dooban is a serious person, but he's a normal Person, too. I don't think I would have wanted to work beside a person who considers .himself a superstar,J think it would have been distracting. In this team, the focus is completely on racing. , . '. A I I • =! • iii 0 • !E - g ! ~ 33

• Cover