Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Slight, once again, played catch-up throughout qualifying and wound up 11 th overall. Despite having access to the same engine mods as Phillis, Slight opted to used the same engine he had run at Spa. He also tried a new Marvic rear wheel, with carbon rim and mag spokes/hub assembly, but reverted to his usual Marchesinis for the race. Mostly, though, Slight wanted to go with what he knew to try and overcome serious suspension problems. "It was really uncontrollable at the top of the hill through the bumps (the same place Polen got his bike to cope with) but we sorted that," he said. "Then it didn't want to turn in. In the fast corners we seem to get a lot of chatter on the front and I can't maintain my corner speed. ''I'm not too far away though. I'm confident that if we can improve the front end, I can run high 37s, which I think will be the race pace." Arnaiz qualified his Rumi Honda 15th, only a secoQ.d slower than his teammate Monti, who was ninth quickest overall - but crashed twice in his desperate efforts! A far-from-fit Merkel qualified his BYRD Yamaha 12th, with a 1:38.885, in this, his first full superbike meeting of the season. Although still in pain from his injured ankle, Merkel was clearly enjoying himself back on a race bike, pulling huge, crossed up wheelies at the top of the Rampa Pegaso hill for the assembled photographers. Apart from the obvious pain his ankle was causing, Merkel's biggest headache was getting the rear suspension sorted. His teammate, Pirovano had similar problems early in the season. Race one After qualifying, Phillis' crew switched the entire suspension, front and rear, onto the machine with what Phillis regarded as the strongest engine, and he was quickest in the morning warm up: Pirovano grabbed the lead into turn one with Phillis tucked in behind followed by Polen, Mertens, Amatriain and Piergiorgio Bontempi, who made a good start from the third row on his Kawasaki. Forgarty and Falappa were also well placed, as was Yamahamounted Christer Lindholm who had come from the fifth row into eighth place. In the early laps, the pattern of the race went totally against the Ducatidominated qualifying with Pirovano and Phillis making the early running on their respective Yamaha and Kawasaki machines while Polen was content to sit in third with Mertens in tow. Phillis said, "I got a ripper of a start and I was going to sit there and let Pirovano sort himself out. I don't know what he was up to - he even moved over one time to let me go in front'" Moving Kawaskai teammate Slight, however, was in trouble from the start, the bike still chattering in the turns, causing him some heart-stopping moments so he was back in 11 th place battling with a fading Bontempi and Monti on the Ruroi Honda. At four laps Phillis suddenly had almost two seconds on PirovaQ.o and the reason became evident a lap later when the Italian suddenly parked up in tum one with a seized motor. "I felt it suddenly miss a beat and carried on hoping it was carburetion, but it locked up completely on the next lap," Pirovano said. A lap later Mertens was out, pitting with serious handling problems which he discovered was caused by a broken steering damper bracket. There was more drama in turn one as Rymer Polen had mechanical ills in the first race, but left everybody behind in the second. Australian Rob Phillis left Spain with the championship points lead. overshot the corner with his Pepsi Ducati and tipped over at slow speed in the sand. He remounted but the crash had broken the rear brake lever and he eventually pulled in after 12 laps. "The forks were way too soft and it was bottoming out, causing the rear end to come right up. I got really out of shape into the turn and by the time I got it stopped, I was on the outside of the track and it tipped over," said Rymer. By half distance an interesting battle was shaping up. Phillis was holding a two-second lead over Polen while Roche was chasing hard in third and looking ready to pounce on the World Champion. But the Frenchman was not happy and began to lose ground. "I chose a soft rear tire," he said, "and it was shit after 10 to 12 laps and sliding around. Further back, Fogarty and Falappa were engaged in a fierce scrap with Amatriain right in their draft. Slight was now seventh, having taken several laps to get by Lindholm: A lap later Roche lost ground - the' same time as Polen began his bid to cut the leader's advantage. "We fitted a new filter to the fuel pump and the pump stopped three times on me s6 I lost some time," Roche said. Polen grew closer every lap and with five to go was sitting on the tail of the Kawasaki. "There was no problem," Polen' said. "I was just sitting there waiting for my moment to take · h 1m. " But Polen never got the opportunity. With two laps left, he charged into tum one, but ran wide when he could not get any gears. "The clutch stopped working five laps from the end, so I was working hard to keep with Phillis those last three or so laps. Then I went into tum one, you downshift from sixth to first there, and I heard this vibration and couldn't get any gears. I got around the tum, looked down and the carbon clutch cover was splintering and the clutch fell out into the fairing. Man, I've never seen nothing like/that before!" That left Phillis with a huge 13second advantage and the gritty Aussie took his second superbike win of the season. "I don't want to sound big-headed or anything, but that was the easiest, most boring race of my career'" Phillis said. "It might have been different if Doug (Polen) had not broken but if he had come by I was prepared to have a go back at him. I knew he was coming. I was watching his pit board. I didn't have any plan when~ I would get him if he came by but I wasn't planning to give up either." Behind, Roche was just able to fend off a late charge from Falappa. "I'm Rich Arnaiz (43), Fred Merkel (2:1) and Jeff De Vries (12) in then- mid-pack battle. really happy because the fuel pump was playing up and the tire was desperate at the end," Roche said. "With Polen not finishing it is good for me in the points." Falappa 'was delighted with third, having got a second wind in the final 10 laps. "After five laps my left arm was very weak and my right arm had pumped up where I was having to do extra work to hold on with it," said the Italian. "Then I was racing with Fogarty and taking it a bit easier and with 15 laps gone, the problem seemed to ease .off and I was able to ride hard in the last few laps." Amatarian took fourth and Fogarty had to be content with fifth place. The Brit had opted to borrow a 6.5-inch rear from Mertens for the race, but .found the untried combination didn't give him the extra grip he expected. "I was putting it into corners and the rear end was coming around on me. One time, after five or six laps, I was completely sideways in the double left before the final turn. I was off the bike but managed somehow to stay on." Slight was a dejected sixth. "I was lucky to finish where I did, I could not go any faster, we just couldn't get it set up any better," he said. Lindholm scored his best result of the season in seventh, ahead of a threeway Italian battle won by Tardozzi from Monti and Bontempi. Merkel finished 17th after running as high as 14th before mid-distance. "I feel like an old man," he said, wiping the sweat out of his eyes. "The ankle hurt but it's my fitness. I've never been so bad in my life. One thing's for sure though - it can't get any worse than thisl" Race two Between races, Eraldo Ferracci fitted a new clutch to Polen's bike and went for a softer rear Dunlop, while Pirovano's crew swapped the suspension from his race one bike to his spare. In the Team Moving Kawasaki camp, Slight's bike underwent major changes in suspension and carburetion to overcome his first race problems. Mertens led Pirovano into the first comer with Polen third and Bontempi making another fast getaway. Phillis loused up his launch and was II th into tum one with Slight a couple places further back. At the start of the second lap, Tardozzi got into tum one too hot, lost the front end and scooped up Merkel. The Italian was quickly on his feet, but Merkel banged his injured ankle and was taken to hospital. He later walked back to his pit. Polen, though, cut loose on the second lap and was never likely to be headed. "That was my plan in the first race, too," said Polen, "But things didn't quite work out right. The rear tire never got working so we went softer for the second race and it was okay." He left Mertens, Pirovano, Fogarty - also on a softer rear Dunlop for this race - Falappa and a chasing Phillis to battle second. Roche was also in contention from the start, but twice went deep into the first-gear comer, the se~ond time' running off into the sandtrap which dropped him from fifth to 11 tho He blamed Falappa for the excursion. "He pushed me out," said the irrate Frenchman. "I don't know why he does this. He knows he cannot win the race so he stops me, too." Rymer got a good start this time, but seven laps out the right footpeg broke off - probably damaged from his first race tumble. He tried to carry on but pulled out two laps later. At half distance, Polen had three second.s on a now frantic second-place battle involving Mertens, Pirovano, Falappa, Fogarty and Phillis, still chasing, some six to seven seconds back on Polen. Falappa dropped out of contention when he overshot turn one - - - - - - Continued on page 23

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