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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/142443
(Cl ock wise form top left) First-time 500cc GP winner Freddie Spencer leads fourth place Kenny Roberts who encountered tire problems. Problems held Franco Uncini to third. Anton Mang won the 250cc race for the third year in a row. Vibration problems kept Randy Mamola an uncornpatitlve fifth. World Cham~lonshi~ Road Race Series: Round 7 Spencer scores first GP win in Belgium By Hen'ny 'Ray Abrams FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM, JULY 4 "This is July 4th, America's birthday. There's no better way for me to celebrate it than this. This is the best win I've .ever had." Those were the words of ajubilant Freddie Spencer after he bested the world's elite with a win in the 500cc race of . . the Grand Pnx of Belgn~m ~n the Spa-Francorchamps CIrCUIt. 16 The pride of Shreveport, Louisiana, sped his NS-500 three-cylinder Honda past fellow American Kenny Roberts on the ninth of 20 laps and raced to a four second margin of victory over England's Barry Sheene on the John Player Special square four works Yamaha and Franco Uncini on the Team Gallina factory Suzuki . Yamaha's Roberts fought off recurring tire troubles to finish fourth and Randy Mamola put in his best GP finish of the. year with a .fifth for the HB International Suzuki team. Uncini picked up two valuable points in the title chase and now leads Roberts 73 to 68, with Sheene in third with 58. Spencer moved into fourth with 37, ahead of Graeme Crosby's 34. For the third yea r in a row World Champion Toni Mangwon the 250cc race on the in-line twin works Kaw asaki. Mang fended off the early challenges of second place finisher Graeme MacGr~gor, on the Waddon-Ehrlich, and third placed Belgian Didier de Radigues, on the Chevalier Yamaha, to take the win and move on top of the championship standings for the first time this year. American Rich Schlachter DNF. Spaniard Ricardo Tormo ended fellow Spaniard Angel Nieto's win streak at five with a convincing victory in the 125cc race. Tormo dueled early with second place finisher Eugenio Lazzarini and third placed Pier Paolo Bianchi before going on to a two second win on the Sanvenero. Nieto finished fifth, but still holds a commanding points lead. The final race of the da y-belonged, as usual, to the sidecar team of Rolf Biland and Kurt Waltisperg on the Krauser Racing LCR Yamaha. Even though they stopped near the pits for a minor adjustment at the beginning of the race, they soon reeled in the second placed Streuer/Schneiders chair and went on to win by an easy 17 seconds. The Jock Taylor-Benga Johansson Fowler Racing Yamaha took third. The only thing that the pit prognosticators could agree on was that the 500cc class race was wide open. "Jumpin' Jack" Middelburg was the fast qualifier, but had pitched his HB . International works Suzuki away in the rain in the final practice on Saturday and would almost assuredly do it for the full house on Sunday. Spencer was second fastest, but didn't have the reliability record needed to win here. Graeme Crosby was third fastest on the Team Marlboro Agostini works square-four Yamana and .was certainly overdue for his first GP victory. Sheene used the final practice to move into fourth fastest and a spot on the front row. Roberts was suffering through a combination of development and qualifying on the V-four Yamaha and was fifth fastest. And buried back in ninth place was the man who has dominated this year's 500cc class, Franco Uncini on the immaculatel y prepared Team Gallina Suzuki. A special 20-minute practice was added Sunday morning, but it did little to change positions. It did, however, bringout the deficiencies in some bikes and some radical changes were made.