Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

..... u ~U t..M " !'ttII~ I O NSHf PS Road Race (Above - from left to right) Kenny Roberts, Tadayukl Okada and Sete Glbernau ce lebrate after t he 500Cc GP. (Left) Carlos Checa (4) slides of h is Marlboro Yamaha, taking Reg is Laconl (55) with him. Laconl recovered to finish 12th; Chece d idn't continue. twin H onda a hea d o f th e hapl es s McCoy, w res tling with the V-fou r Red Bull Yama ha like, as one compatrio t had it, "a monkey on a grey hou nd." Ca rdoso's secon d TSR Hond a was ou t o f th e po int s, wi th a bruised and hurtin g Mark Willis 17th and last after br ake trouble in his Modenas d ebut. Wit h the halfway point in the series coming up a t Donington , a change in the title trend crea tes a d ifferen t pictu re. Criville's advantage has been cu t to 35 p oint s, wit h Rob erts (94), Okad a (93) a nd Giberna u (88) lead in g th e chase, and Checa (65) being caught by Biaggi (58 ). 8 250cc GRAND PRIX As sert, in ke e p ing with th e o p e n Du tch lan d scape, is the most revealing of tracks. Machine differences are p lain to see, as is rid ing techn iqu e. By the acid test, it was Capirossi who had the best of the combinati on, for thou gh the lead swapped back and forth repeated ly, he was in front all bu t four times over the finish line - includ ing on the most cru ciallast lap. Had this fair if hard- fought wi n gone so me w ay tow a rd repairing hi s d am aged rep utation ? "W ha t's past is past, and 1 don 't wa nt to talk abo ut it," he sa id . "It has bee n a d ifficult time for me, and this win was very important." So it was , for all sorts of reasons - not least because of the wav the continua llv upgrad ed factory H'; nda dealt with a ~ Ap rilia on fu ll so ng . Rossi wa s a cons ta n t com pa n io n a nd led three tim es o ve r th e lin e . But repea ted ly hi s attem pts to overta ke would tum ou t to be ill-con trived, since they would slow him over the next three corners - he was clearly riding at his limi ts. "The Hond a seemed eas ier to ride," Rossi said later. Rossi did lead briefly again on the la st la p , he a n d Ca pirossi sw a p p ing pl aces four tim es, bu t th e o lder rid er was in control a t the last chicane, where it ma ttered . The other thr ee were also swapping back and for th. Nakano's Yamaha clearly lacked speed , bu t he was rid ing very well indeed for an Assen first-timer, and holding his place in the grou p with ease - until the going go t too hot at the finish . Uk awa also led once, a nd mad e on ly one mis take - dropping from first to fifth in one move when he ran too fast into o ne of t h e tighte r tu rn s . A nd McWilli ams w as always th er e, losin g ou t on acceleration but swoop ing back wit h extreme angles of lean. It was McWilliam s who placed himself best for the last com er . "Ukawa came in tight, but he just left enoug h room," he said later. It was all he needed to recor d his first rostrum of th e yea r, with Vkawa and Nakano inc hes b ehind . The first five were covered by tw o-tent hs of a second . Ralf Waldmann had his best ride of h is firs t Ap rili a year, ge tti ng dropped in to the pa ck after a firs t-lap blunder, and cha rging all the wa y back aga in to join th e leading gro u p. By the fini sh, h owever, bra ke trou bl e. had d ropped him ou t of tou ch again . The battle for seventh wa s sca rcely less exciting than that for the lead , and eve n more num erous, wi th eigh t bikes ' du ckin g and d ivin g together as the race wore on. Fas t priva teer Aprili a rid er Fra nco Batta ini had ta ken o ve r from Stef ano Perugini's factory Honda early on to do most of the lead ing, and he wa s narrowly ahea d of Perugini as they crossed the line . Right. on th e Itali a n's back wheel was Briton Jay Vi n ce n t's p rod u ction Pad gett 's Hond a, in yet ano ther stirri ng ride. A little wa y back, impressi ve Aus tra lian newcomer An tho ny West held o ff fas t-risi ng German Andrea s Hofmann on a similar bike, and the Yamaha s of Seba s ti an Po r to a n d Tomomi Mana ko. Vkawa had done eno ug h to retain a shrinking titl e lead , with 134 p oints to Rossi on 115, Na kano on 96 and comeback man Ca pirossi on 82. Brieflv.;. .. Championship points leader Alex Criville faces a fight to be fit in time for the British GP, scheduled for next week - just one wee k afte r wrench' ing his hip in the Dutch GP at Assen. He flew directly to a clinic near his home in Bercelona, Spain, 'for treatmen t, and is expected to be back in time to take part in the next race. Coville's hip was not actually dislocat- · ed. but it was distort ed as he lay jammed under a wall o f tires after his race crash, "The marshals too k a long time to get me out. and that made the injury wo rse." he told associates aft erward. 125cc GRAND PRIX Assen se rved up a ge ne rica lly gu ts tirr ing 125cc race, with bi tter figh ting all the way to th e flag - yet so me ho w accomplish ed with at least relati ve sa fety. There wa s only one crash ou t of the lea d ing group, when Lucio Cecchinello's Givi Hon d a ga ve or received one touch too man y at one of the track's fast co rners a n d he s li d g race fu lly o ff toward the catch fencing . Masa o Azu rna, wi nner of the firs t four races, mad e most of the ru nni ng on h is Pla y li fe Hond a , as a four-strong lea d ing g rou p s a w C ecchin ell o and teammate Veda fending off a persistent Roberto Locatelli's Aprili a. The Hondas w ere clearly faster, b u t Loca te lli was b raki ng d eep in to the tu rn s to rega in what he lost in a straight line. Azuma twi ce tried to break away up front, wit hout success - on the run back through the fast kin ks they'd catch right up aga in. It wo uld all come d own to tactics and willpowe r a t the las t chic ane . And it was Azu ma who found the right co m bi na tio n, leadin g in to th e ch icane and on th e ru n to th e flag fro m Veda new track were shown to the press on the first day of practice and .were generally well-recefved • the last great track is at least being dismantled sy mpa the tica lly. and as w ell as typical mo de rn slowe r co rne rs . the replacement circuit will use almos t half of the current tr ack , although widened and made safer. The current circuit. first used in Its present fo rm in 1984 , was the' last shorte ning of a track that in 1926 covere d more than 10 miles. The lap distance was cut in 1955 , and again in 1984, but , the same start-finish location was kept and will remain for the new trac k. The shorter track comes not only after criticism of Assen's nature by ,a few riders. especially Mlc k Doohan. but also in response to the need to modernize the paddoc k and facilities: current ly very restricted for space by the trac k layout. The new track will cut out the first north ern loop, turning hard right soon after the pits to loop around and return for the current " Strubben" hairpin. Then it loo ps iway from the curre nt paddock . bypassing the current back straight , to rejoin at the end of it for the famous St ekkenwal right-hander. For the remainder of the lap it follows the present circuit almost exactly. Assen will remain most espe cially a motorcycle venue, though as now there will be a limited number of mainly touring·car races on the new circuit. Mick Doohan received a hero 's welcome at Assen when he made his first public appearance since his accid ent, and made a heartfe lt speech in a press conf erence urging commentators to appreciate the feats of those riders left behind. "The pace of the race s may not be fast - but where are the peop le co ming to ride faste r than them?" said the five-time W orld Champton . whose enforce d absence has. to some observers . taken the gloss off Ale x Criville 's sudden emergence from the shadows to a dominant position, " I think Alex has been underrated for some time.- he said. . A ssen has already turned its back on the past. The section of track variously known as the "Veenslang " (ditch-snake) or euphem istically " the " He's dOing exactly what he needs to do. and he's the best in the world back straight - is one of the great places to watch a 500Cc mot orcycle and at the moment. " Doohan was vague about the timing of his own racing rider fully ext ended, threading the needle through the kinks at high speed, return , leaving the question that he may not ride at all this year if he does full throttle against tall gearing, You can see who is nding fast and slow, not make an almost complete recovery , "I will only come back if I can be well and badly, and wh ich bikes have found the best combination for the fully competitive. If it' s just a matt er of coming back to ride around - then unique Dutch track. Do spect ators flock there? Hardly one , Instead. the it'll be. 'See ya.' - he said. He is recovering 100 slowly for his own satisbacksi des of hospitality unit s line the track. to keep the noise of the faction. he said, but faster than the doctors had predicted . " I should be motorcycles at bay while guests watch MTV and sip cappuccinos inside. able to walk unaided at the beginning of August. " he said. " l'rn still loo king at coming back for Czecho. or the GPs right beside it. But I won 't ride ' Garry McCoy made a 500cc-class return at Assen . in about the most unless tam 100 percent. I've been in this situation before, in 1992 and daunting possible circumstances - com ing back 10 mont hs after he last into 1993; when I tried to come back when I wasn't really strong enough. rode a racing motorcycle for his first experience aboard a full factory V" You do most of your steering (on a 500) WIth your feet and legs. " Asked four 500 . McCoy was the surprise choice to take over the sacked Simon if the hiatus this year would make him reconsider hrs staled intention of Crafar' s Red Bull Yamaha, for at least two races. McCoy said he'd been probably retiring at the end of this year, he said: ..Honda are asking the keeping race fit by riding a 500cc mot ocro sser. The Australian won two same question. It' ll all depend o n whether I'm enjoying riding the bike, 125cc GPs and switched to the Shell Adv ance V-tw in 500 last year, only We'll have to wait and see." Doohan was looki ng thin but surprisingly fit for his seaso n to be spoi led by leg injuries at Brno. It was an exciti ng and relaxed.·H e planned to attend the chanty Day of Champions at Doningto n Park. and then re turn to ,his surg eo ns in Am er ica fo r furthe r . return at the fast and difficult track. " I had both feet in the air through the fast kinks on the first lap," he grinned later. assessment. This might be the last year of the classic A sse n c ircuit. which is to be reworked as a shorte r circuit, incorpo rating about half of the current track ' and add ing a lin k mo re closely resem bli ng a mod ern sho rt circ uit. Although replacement is a three-year program . it may be telescoped into just one year. acco rding to circuit official and longstanding Dutch stalwart Jaap Timmer. Some'pit-lane buildings ,and part of the extensive new stadium-section grandstands have already been completed . Plans for the n John Kocin ski recovered his motorhome. confiscated by customs en route to the Catalan round last week. on a special six-day plate, and was on the way to regularizing the legal position of his U,S,-registered vehicle. But othe rs in the paddock remaine d nervous that the French custo ms might be clamping dow n on foreign-registered motornomes. and that the run to the British GP next wee kend might be fraught wit h danger of a similar fate ,

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