Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

gR~Dlia.~~~~_~_~_R_~_es_en_·~_:R_oo_n_d8 ~ John Kocinski (4), and Alex Criville (28) battled to the finish of the 500cc GP with the win finally going to Criville. Criville wins Dutch TT crashfest By Michael Scott Photo.s by David Goldman ASSEN, HOLLAND, JUNE 27 oung Spaniard Alex Criville, riding a Campsa Honda in his first SOOcc-elass season, won an extraordinary Dutch IT last Saturday, staying on and staying ahead throughout a race that claimed all but one of the surviving works American riders. It was the first true European 500cc GP win since Christian Sarron beat Freddie Spencer in 1985. Marlboro Yamaha's John Kocinski was second, and Cagiva's Alex Barros third, in a depleted field of only 21 finishers. The race was held in perfect weather at the classic Assen circuit, in front of the usual vast crowd of more than 125,000. They may have seen the start of a new chapter in racing. Criville is only 22, Barros just 21, with Kocinski the elder on the rostrum at 24. The young men won in the almost total absence of the veterans, all eliminated in an amazing series of crashes in practice and in the race that left title leader Michael Doohan, Rothmans Honda teammate Wayne Gardner and race leader Kevin Schwantz hospitalized, with Doohan and Schwantz likely to miss at least one race apiece. Defending champion Wayne Rainey withdrew before timed practice on account of his Hockenheim injuries, and a spate of crashes also eliminated Cagiva's pole qualifier Eddie Lawson and fellow front-runner Doug Chandler on the Lucky Strike Suzuki. Lawson and Schwantz collided while disputing the lead in what had promised to be a fierce battle, in a clash more reminiscent of club racing than top-level GP riding. Schwantz fell heavily, dislocating his hip and breaking a bone in his left arm, with his chance of catching up in the championship also smashed. He joined Doohan in the hospital, where the Australian had two broken bones in his left leg plated the day before the race. Y 8 There were several other hospital cases in the crash-happy 62nd Dutch IT, including Australian Peter Goddard (broken wrist), Spaniard Juan LopezMella (broken arm), a photographer with a broken arm, and a woman marshall who lost a leg after being struck by Barros's crashing Cagiva in practice. This left top-10 positions open to privateer riders, who took the last three points-scoring places, with 10th-placed Kevin Mitchell taking the first points for a Harris Yamaha. Cagiva's success (Lawson had qualified on pole position) came courtesy of a new engine - like Suzuki's, a twin-erank emulation of the latest Honda, with a similar droning exhaust note and tremendously enhanced acceleration. . The 250cc race was another Aprilia walkover, making for the second successive all-Italian top-three rostrum. This time, however, one of them rode a Honda. Pier-Francesco Chili won as he did last year, and at the last race in Germany. The Honda placed second, ridden by a determined but outclassed Luca·Cadalora; with Aprilia's Loris Reggiani third. It was not a close race, after pole starter and early leader Max Biaggi retired with engine trouble; but as distinguished by a heroic ride by injured Dutchmen Wilco Zeelenberg, who broke his ankle four weeks before. Pain and a lack of endurance in practice suggested he'd be better off missing the race, but he found himself in a fierce battle for the last point, eventually colliding with Jurgen van den Goorbergh in the final chicane, conceding 10th place to the determined young Dutch privateer in the process. The usual fraught 125cc race'was won by Ezio Gianola, matching Waldmann's three wins earlier this season, and bringing the Italian Honda rider to within five points in the World Championship. Honda-mounted Fausto Gresini was second, with the Aprilia of Alex .Gramigni third. Last week's winner Bruno Casanova had been with the leaders, but crashed on the last lap. The Sidecar GP was won by miles by Rolf Biland, with Steve Webster a distant second and Klaus Klaffenbock an equally remote third. But the crowd was simply glad to see them, after the threat in practice that this might be their last race. Top-level meetings seemed to have reduced that threat by race-day Saturday, but even so the grandstand crowd launched into an impassioned impromptu song, the theme of which suggested obscene treatment of TWP's Bernie Ecclestone. 500cc GP The opening laps held all the promise of a classic Assen race. Schwantz had seized the lead and maintained control of the race, challenged repeatedly by Law~n, who managed to nose ahead once or twice. Barros was up with them, challenged by Chandler. All but Schwantz were using new-type "drone" engines, and they quickly pulled away from the field. The first upset came on lap three, when Chandler suddenly went missing round the first loop. He had lost the front wheel at the right-hand Ossebroeken curve, and slid harmlessly out. "1 worked my front tire too hard too soon," he explained. "1 was expecting the other guys to catch up with us, and I wanted to make a break with the leaders. I guess I should have looked over my shoulder." Now there were three, and the battle was furious. Among Lawson's repertoire of concerted attacks was a move at the end of the start-finish straight, where he'd come off the kinks faster than Schwantz, then move up inside under braking. He'd practiced it a cou- _ pIe of times, then on lap seven he seemed to have made it stick. But Schwantz would have none of it. With the Cagiva alongside, even a little ahead, he eased off his carbon-fiber brakes again to lead into th~ comer, and flicked the Suzuki to the apex. Trouble was, the Cagiva was already aimed at the same piece of track. Lawson's front wheel struck Schwantz's exhausts and seat. The Suzuki flicked sideways and spat Schwantz heavily into the catch fence. Lawson stayed wheels down but ran into the grass where he too was thrown, landing unhurt in a dike. It is interesting to speculate on why they collided. Certainly, Schwantz was in front and on line on the comer entry, but Lawson had certainly been ahead or at least alongside as they commenced braking. Unused to racing up front recently, he may also not have anticipated the braking ability of the Suzuki's special AP carbons. Certainly, Schwantz is justified in expressing his amazement at being T-boned from behind so early in the race, by such an experienced rider. Lawson was very firm in the opposite point of view, and had the advantage of being able to speak directly about it afterwards, while Schwantz was still under anaesthetic. "1 was past him, then he got off the brakes for an instant. Then I was already down on maximum lean right next to the paint when he slammed the door on me. I don't know how he thought I would make the corner, or why he found it necessary to do that. I thought that I could ride safely with him right to the la!?t lap." This left Barros in a clear lead, but he lived up to his reputation of requiring companions to ride fast, and within two laps he'd been caught by anoth~r hard Idee between Criville and Juan Garriga's Ducados Yamaha, dropping to third instantly as he ran wide. Shortlyafterwards, Kocinski latched on to the group, and they swapped back and forth, all taking a tum up front. Kocinski had been working his tires hard catching up from a poor start, and said later: "1 blew it from there." In morning warm-up, he'd had a frightener - both feet off the pegs and feet flapping - at near top speed on the backstraight kinks, and afterwards said his aim for the race was: "Stayon." Garriga and Criville disputed the lead remorselessly, the former making use of his experience, the latter revelling in his Honda's power advantage. It was a regular Spanish civil war that ended when Garriga also ran wide, his tires shot, and dropped to a close fourth again. Inevitably, things got hectic on the last lap, and as Barros slid wide he lost second to Kocinski. But he'd also slowed him, allowing Criville to press home his breakaway sprint, and cross the line first by three-quarters of a second. "1 never expected to win a 500 GP in my first season," the delighted former 125cc champion said later. Nor had anybody else. Kocinski held second from Barros by mere hundredths of a second; while Garriga was over two seconds adrift at the finish. Way back came Randy Mamola, riding through the pain barrier to overcome his own hand injuries. He had a mainly lonely race, but was under constant pressure from the two blue Yamaha France bikes of Niall Mackenzie and Miguel DuHamel. The Canadian had made a superb start, but lacked Assen experience and gradually lost ground; the Scotsman had caught up from a poor start and seemed to have beaten his teammate, only to lose sixth place on the last lap, unwilling to duke it out because of his injured condition.

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