Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Grand Prix Preview rode a year-old machine in the Spanish d'Antin Antena 3 team. This year, back in favor, he is expected to have full factory equipment. Criville and Biagg; would be the title favorites from the above company. But there is a third man, with Roberts winning four GPs last year in his first season on the Suzuki, and showing that both rider and bike are serious championship candidates for this season too. Over the winter, the Suzuki team secured the keenly sought Telefonica MoviStar sponsorship as well, taking it from the satellite Pons Honda team. They were last sponsored by Lucky Strike in 1997. Roberts is a class act - solid and consistent. The motorcycle has improved a lot as well, thanks to the input of Kenny's long-time engineerWarren Willing, who moved with the kid from Kenny Senior's Modenas team. At the end of last year, after finally switching to the Ohlins suspension with which rider and engineer were more familiar. he was back on winning form, and might even have taken the title but for tire problems in Australia and South Africa. At the same time, second Suzuki rider Nobuatsu Aoki struggled with persistent injury problems, but is back this year for another try. Can Roberts and the Suzuki do it this year? The answer is, of course yes - but only if the others cannot stop him. He is the man they will have to beat. This is a hell of a crop of works riders, but it must be said that the class lacks strength in depth. Two more factory entries come for Aprilia, with last year's on-again/off-again star Tetsuya Harada joined by hard-charging Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams, fresh off a crash-strewn 250cc season on a factory Aprilia. This will be an interesting combination, especially since the bike performed very much more competitively last year than ever before, on Harada's good days, claiming a pole position at Mugello and rostrum finishes in France and (Above left) When Ca....os Checa keeps his Ma....boro Yamaha on two wheels, he's usually a force to be reckoned with. (Above) Upstart 250cc rider Marco Melandri will race a factory Aprilia. (Left) Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki's Nobuatsu Aokl and Kenny Roberts Jr. 16 MARCH 15, 2000' II: Y II: • e ne...,s (Above) Garry McCoy returns for a second season on the Red Bull Yamaha. England. Harada is a superb rider, when he is in the mood, and the presence of such an aggressive teammate may bring out the best in him. At the same time, reports from Aprilia are of continuing improvements to the bike, which only raced as a full 500 for the first time last year, after growing gradually from the original 380cc. The other alternative factory bike comes from Modenas, back for a fourth year in much reduced form. This applies to the backing, still from Proton and Modenas, but not as lavish as before, and to the bike - the Mk3 version will be more than an inch shorter than the Mk2, the engine redesigned to reduce overall length in the hope of recapturing the agile handling of the unreliable first version. Modenas will field just one rider, the young Spaniard David de Gea, who made a good impression in the closing races last year. There's a chance of a second Modenas later in the season for South African GP rookie Shane Norval, backed by Sabre Racing in England - but he'll be starting out on a Honda V-twin while Modenas race-develop the new machine. Out goes the MuZ, the SwissAuto powered V -four, after running out of backing. Ditto the BSL triple from New Zealand, whose teething troubles simply proved too serious. An attempt by the BSL team to take over the MuZ effort came to nothing, though it might take place in 2001. This leaves a handful of V-twin Honda riders to make up the numbers - they can expect little more, with no serious development on a bike that was never very competitive at the best of times. Not even the best chassis efforts of TSR Racing and the riding skills of double 125cc World Champion Haruchika Aoki could lift the bike last year, but while the rider has gone off to Superbikes, the bike is back for a second attempt, in the hands of Japanese star Yoshiteru Kanishi, who will have a hard job on his hands. Ex MuZ rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh (who claimed a pole position on the bike last year) is back on a twin again, in Team Rizla colors, while

• Cover