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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128620
Wor-Id Championship Road R a c e S e r-ie s R o und B : D utch TT By HEN NY R A Y AB RAMS P HOT OS BY G O LD [, G OO SE ASSEN, HOLlAND, JUNE 24 m epsol YPF Honda 's World Cham W pion Alex Criville summed it up best: "I can't remember a season like this ," he said , j ust after coming in second to Emerson Honda Pons' Alex Barros before a c rowd of 92 ,000 in the rain- interrupted Rlzla- Dutch IT. What he wa s re fe rring to was the weather in Assen , in th e north of Hoiland. "Every GP it' s rammg , it's unbe lievable ," he sa id of the race that was stopped on the fourth of 20 laps , and scored on aggregate time after the comple tion of the next 17 . But h e might as well have been referring to the c ha m pio ns hip. Noth ing c hanged at the top with Barros' win - th e seventh in a row for Hond a at A ssert a nd re cord 17t h in a row w it h ou t a re p e a t w in ner - 6 JULY 5 , 2000 ' cue • e because Barros and Cr iville a re too far back to make a d ifferen ce at this point. That may yet change because the championsh ip has been very egalitarian to this point: Barros is the fifth different 500cc winner in eight races. T elefon ica MoviStar Suzuk i' s Kenny Roberts Jr. cam e in t o the Dutch rac e with a 25 -p o int lead after hi s closest pursuer , Marl b o ro Ya m a h a ' s Carlos Checa , cr ash ed out of t he prev ious race in Barce lona . Th is tim e it wa s Roberts Jr.'s turn. Soon a ft er g etti ng the j u m p on the field , Rob e rts Jr. violently high sided in a .fast right, do ing a c o mplete somersault in the air a nd la nd ing o n his ba c k before pre c edin g h is machine into the grav el pit . Luc k ily, h e wa s unhurt, bu t he was out o f the ra c e and no o ne wou ld sa y wh y. T e le v isi on rep lay s s h o we d h is RGV-S uzuk i lea ving a long, blac k ski d n e _ s ma rk ju s t before he we n t ai rbo rne , su'ggesting either an engine or gearbox fail ure . Reliable sources close to both Roberts Jr. and the team con firm ed th at it was an eng ine seizure. Rob erts Jr. left the track soon after be ing c heck e d ov er by do ctors and wasn 't a vail a b le for c o m m e nt. The team 's on ly co m me nt ca me through a rel e as e is s ued a lmost immed iate ly aft er the cra s h that sa id, among ot her th ing s . "Te a m Te lefon ica Mov iSta r Suzu ki is inve s ti g a ting th e b ik e fo r poss ible mechanica l problems." W h a t was unusual about the relea s e is that it was iss ue d by th e team and not through the team 's pr ess offic er. Barros and Cri ville w e r e j u s t behind Rob erts Jr. wh en h e cras hed a nd , before it was rev e al ed to be a sei zu re , in it iall y t h ou ght it m ight have be e n rid e r erro r. "T he tr ac k was s ti ll a lit tl e b it we t and I th in k he pushed t he rea r Kenny Roberts Jr. (21 lead s the 500cc Grand Prix off the line in Assen , Holland. Roberts didn't last long, however, as he was thrown off his factory Suzuki when It seized on the opening lap. br a k e. I d o n ' t think machi ne b ro ke n," Ba rros said. "For my o p inion. I'm no t su re . But looked , he passed me on the brake, and pushed a little bit the b rake and must have locked the rear. " "In t he end th e track was dry , but es p eci all y in that corner , b raking was wet," Cr iville s a id . "T h a t part was a littl e bit risky to bra ke there. " So at the h a lfway point in the 16-race season Roberts J r. ho lds a 14 -point lead over Checa , who wa s fif th today af te r c h oo s in g soft slicks front a n d rear in a race in whic h t ire c ho ic e wa s c ritica l. All of th e front- runners h a d cho s e n a n in t e rmedi a t e fro n t t ire a nd a s lick rea r.