Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

BMmOCRO~~~~~~~_~_'«_m~~_~_~_~~~_d5~~~~~~~~ e American Donny Schmit won all thee motos to earn the ovmill,win at the Getman 250cc GP. It was his second win in a row. Defending champ Trampas Parker could finish no higher than a fifth in any moto. Schmit aces German GP By Alex Hodgkinson NORTHEIM, GERMANY, JUNE 14 or the second time in a row, American Donny Schmit of the Chesterfield Yamaha team won all three motos en route to the overall victory, this time at the German GP. Schmit, -the 1990 125cc World Champion, now leads the series point "standings by 12 points over Italian Alessandro Puzar, the 1990 250cc World Chainpion, 186-174. American Trampas Parker, the defending 250cc World Champion, is third with 156 points. Parker had an off day at the German GP, finishing 10th overall with an 8-5-DNF moto tally. Belgian Stefan Everts of the Bieffe Suzuki team, who. was the series points leader going into the German GP, failed to score any points after pulling out of moto one, then breaking two ribs and rupturing his spleen F 24 in a second-moto crash. Everts was hurried to the hospital where doctors. operated to remove his spleen. He will miss at least two rounds of the series. Sylvain Geboers, the Bieffe Suzuki team manager, said, "I don't know what the consequences are yet. "(The series) is not in my mind at present. Let's just get the kid healthy·again." Michele Rinaldi, the Chesterfield Yamaha team boss, said, "We want to win the title, but we want to have someone to race to earn it." Rinaldi's comments are valid, as two of his Chesterfield Yamaha team riders are currently 1-2 in the series standings. Besides the injury to Everts, the German GP was marred by dusty track conditions. "I got lucky again this weekend," Schmit said. "I made the holeshot in all three motos, but it must've been terrible for everyone else. The track was just not prepared. When it's dry you have to water before the weekend." The pattern of each race was identical with Schmit muscling his way through the sweeping first turn in front and simply disappearing'into the distance until he had a defendable lead.. "After that I just relaxed my pace," Schmit said. "There was no point in pushing too hard; I might've needed my energy later in the race if something had happened to me." It was another American, Bader - Manneh, giving initial chase in race one, but yet another Yankee Bob Moore quickly made it 1-2 for the Chesterfield team. "I crashed while I was out practicing on Thursday, broke the middle finger of my right hand and badly grazed the forearm. I tried to chase Donny for a few laps, but I was get,ting no closer so I settled for second." The other riders had more difficulty passing Manneh. Great Brittain's James Dobb, Belgian Mamiq Bervoets, Swede Peter Johansson and Puzar spent most of the race ih Manneh's wake before Johansson made the decisive moves at the 20-ininute stage: "You just couldn't see the bumps because of the dust and that means that you can't prepare to take the impact on your arms and legs. I didn't feel ti red myself, but it was surprisingly easy to pass in the end." Dobb dropped back from the group at the finish after losing his rhythm. "This is the .first time I've used the factory Kawasaki motor and I was in the wrong gear at times. I simply lost my rhythm." Dobb just held off close friend Parker at the finish. Puzar's sixth-place finish had taken him to the top of the standings, as Everts' race ended in the second tum. Everts had ridden under Moore in the sweeping first turn but got too close to Schmit in the following lefthander, clipped the Yamaha's rear wheel and was flung over the bars as his own rear wheel stepped out.. The Suzuki was too badly bent for Everts to continue, as a host of riders followed Brit Rpb Herring into the stranded machine. Bieffe Suzuki teammate Mike Healey, the American who was racing for the fi,rst time since breaking his leg on the final lap of the first moto in Italy on May 3, was unable to advance past 11 th, while two-time 125cc National MX Champion Micky Dymond, who had torn ligaments in his right knee during the same race in Italy, could get no further than 17th after a 26th-place start. As the billowing douds of dust settled 011 the first turn of the second moto, Everts laid motionfess on the track. The pileup had star,ted when Schmit and Manneh raced for the same piece of track. "I gated well again," said Manneh, "but Schmit cut across me and took my front wheel. I got'sideways but saved it, then someone hit my rear wheel from behind." That someone, as it turned out, was Everts, and his then riderless bike took down even more riders, including Bobby Moore. "Stefan's bike flew across the track in front of me and I had nowhere to go." . Everts was back on his fee.tafter a couple of minutes and made his own way back to the paddock before feeling increasing discomfort in the rib cage a little later. A track doctor accompanied him to the hospital where the extent of his injuries were later discovered. ' Manneh also toured back to the pits to retire with a sprained wrist which needed ice treatment and taping in order to start race three. Moore, meanwhile, gave chase to the pack. "I went down two more times on the first lap when I ran into guys who were running slow in the dust." The first race runner-up, Moore, was into the top 20 by half distance . butround it more difficult to advance after that and had to settle for 15th, two behind Dymond, who had again started badly. Finland's Pekka Vehkonen had gated second but was soon pushed back by Puzar, but the Italian had no chance against Schmit. Puzar was able to establish a secure second, as- the other leaderboard men strove to find a way around Vehkonen. Herring, initially seventh, was the first man through and his third place soon became second, as Puzar's rear brake line was severed, presumably by a rock. Herring also had mechanical thoughts on his mind. "We noticed just before the race that the radiator was leaking, but there was no chance to change it. I was expecting it to seize any minute." Dobb's early challenge had disappeared again, as he high-sided in a turn and his bike crashed on top of him after he was flung off, but Evertsen proved the master of Parker this time. . The defending champ had initially been involved in a struggle with Healey, who was suffering pain in his ankle from half distance. "I 'broke my leg just above the ankle in Italy, and the swelling in the ankle has been getting worse and worse all weekend." Johansson, having started badly, was, 'once again, on the move and sliced his way past all of these riders to finish third behind Herring, while Bervoets was also making headway to finish sixth. Riders again peered through the smog-like dust in search of the track at the start of moto three, as Schmit took his unbeaten run to six motos to extend the championship lead, which he had snatched in race two. The prospect of a challenge from Johansson, who had gated third

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