World Championship Road Race Series
Round 3: .Japanese Grand f7'rix
Gang Warfare: The Japanese 500cc Grand Prix was a classic, featuring as many as six and seven riders running in the lead pack. The riders involved in the tussle for the
lead included Kenny Roberts Jr. 12), Norick Abe 16), Max Biaggi Ihidden). Alex Criville 11), Tadayuki Okada 18) and Cartos Checa 17).
By MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE
SGZGKA,JAPAN,APR.9
~t was something special to be
'Japanese at Suzuka today. This
applied, of course, to almost all of a
respectable 42,000 people in the
crowd, and to almost all of the
national television audience of the
first of two Grands Prix in the country
where most of the world's motorcycles are made.
More importantly it applied to the
race winners - in all three classes.
Americans, Italians and Australians
all tried their best, but on this day it
seemed that you had to be a local
boy to make good.
In the 250cc class, indeed, all
three on the rostrum were Japanese but that is as expected in a class that
they have made their own. The
biggest surprise came in a thrilling
500cc Grand Prix, where Antena 3
Yamaha's Norick Abe triumphed after
a race that saw the lead change
hands more times in 45 desperate
minutes than one would sometimes
see in a whole season of racing when
the class was dominated by Mick
Doohan and Honda.
Abe's victory came courtesy of a
16.5-inch Michelin rear tire, that he
had decided to use only that morning .
.6
APRIL 19. 2000'
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