Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

I Tire Failure Crashes Nakano V awasaki's Shinya Nakano was l'Jucky to escape with just bruising and a finger injury after his spectacular crash, as he started his 13th lap during the Italian MotoG P at the Mugello circuit on June 6. Speeding past the pits, at cer tainly more than 190 mph , photographs showed how his rear Bridgestone suddenly shed huge chunils of rubber. It put him into an instant lock-to -Iock wobble, which as quickly precipitated him over the handlebars . Nakano rolled and tumbled sickeningly as the Kawasaki looped through the air, shedd ing bits and pieces along a stra ight already strewn with bits of rubber, and then spun into the wall on the left-hand side of the track . Amazingly, he was conscious and moved his arm as they stretchered him away. Everyone w ho saw the crash had expected much, much worse. It was a serious em barrassment for Bridgestone, in its fourth year in the class, and just as it had started to challenge the dominant Michelins and joined the factory Suzuki and Kawasaki teams this year. It is the third catastrophic failure this year Makoto Tamada and later Kenny Roberts Jr. had the same thing happen in Malaysia in preseason tests. And at almost the same time at Mugello, Tamada stopped, his rear tire badly chunked. "Today's problems were a bitter experi ence for all of us," said Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone Motorsport motorcycle racing manager. "O ur main consolation is that nei ther Shinya nor Makoto were hurt . Chunkout problems like that are extremely rare. We were convinced we had this demanding high-speed track well under control , when I Brief'Y... Coziahr Harley-Davidson/National Cycle's Johnny Murphre e (Hon) won the Peoria National Hot Shoe TT at PMC Race Park in Peoria , Illinois, on June 6. Michigan privateer rider He nry Wiles (Hon) was second, and KTM/Jones Power Sports' Joe Kopp (KTM ) was third . The race serves as a traditional test and tune for the AMAGrand National Peoria TT in August. Last year's Peoria TT winner, J,R. Schnabel (Yam), was the fast qualifier at the event, but he jumped the start and wound up seventh . Geo Roede r II (H-D) won the 750cc class at the O ld-Time Charity Newsies Half Mile in Dayton, Oh io, on June 5. Dom inic Bea ulac (H-D) was second, and J.RSchnabel (H-D) was third . 8eaulac won the 600cc class, with Joe Kopp second and Schnabel third . all ou r riders enjoyed promising and trouble-free practice sessions. Th is caught us comp lete ly by surprise. We are going to analyze the occurrences very carefully We will . find the weak point in the construction and solve the problem as quickly as poss ible." The crash was probably the fastest ever, and spectaculariy destructive. There was rubber debris all over the track , as well as bits of bodywork a little furt her along close to the fastest point of one of the fastest straights on the calendar. Race direction faced im med iat e criticism that they had not stopped the race. Loris Capirossi was directly beh ind Nakano. "I had to brake very hard, and I was just avoiding debris . It was very dangerous, but more for the peo ple beh ind me . At least I saw what happened. They wou ld simply have come across the debris without any warn ing. I was waiting for the red flag. I am amazed they did not stop the race ." Team Kawasaki's reaction also e licited surpr ise. A team spokes man expla ined : "We warned Alex Hofmann [the team's seco nd rider] to be cautious for the next few laps." Later they signaled him to pull in, but that was at the same time as the race was stopped - fully five laps after the incident. Even if he were riding cautiously, he would still have been do ing a high enough speed for disaster ifthe same thing had happened to him. Nakano had a lucky escape from serious injury - and not only the rider. Had the tire failed one or two hundred meters eariier, there is every chance the tumbling rider and bike would have struck the pit wall, crowded with team signaling staff. It could have been a major catastrophe. M i cha el Scott Jethro Halbert (Hon) wo n the Dairyland Classic Short Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wisconsin, on June 4. Joe Kopp (KTM) was second, and Sam Halbe rt (Rot) was third . Hollywood hits round five of the STTARS Mota-Connection So uthwest Supermot a Se ries to be held June 27at Grange Motor Circuit located in Apple Valley , California. A film crew will be shooting a supermoto segment to be included in the upcoming feature film - Superaoss the Movie. The film's producer, Tag Entertain ment, has boosted the Open Expert purse to $6000 in an effort to attract some top riding talent. Plans call for the eight-tenthsmile course to be dressed out in TuffBlocks and supercross sponsor signage, and the dirt section will also receive a makeover to provide dramatic action for the big screen. A full program of STTARS classes will be run, offering youths , amateurs and pros a full day of racing. For more information , visit www.supem.com. McGuinness Takes 10M F-I paid dividends," said McGuinness, who was I0 seconds clear of the rest before doubling that advantage as he pitted at half distance for fuel. Archibald had moved into second place, at the expense of his TAS Suzuki teammate Bruce Anstey. Honda's John McGuinness achieved his amb ition of winning a "big-bike" race at the Isle of Man TT racing festival as he romped to victory in the opener to this year's event, the TT Formula One race , decided over four laps of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course on June S. The Brit put together a solid performance to head off the challenge of last year's winner, Adrian Archibald. McGuinness took his fourth TT victory in lap- and race- record speeds, bettering the performance of the late David Jefferies, who second half of the race, taking the victory by 18.6 seconds. "Marvelous, just fantastic - I've always wanted to win this eve nt, now I have - I will be celebrating, but not too much, as there is sustained fataJ injuries in a crash during prac tice for last year's even t. a lot mor e racing to come next wee k," McGuinn ess sai . d "That result was for DJ," McGuinness said Archibald admitted he had sett led for second best. "The gap was just too big, and I had some concerns that air might have got into my brakes beca use the master cylinde r came loose on the third lap," Archibald said. Anstey, third, a further 26 seconds do wn , said: "I didn't reallyget to grips with it." McGuinness came back to win again on the second day of this year's Isle of Man on June 7, winning the 400cc event - the last race for after the race. McGuinness piled the pressu re on his rivals with an asto nishing burst of speed and power on the opening lap, charging around the Island's public roads and ove r Snaefell in a time of 17:43.8, an average speed of 127.68 mph - faster than anyone else had achieved in the history of the event, w hich stretches back to 1907. "I decided to get out there and go as hard as I could, put in a really fast first lap and give them all something to think about, and that M cGuinness maintained the pace in the 400s in future years . Chris Palmer, meanwhile , won the I25cc race on Monday,June 7. McGuinness shrugged aside the frustra tions of a two-hour delay to racing as mist rolled across parts of the course to go out st rong from the start aboard his 400 cc Honda . He was always in charge , using the same tactics that sped him to victory in the opening four-lap FI race . "I dec ided again to get my head down and go for it from the start - it worke d on Saturday, and it did again in this race, " he said. By the end of the opening lap, he was 16 seconds up, and he had doubled that advantage by the time he pitted at half-distance for fuel - it was then he had his only uncomfortable moment : "They didn't screw the cap dow n fully, and some petrol splashed on me in a rather delicate area , but I sorted that out." Yamaha-mounted Steve Unsdell finished second, som e 33 seconds behind . The IOOOcc Produ ction race was red flagged on the op ening lap as the weather again intervened. M cGuinness and Anstey w ere even w hen the red flags came out . M ist was rolling in, cutting visibility between the Bla ck Dub and Ki rk Michael, with organizers such a machine. as race organizers have deciding to stop the action and rerun the race revamped the program and won't include the Orange County prosecutors won't appeal a court ruling that dismissed murder charges against a promoter in the killings of racer MickeyThompson and his wife, according to the Orange County Register. The decision means that former racing promoter Mich ael Goodwin could be released from jailby the end of the mont h, De puty District Attorney Jim Mulgrew to ld the Register on Wednes day, June 2. Prosecutors decided they weren't likely to win a reve rsal of the appeal s court ruling, which found they lacked jurisdiction in the slayingof Thompson and his wife, Trudy. The couple was shot to death in 1988 outs ide their home in Bradbury, east of Los Angeles. Witnesses said they were shot by two gunmen who fled on bicycles. Goodwin, a former partner of Thompson's, has been held for more than two years. He will continue to be held while Los Angeles County prosecutors decide whether to file charges against him, Mulgrew said. They have until June 22 to make that decision. Goodwin's lawyer, Jeffrey Benice, said Wednesday that he has filed papers seek ing his client's immed iate release from the Orange County Jail. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 8. www.cyclenews.com CYC LE N EWS • JUNE 16, 2004 7

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