Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

half with t h e weight of the mud and I Gundersen said , " I made a good was getting filled in with the dirt start again , but then I crash ed on t he thrown up by m y o w n f ront wh e el. fi rst lap ." By the f inish he was n inth , but had Th e fron t brak e wa s a b it iffy t o o when that happened ." to b e led t o th e p od ium as runner -u p Dobb' s o n c e proud 18-second lead o vera ll as th e t orture o f t h e stin gi ng was being s lashed b y seve n se con d s dirt m eant he w a s i n ago ny if h e a l ap b y Nunn a n d , in th e ory, th e o p e ned hi s eyes. FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 125cc MX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 6 of 16 rounds): I. B re ug el ma n s (Yam ) ; 9 . Sc ott Sh eek (Su z) ; 10 . Anto ine Parici o (TM) ; 11. Cristia n Ravaglia (Suz); 12. Phili ppe Dup asquler (TM ); 13. Leon Giesbers (Suz); 14. Luigi Seguy (Yam ); 15. Steve Boniface (Hon) . MOTO 2: I. James Cobb (KTM): 2. Carl Nunn ( Yam ); 3 . San dre Puzar (Ya m); 4 . Patr ic k Caps ( KTM ) ; 5. Cedric Melotte ( KT M); 6. Stev e Ramon (Kaw); 7. Luigi Seguy (Yam) ; 8. Philippe Dupasquler ( T M ) ; 9 . Kenn et h Gu ndersen (KTM) ; 10 . Grant Lang ston (KTM) ; 11. Cri st ia n Stevan ini (Hus) ; ] 2. Jeff Dement (Hon ); 13. Scott Sheak (Suz); 14 . Mik e Brown (Han) ; 15. Leon Giesbers (Suz). Mik e Brown ( 167/1 win) ; 2. Grant Langston (1 66/1); 3. James Cobb (164/2); 4 . Luigi Se guy ( 120/ 1) ; 5. Patrick Cap ( 108 ); 6. CarlNunn ( 102/1 ); 7. Kenneth s Gundersen (9 7); 8. Trampas Parker (95); 9. Thomas Traversi ni (86 ); 10. Sa ndra Puzar (8 1); 11. Philipp e Dupa squ ier (60 ); 12. J eff Dem ent (59) ; 13 . Steve Ram on ( 32) ; 14 . Ce dric Melo tt e (3 0 ) ; 15 . E ri k Ccme rl engo (2 7); 16 . Cristian Ravaglia (27) ; 17 . Sco tt Sheek (27 ) ; 18 . Cristten Stev anini (25); 19 . Johnny A ubert (18 ); 20. Sven Breugelma ns (1 0) . O/A : 1. James Cobb (KTM); 2 . Kennet h Y am aha rid er c o u l d h av e see n his H i s f in al p a s s wa s on L an g sto n , riv a l when the r ed fla g came o u t a t 38 but the S outh A fri can sti ll e n d ed up m inutes . e q u a li ng the sc o re o n th e da y o f " I didn 't see Jam e s , " Nu n n sa id . Upco ming Rounds: Round 7 Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, June 3 Round 8 Baldasserona, San Marino, June 11 Melotle (KTM). Brown . The American had bogg ed at " The r ain w a s c o mi n g d own ha rd er Gunde rsen (KTM ); 3. Patrick Cap s (KTM); 4 . Steve Ram on ( K a w ); 5 . C ar l Nu n n (Ya m ) ; 6 . G rant Lang ston ( KT M) ; 7. M ik e Br ow n (Hon) ; 8. Sandr e Puzar (Yam ); 9 . Philippe Dupasqu ier (TM ); 10. Cedric th e start and then lost th e H onda o n ag a in by th en , and I cou l dn 't r ead my lap si x after cl im b in g t o ei g h t h . It w a s pit signa ls . Th e w h ole t e a m w a s urg- th e sa me uph ill section wh e re h e had in g me o n a n d I th ou ght Pu za r must fall en i n rac e on e , b ut this t i m e h e But w h y w a s th e ra c e red -flagged? t wo minutes t o e x tric ate h imsel f . In It was af ew minutes before nine o'clock on Saturday evening as paddock marshal Chris Sprawson read out the com m uni q ue over the p.a . system: "On ' reco mmendation of the Race Director, a unanimous decision was taken by the International Jury to cance l th e 250cc and 500cc Motocr oss World Championship races on May 28 at Foxhlll. Due to the ext raordinary bad weather co nditions, the worsening conditions of th e track would make it unsafe to continue raci ng. Hav ing the safety of t he competitors in mind, the deci sion was An advertisi ng b oard strung a cross th e fina l l aps, h e wa s ch a s in g c o m pa- to cancel th e eve nt." b e pushi ng me again ," sai d Nunn at slith ered into the deep tra ckside m ud th e fin ish . n ext t o th e f en c e and n e eded n early Sh eak , a ll of t h em th e tr a ck had come loose i n th e t ri ots D em e n t a nd st o rm a nd , a lthou g h it w a s still above a lap d own o n t h e le a der , b ut cou ld th e height r id ers w ere jumping , th er e find n o way p ast. F o u rth Ameri c an Pa r k e r ha d gone w a s cl e a r ly th e d anger th at the sup port in g wires cou ld sn ap com p letel y . o u t on lap o n e . < " I landed off a jum p a nd my fro nt C a p s w a s a sou nd fou rth t his t im e de spite disc om f ort f rom his e y e s , wh eel h i t a rock as b i g as m y h e l - while C e d r i c Me l otte , riding fro m m et," Pa r k e r said . " T hey had o ne and r eserv e , and Ra mon were in v olved in a h al f h o urs . I fee l t h ey could h a v e a t it a ni c strugg le f o r fifth wh ich had do ne a b ette r jo b of fix in g t h e tra ck see n t hem b u ndl e f i rst r a c e c ras he r than t h a t . " Lu igi Seg uy o u t of th e w a y after a ll th re e had swe pt p ast Dupasqu ier. At t h e re d fl a g Ram o n wa s in fro nt, eN Fa.hill Moo Pan: Swindon , England Results: May 21, 2000 [Round 6 of 16] but th e res u lt was t a k en o ne l a p e a r l i - MO TO 1: 1. Kenn eth Gunderse n (KTM ) : 2. J ames Dobb (KTM); 3 . Mike Bro wn (Han); 4 . Steve er - and fifth w ent t o M el o tt e . Caps ( KTM); 7 . Tr amp as Parker (TM); 8. Sve n Ramo n (Kaw); 5. Gran t Lan gston (KTM); 6. Pa tric k -B R I EF L Y••• Experimentation with vary ing whee l s ize s has hit the G P M X scene. M ike Brow n's dou ble wi n in Croa tia was achieved using a 20- inc h front w heel. w hile Ryan Hug hes has bee n ridi ng not only with the smaller front rim. but also wit h an l 8·inch rear wheel for much of the season. RWJ has also obtained a 20-inch front for Jocke Karlsson . The Axo. Pamo and RWJ Honda teams are all contracte d to Dunlop. the only tire firm who has as yet started to market these tire sizes. KTM team boss Kurt Nicoll. whose team is happily wed to Bridgestone. admitted that they too have carrie d o ut tri als w ith a 20 -inc h fro nt. ..Pet er J ohans son. Sh ayn e King and myself tried them o ut at Gaillac-Toulza last mont h." Nicoll said. " Because of the increased contact area between tire and ground. particularly when yo u are banked over. they do turn better on rock hard going. but the advantage was minimal and we will stay with 21 inch. I fear they may not be as good on a bumpy surface. and the GP tracks will inevitably get bumpy with all three classes racing. And for m uddy con ditio ns like we have her e it is fo r sure be tte r to use th e large r w heel." Ro b W alters , mec hanic in the St at es to Paul Ed mo ndson where the smaller rims are growing in acce ptance, confirmed this belief. " Mike laRocco has already been using 20-inch front in the SX. and ot her riders have also switched for the Outdoors. But they are no good in mud; there is a tendency for the front wheel to climb out of the rut." No one used the experimental rims at FoxhilL Hughes sai d. " Du nlop can on ly pro vide us w it h hard tr ack tir e s in that size so fa r." Pirelli race eng ineer Alberto Angiolini admitted . " Our firm has got the situation under observation. but I do not believe there is any advantage. I think it is just a bluff." The Pamo Hondas arrived at Foxhill wit h the usual mid-season HRC updates . New brake discs front and rear with large free areas (thoug h not with flower patt erns as on the KTMsl were mo unt ed as we re new , larger capac ity . aluminum fuel tanks. Perh aps the most inte resting deve lop ment was new mudguards fro nt and rear that w ere covered w ith satin-like mate rial to preven t the build-up of mud. Hughes and Bolley also had the material fitted to their helmets at Foxhill. Ryan Hughes. currently waiting for the Ho n da f o u r -st r o k e which he will almost certainly campaign nex t season, admitted he is not ye t on a wi nn ing pace again . " The pro blem I hav e at the . moment is that I can't get enough time on the bike because of my hand. I've only ridden for 30 minutes since C zecho. " Hughes had a new mechanic in Foxhill. Wyatt Seals , who wo rked for Jeremy McGrath when McGrath rode for Suzuki. has joined the Pamo team. Freder ic Bolley is contesting the l 25cc National Series at home in France this year. " Pamo is no t inte rested in the French se ries anyway, an d I jus t want ed to do so me thing differen t," Boll ey sai d. " It's fun. " His dec ision could prove a major be ne fit to the hosts at th e M X des N ati on s this autumn. "That' s true." Bolley said. "We have much talent on the 250 with Pichon. [Sebastien] Tortelli and [Davidl Vuillemin. Seguy is also fast. but he has no experience of the Nations and the pressu res the re are much greater. " South Africa is set to enter a team for the N ations th is year. Tinu s N ell. successful en trepreneu r an d frien d of the Langsto n fam ily , has been co ntracted by the federatio n to organize everything and will go to St. Jean with Grant Langston, Collin Dugmore and Greg Albertyn . Max Bartolini was using new 48mm diameter USD Paioli forks for the first time at Foxhill. Teams were threatened With a $30 0 frne if they used power washers in the paddock. "I thought as m uch when I saw Pichon wa lk ing back to the paddock look ing pleased with himself," said one of the Eastem Centr e flagmen who always offer their services so diligently at Foxhill GPs. "A nd now they won 't even open the gate next to where we are ca mped to let us out" , he added despairingly as the actions of certain rid ers and membe rs of the orga niz ing elite combined forces with th e elements to put the fina l boot in o n a weekend whi ch shou ld ha ve been the g reatest specta cl e eve r witnessed by U.K . motoc ross. St ran ge to rel ate, but three hours before th e ca nce llation was ann ounced , Swedish delegate Lasse Lar sson ca me from th e J ury to report to the rid ers' me eting co nvened at th e padd ock entrance that it had been decid ed to delay th e start of Sunday' s pr ogram to 11 a.m. and pro bably to beg in with a shortened 500cc warm -up . That alre ady m eant as a fait- a-co m pli th at t here was littl e in tent ion of running tw o m otos per class as th e req uisite two hour break betwee n pr acti ce and the fir st race , add ed to th e hou r and a half betw een motos, wo uld leave pr eci ous few da ylight hou rs to dra g th e teams back to th e gate again for m oto two. But few people had expected to wi tness four motos on Sund ay eve r since th e team tra nsporte rs wer e dragged into th e paddock by tracto rs on Thursday morn in g. But in a week end when weather conditions had dictated the prog ram cha nges, it is strange to relate tha t th ere had been no m ore adverse weat he r at the t rac k on Saturday evening, so why th e change of hea rt? Th e official press com munique states tha t th e decision was made "after a m eetin g with th e riders ' rep resentatives" . Th at deputation had been com po sed of J oel Sm ets , t he official riders ' r ep for th e wee ke nd, plus, in th e absence of Leon Giesbers, the other offi cia l rep who was busy gett ing treatment to his eyes, Mickael Pichon and Fred Bolley . It was Pichon who had been in strument al in calli ng th e riders together at six p. m . "The public und erstands that th e tr ack is rid eabl e - t he 125 s proved t hat - but t he co nditio ns are dangerou s," Pichon said. "I don 't m ind ridi ng in mud, and I don' t mind ridin g on rock s, but not both toget her. T he grooves are go ne now , and we are down to ba re roc k. Tw o yea rs ago here at the Natio ns i got a rock in th e eyes and I co uldn' t see for a week . We only have two eyes , you kn ow, and we need th em next week, too ." Th e 25 0cc cham pionsh ip leader had th e sup po rt of the enti re French co nti ngent , an d a lso m embers of the 500cc elite. Peter J ohan sson said , "I th ink I co uld gain some po ints o ut th ere if we ra ce , b ut it is t oo dang erou s. After on e lap your goggles are gone. We have seen what ha s happened in th e 12 5s . If th e rear wheel of my four-stro ke th row s up a ro ck , " it co uld take someone's head off. " Sm ets too admitted to being in favo r of canc ell at ion . "I think it's di ffi cul t for th e public to un derstand as th ey hav e seen that the tra ck is rideable," Smets said. "But it is not safe. Fifteen of th e 30 ride rs in t he I 25cc cl ass need m ed ical treatment to th eir eye s already . It is differen t to br eak an arm or a leg . They wi ll heal. But if yo u loose an eye , then you only have one m ore. Nob ody can keep their gogg les on fo r m ore th an tw o laps exc ept th e lead er, and he is in trouble too as soon as he st arts to lap rid ers. Th is is not easy and , if t he ra ce is cance ll ed, I wou ld like to spend a couple of hours to m orrow wi th th e fans who are already here to ex plain to them, to sign autographs , and so on. But we need to m ak e a decision soon to try to notify the peop le wh o would com e tomorrow." Opinion amongst the riders was however spli t right down th e m iddle. Pit Beirer was one of the most vociferous, particularly when he heard which riders had been to the Ju ry . "Who put the o pposite view ?" Beirer ask ed. "I am paid to race. The ri ders who are 40 poi nts in front , of course they don 't want to ride. I need t he points. Perhaps I wi ll lose, but if we don't ra ce, I don't have th e chance either way ." Andrea Bartolini, back ed up ] 00 pe rcen t by com p atr iot Cla udio Federici, adde d, "I want to race. This is m otocr oss . It is not always hard and dry . I agree it is dangerous , but t he peopl e see the 125s m ak e a good race . Wh y not 250s and 500s?" Gordon Cro ckard arr ived on th e scene to ex press bluntl y ; " I'll ride. Why not?" Whil e te am boss Trevor Avery confirme d: "Paul [Coop er] wants to race too." . A ustr ian privateer Rupi Wal kn er made a telli ng remark. "Don' t th ink it' s fun ou t there," he said, "but th e 125s have pro ved t hat it is possibl e. I rem em be r the y ea rs ago when we d id not race in Sittendorf aft er th e public had seen in the m ornin g th at we co uld get rou nd th e t rack . Even now I can feel the rep ercu ssion s in Austri a tha t we did no t ride." Su zuki team m anager Sy lva in Geboers was quite d ear, how ever. "The riders m ust decid e what is possibl e," Geboers said. Th ey are th e ones who must take th e risks. I can live with any deci sion the y m ak e." Marnic q Bervoets possib ly sum m ed it up as well as any: "It's po ssible for m e to catch up m any po ints o n J oel ou t t here, but for th e safety of everyo ne it 's better we do n't rid e." No soon er had th e deci sion to cancel been m ade, it starte d to rain again and persisted all night. But by br eakfast next morning. as th e last rema ining te am tr ucks were dragged o ut of th e p ad d oc k , th e su n w as shinin g and t here were g lorio us b lue sk ies, whi ch rema ined all day . Th e Be lgi an supporters who had arri ved that morning , and who had alre ady wondered why so ma ny team truck s had been headi ng alo ng the freeway in the other directi on could only stand and wond er why . cycle n e vv s JUNE 14, 2 0 0 0 29

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