Road Race
Round 13: Australian Grand Prix
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD RACE SERIES
Jr.
(Ab ov e) Kenny Robe rts
(10) appe ared to have everyth ing under co ntro l in the Australian 500cc Gran d Prix - t hen his rear tire chunked
and he was forced to slow , even tually finish ing 10th.
(Below) Max Blaggi (2) fends off Nor ic k Abe (hidden) in their batt le for second place early in the race. Abe had t o pit w ith a broken exhaust
pipe while Biaggi went on .to finish second.
By Henny Ray Abrams
Photos by Gold & Goose
PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, ocr.3
n Frida y afte rnoo n, Ken n y
Rob erts Jr . was o n to p of the
world, his championship hopes
boosted by rival Alex Criville's fall, and
ensuing injury, and his own provisional
pole position. By Sunday aftern oon, it
had all go ne wrong.
Rid in g com fo rtabl y to a ce rt a in
fourth vict ory of th e se ason - with a
growing s ix -s e co n d lead in h and Rober ts and his Suzuki were for ced to
slow w hen he lost a significant chunk of
the left side of his rear Michelin tire less
than five laps from the end of the Australian Grand Pri x. Th e Phillip Island
circuit, which had been resurfaced over
th e w inter and w as g ivi ng up lap
records at eve ry turn, and which has a
long looping left-hand tum lead ing onto
th e fron t strai ght, had caus ed the rear
tire problems for severa l riders, with
Rober ts' being the last.
When it ended, he was 10th and Repsol Hon d a's Criville, rid ing with a broken bon e in his left wrist as a result of
his Frid ay cras h, was fifth . Mean while,
Cr iville' s Reps o l H onda te a m ma te
Tad ayuki Okad a had won his third race
of the yea r with a thrilling last-lap pass
of Marlb oro Ya ma ha 's M a x Biaggi
befor e a crowd of 44,500.
Third , con ti n ui ng h is late-sea so n
su rge, was Red Bull Ya ma ha WC M's
Regis Laconi, w ho only days earlier had
resigned wi th the team for 2000.
" Fo r tod ay ' s ra ce, we thi nk so me
O
