By Michael Scott
Photos by Gold & Goose
VALENCIA,SPAIN,SEP.19
ai n in Spai n threw a wrench in
th e w orks in th e first Va len cia
GP, upsett ing the title lead ers in
two ou t of three classes, causi ng a spa te
of cras hes, and thr owing up new heroes,
wi th first-time wi nners in two races out
of thr ee.
Co nd itions were so treac hero us that
the BMW "safety car" spu n out on the
firs t lap of the SOOcc race, regaining the
track in a sho we r of mud and managing
to continue, thus avoid ing the need to
red-flag the race.
T he b i gg e st h er o of th e d a y w as
Regis Lacon i, who clai med his first GP
wi n in fine style, riski ng all on slick tires
on a damp track to sta rt from his firs t
po le position, a nd keep the Red Bull
Yama ha in front from start to finish,
unchallenged throughout.
Laconi, 24, is the firs t Frenc h rider to
win a SOOcc GP since Christian Sarro n in
1985. "It's a fantas tic feelin g: ' he said . "I
d id n' t s lac k off eve n th ou gh I ha d a
good lead . I wa nted to wi n my first GP
by going fast, not because other people
fell off or 1 had an easy rid e."
Suzuki's Kenny Roberts claimed second after a three-way battle, with second Red Bull rider Garry McCoy taking
third in only his sixt h GP on a V4500cc.
Fourth-placed Tadayu ki O kada, on a
Repsol Hond a, was close behind , after
running w ide in the closing laps a nd
losing seco nd place.
It had stopped raining before the race
began , bu t m or e spots fell d u ring the
ra ce. Eve n so, s lick rear tires w or ke d
be ller tha n int erm ed iates - of the top
fou r, onlv Rob ert s did not hav e a slick.
"It was lik e ice:' he sai d .
McCoy had been the most spec tacu lar rid er all weekend on a track wi th a
gr een and slippery su rfac e even in the
d ry, han gi ng the back wheelout u nd er
brakes and under power. "I was worried abo ut burning up my tires, but on
Frida y I tried to rid e withou t sliding so
much, and I just we nt slowe r:' he sa id.
Marlb oro Yamaha 's Ca rl os Ch eca
too k a di stant fifth , 20 seconds behind
th e lead er and rid in g cau tio us ly a fte r
fallin g off in practice and aga in in racem orning wa rm- up . Antena 3 Yam aha
rid er No rick Abe wa s a close sixth, wi th
(Abov e) Criville's race ended with a tri p to th e gravel pit.
(Below ) Okad a (8), McCoy (24) an d Robe rts (10) batt le ove r second pl ace. The spo t end ed up go ing to Roberts with McCoy th ird and
Okada fourt h.
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