Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

B~roffi~~du~~~_~_~_M_X_~_rie_~R_O_M_d7 _ ; American Billy Liles had a perfect day at the British 500cc GP, where he won all three motos to move himself into third in the points standings with five rounds remaining. Liles perfect atBritish GP By Alex Hodgkinson HAWKSTONE PARK, ENGLAND, JULY 5 merican Billy Liles was invincible at the British round of the SOOcc GP series at Hawkstone Park, as the Honda-mounted rider won all three motos and moved back into title contention. Liles is now third in the championship point standings, but has a tough row to hoe if he hopes to catch the series points leader Georges Jobe. Jobe, the defending champion from Belgium, , moved back into the series lead with a second-place finish. Jobe now leads the charge with 318 points to runner-up Kurt Nicoll, who has 300 points. Liles has 273 points. While Liles walked away with maximum points at Hawkstone Park, the talk of the town was home-country hero Nicoll, who was the series points leader going into the race. An alleged faulty starting gate and a crash in the first moto, followed by fifth and fourth-place finishes, knocked the Brit back to second in the series. However, KTM, Nicoll's team, are expected to protest the first moto because of the faulty starting gate. KTM claims that Nicoll's starting gate failed to fall, and, after the same individual gate failed to drop again on two mote occasions during the day, even the FlM Jury agreed that there was clearly a defect. If the first race points are taken away, then Nicoll would trail Jobe by just one point. But Nicoll blames himself for getting stuck in the gate. "My fault absolutely," admitted Nicoll. "Some people told me that my gate didn't drop, but I'm not sO sure. T- . 24 A gates are always a little slower and I possibly reacted too well. However, it happened and I hit the gate and I can't change that now." Rounding the first tum in the first moto nearly last, Nicoll quickly ch;uged \ back up to 19th, but literally ran into more problems - Belgian Johan Boonen. "That was defmitely my fault," said Nicoll. "Fifth place would've been no problem at all, but I just got too anxious trying to jump inside Johan Boonen at a place where there just wasn't room. We collided, I went down and that was that." Liles, who is seeking his first-ever championship title, took command of the race and went on to win'the first of ' three 20-minute plus-two-Iap motos. "Georges Oobe) got the holeshot, but I went in tight on the second tum. From then on I felt in control even though he passed me back once at the top of the hill; I had the best line and retook the lead before we came down the other side. "1 had a bit of a scare on the last lap when a backmarker who was touring, took my line through the whoops and I - almost came off. Those guys ought to realize that we are going a lot faster than they are and keep out of the way," said Liles. Jobe was content with second, as the 17 points he earned moved him back into a 12-point lead in the series point standings. "1 tried to repass Billy several times but he was riding very good. Of course I knew that Kurt was out so it was better to take a safe 17 points," ScUd Jobe. But that second place had been seriously threatened for more than half the race by Brit Jeremy Whatley. The English hero of the same GP 12 months ago had nearly followed Liles past Jobe on the first lap, but Jobe held him off. Then Whatley had a small problem. "A stone hit my goggles and I lost all of my tear~ffs and had to drop back slightly. I caught back up a couple of times but every time I got close I couldn't see. I made my last real challenge about four laps from the end and then decided to settle for third." . The trio had soon shot clear as former champ David Thorpe of England held an unchallenged third for half the race. "No problems really. I couldn't jump into the sandpit properly because of pain in my back," said Thorpe. Belgian Joel Smets, having made his first top 10 finish at the track 12 months ago and now a regular top-six rider, was quickly past the former champ, Thorpe, and fellow countryman Dirk Geukens. Boonen, Britain's Jared Smith and Belgian Jo Martens followed before the finish. "1 wasn't really aware of going slower," said Thorpe, "1 think it was simply a case of all the sand experts catching me together." Brit Warren Edwards was the only rider to prevent the three championship rivals. from taking the first three positions right from the start of race two, but before the end of the first lap, Nicoll had gone past him in pursuit of leader Liles and runner-up Jobe. However, problems strock Nicoll as well when, on the fourth lap, he crashed just after the whoops, which pushed him back to sixth, and the only place he could regain before the finish came at the expense of Edwards, whose motor sputtered to a halt as he raced up the hill when he was stjIl holding fourth , place. . The top two from race one were having a real battle. Approaching the end of lap two, Jobe dived past the American entering the kink after the finish, but Liles retaliated at the back of the track and Jobe had to repeat the pass next time around before opening up a small lead. Liles was not prepared to admit . defeat, however, and made a move' on Jobe as he saw Boonen coming strongly. Riding the Kawasaki which Liles campaigned last year, Boonen started sixth and was riding superbly, even passing Liles for the lead and moving clear for a time. His first GP win was not to come in this race though. "One mistake, that was all," said Boonen. "As I approached the top of the hill on the last lap I saw that my front wheel was going to hit a large rock and I gassed it again. That meant that I was going too fast into the comer and I overshot it. Billy reacted immediately and went inside 'of me." Liles said, "He (Boonen) was going quicker than me when he went past and there was no point in us going at it head~n with so many laps to go, so I let him go for a while and mounted an attack in the last two laps. Johan went wide and the win was mine again." . Jobe was content to finish a lonely third and extend his championship lead. "I'm just getting on with the job of scoring points," he said. Whatley had not started quite so well this time and could never get right on to the leaders but he had no difficulty holding off the remounted Nicoll for fourth, as Jacky Martens really got close to the duo late in the race. The third race had to be restarted after Nicoll was, once again, left behind at the gate. "It definitely didn't fall this time," said Nicoll. "All of the Jury were

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