Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Road Race t hro u gh o u t , bla mi ng fading e ngi ne po w er, and flapp in g h is elbows ex p ressively as he passed the p i ts. He had eno ugh i n hand to keep Jeremy McWill ia m s' Aprilia just over a second behind , the Ulsterrnan fighting frontwheel slides throughout. Jason Vincen t had been with him, but was 10 sec onds adrift at th e end to fini sh ninth, top privateer again; a disappointed Fr anco Battaini was th ree s econd s back in 10th after a lonely rac e . " 1 don't know w hat the problem w as, but I never could ge t my usual speed," he said . Ros s i th us ex te nded his titl e lead, 190 points to Uka wa' s 16 3, w i th Na k a n o third o n 138. Then comes Capirossi o n 131. Wald m an n is fifth wi th 97, foll o wed by Perugini , with 88. 125cc GRAND PRIX Lo catelli, with a o ne-second a d v a ntage in qualify in g, had promised to ru n away and hide, and after he bro ke away (Above) The 500cc GP stayed close throughout with Criville (3) look ing to have the edge in the c los ing stages over Tadayuki Okada (8), Biagg i (2) and Roberts (10), but Okada had other idea s. (Left) The 250cc GP came dow n to a batlle be tween Aprilia's Valentino Rossi (46) an d .Wald ma nn, with the yo ung Italia n tak ing the win to further extend his championship points lead. from th e fro nt-row gro u p of M el a nd ri, Veda an d Cecchinello afte r fou r laps, it se em ed he mi ght be ab le to d o it. Then Me landri followed him and stu ck to his back wheel all the w ay u ntil th e final la p . His firs t a ttack, into the long firs t com er fa il ed ; bu t he tri ed a gai n a t th e nex t bend , and th is time he made it stick. Loc at elli tried everythi ng to get back o n terms, but it was to no ava il. O r ev en w orse than that. Ru nning in to the lo ng co m er at the bottom of th e hill, h is front w heel tucked under, and he w a s d ow n . H e tri ed to r e s tar t , b u t his b ik e w as w re cked , a n d instea d h e s lu m ped in tea rs at the foo t of th e ba rrier. The pursui t g ro u p ha d gro w n a fter th e ea rly laps, wi th Frenchman Arna ud Vincen t m ovin g throu gh to the fro nt of it, Scal vin i joining in, as well as You ich i Vi's Derbi. After 'ha lf-d is tance Vi faded somewhat; th en Vin cent lost his fr ont w heel o n th e 14th lap, sliding int o the gra vel an d hastily remo untin g. Th e remainin g three went back a nd forth to th e finish, cross in g the lin e so close together tha t they almost collided, wi th Veda a h ea d of Cecch ine llo and Scal vi n i br a kin g h ard behi n d to avoi d cras hing. Vi was fifth , a best -ever dry-weather finis h fo r th e Derbi; A lzamora led the next gang ov er the lin e, w ith littl e GerQj . man S teve [e n k n er equa li n g h is best..c ever s eventh o n th e Marlbo ro A p ri li a E '" fro m newcomer Sim one Sa n na 's Polin i Ci. H onda a n d Gino Bors o i' s Semprucci en Aprilia . Then came V i n cen t, a fte r a '" 12 plucky rid e ba ck through th e field . - Azuma was 12t h. a nd s a w hi s title lead shrin k to fo ur points o ve r Alza mora , 161-157. Veda ha s 119, w ith s u p er s ta r Meland ri ca tchi ng up fast on 115. Locatelli dropped to fifth w ith 113 poin ts. CN Czech Republic Grand Prix Brno , Czech Republic Results: August 22, 1999 125 Q UALIFYING , 1. Roberto Locatelli (2,09.384), 2. Noboru Veda (2:10.260); 3. M.lT\.'O Me la ndri (2.:10.366 ); 4. Luci o Ce cchmell o (2:10.392); 5. Emilio Alzamora (2:10.581); 6. Gianluigi Scalvini (2:10.584); 7. Simo ne . Sanna (2:10.612); 8. You ichi Ui (2:10.744); 9. Arnaud Vincent (2:10.822); 10. Mirko Gi.. sanr i (2:11.350); 11. m Masao Azuma (2:11.359); 12. Klaus Noh les (2:11.674); 13. Kazutc Sakata (2:11.763); 14. Gino Borsoi <2: 11.964-); 15. Max Sa bba tan i (2:12.090); 16. Rndy De Pu n ie r (2:12.136); 17. Ste ve Ienkncr (2:12.149); 18. Bernhard Abs rncicr (2:12.210); 19. [a ros lav Hu ll'S (2:12.238); 20. Al essand ro Bre nnc tt i (2 :\ 2.345); 21. Rei nha r d Sto lz (2:12.346); 22. Angel Niet o Jr. (2:12.427); 23. Jeronimo Vida l (2:12.47R); 24. Ivan Goi (2:12514); 25. Iakub Smrz (2:13.549); 26. Igor Kalab (2:14.189); 27. Pabl o Nie to (2,14,6.'6). 125 G RAN D r RI X: 1. ~arco Melandri t Hon): 2. Noboru Veda (Hon ): 3. lu cio Cecch inello (Ho n): 4. Gianluigi Sca lvini (Apr); 5. Youichi V i (Ocr); b. Emilio Al zamora (Hon): 7. Ste ve [enkner {Ap r): 8. Sim one Sanna (He n]: 9. Gino Borsoi (Apr); 10. Amaud Vincent (Apr); 11. Iva n Goi (He n): 12, Masao Azuma (Hon): 13. Kla us Nohles (Hon ): 14. Reinhard Stolz (Ho n ): 15. Mirko Cia nsa n ri (Apr) ; 16. Angel N ieto Jr. (He n): 17. . Brieflv... - Mick Daohan may require further surgery on his le ft arm after compli· cat ions set in follow ing his big crash and multiple fract ures at J erez in May. The Aust ralian will fly back to the United State s for a cons ultation and furthe r trea tment next week . The five-time World Champion had hoped .to re turn for .the Czech GP after the four-wee ken d summ e r brea k. But while the fractu res have heale d well. he is sti ll s uffering nerve damage to his left arm. which was broke n above the wrist. He is lacking strength and some control.'and he told rep orters that he expected to have the plate removed from ttie arm in a bid to solve the problem. With recovery time from that surgery se t at three wee ks minimum. the complications make it unlikely that he will retum to the track for the three re maining races in Euro pe. It also puts a quest ion mar k ov er whether he will be fit enough to race in his home GP in Aust ralia on Octobe r 3. Doohan broke his right leg below the knee. his right shoulder. and his left arm in the heavy crash in practice for the third race of the year. and was operated on by a team led by famous orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting in Sa n Francisco. W~h the s low recovery of his . arm.' he ;"'i11 return to th e sa me hospital for the 'new treatment. When he ' was recuperating, he revealed that his left arm had been paralyzed for a wee k after the crash . Will Mick Doohan race in the ye ar 2000? Not according to stories .leaking from Australia. where carele ss talk arnonq his colleagues in the S hell Advance team he co-owns revealed that he intends ·to retire at the end of the year. This came as a surprise to Honda. among others. who is apparently s till awaiting a decision from their five-time champ. Top sponsors Marlboro have acted to put a curb on the excesses of their erratic supers tar rider Max Biaggi. According to paddock rumors. Biaqgi has been given a written warning to tighte n up his time-keeping and general demeanor at sponsorship functions. Biaggi has a bad reputation for playing the sup er-brat car d. and for an off-track ego that at least matches his towering on-track status. they had decided to take a break from motorcycle racing after three years with the WCM team. backed by American millionaire Bob Mad.ea·n. Red Bull came into GP racing early in the 1997 season. when the team's original sponsor s. Powe r Horse . went bankrupt and left the new team - with riders Troy Corser and Luca Cadalora - high and dry. Cors er quit before the end of the season. The team's best year was 1998. when they won the Britis h GP with Kiwi rider Simon Crafar. however they were .hit With 'problems this year as second ride r ReiJis Laconi suffered injuries and Crafar failed to make the switch from Dunlop to Michelin tires . leaving the team after just five ·races. "It' s disappointing. but it hasn't come as a surprise ." said WCM team manager Peter Clifford. :'We have been talking to 'several other potential sponso rs. and we expect to continue in the 500 class next year. " The long summer break did little for the Docs hop team. running a factory Aprilia for veteran rider Marcellino Lucchi. after a financial collapse in the Belgian chocolate industry following a contamination sca re left them without one of their major secondary sponsors. Although Lucchi was in the paddock at Bmo. the remainde r of the team and the machine .were absent. and were not expecte d to retum. British rlder Scott Smart. ridi ng a 1996 production Aprilia for Sabre Sports. took Lucchi's .p lace. S mart. so n of '70s s tar Paul Smart and nephew of Barry Sheene . had been without a ride after a troubled season last year on a privateer 500 Honda. Kenny Robe rts Modenas team is prepared to ditch the lightweight three-cylinder concept and switch to a V·four before the end of the sea son. after three years of failing to reach the heights they had anticipated. They had a Mol v -four under wraps in their Bmo garage. and rider Ja mes Whitham was hoping to test it in the week after the GP. The MuZ. formerly Elf 500 . was reincarnated this year in a new team run by sideca r giant Rolf Biland. with a new chassis built in England by Fabrication Techniques ; trye sa me fi rm that makesthe Modenas triple's chassis . Roberts said earlier this year he. was conside ring building a Y-four to replace the disa ppointing triple. French former motocross/ supercross superstar Jean"Michel Ba yle is set to quit GP racing. afte r a dire off-and-on s eason With Modenas. Bayle's motivation has bee n in ques tion all se as on. and he has missed s ev e ral rac e s . on e a fter an in s ec t bite becam e in fec ted'. James Red ·Bull. sponsors of the second factory Yamaha team. 'will pull oul of motorcycle racing at the 'end of the se aso n. The Austrian energy drin k company announced its decis ion as practice began at ,Brno. saying thai Whitham will ride the machine 'lor the res t of 100 season. Second Modenas rider Mike Hale. injured at the French GP. fourth round of the sea son. . . ' was back at Bmo. '

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