Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

conditions - and now he is in danger of losing his American Suzuki ride as a result. The Florida racer, who has won eight minor National V.S. titles since he first raced in 1986, was in line to replace the injured Kevin Schwantz in Team Lucky Strike Suzuki, only to find himself without a ride when Schwantz made an unexpected early return. Worse still, he heard that because he had tested the works Suzuki, which uses Motul oil and Michelin tires, he was being dropped from the Team Suzuki Endurance squad, seemingly because of pressure from Valvoline and Dunlop. The 22-year-old rider was at the Hungarian GP in case Schwantz proved unable to ride, and was philosophical, ,hoping that the matter could be resolved. "The main thing is that Kevin is riding. He's a hero of mine, and I really would like to see him and Suzuki do well. As to the problem with my V.S. contract, I hope it can be sorted out. I'm a little confused by it all, because Team Suzuki Endurance seemed happy for me to take the opportunity to test a works bike." jacks' first experience of a 500cc GP two-stroke was marred by two low-speed spills on Donington Park's slow hairpins. Conditions in Britain were streaming wet and slippery, and he was caught out by the on-throttle snap in first gear, He is more used to racing big-engined fourstrokes, including a GSXR750 Suzuki fitted with an oversize GSXRIIOO engine. Said team general manager Garry Taylor: "I was impressed with Donald's approach and attitude. The fact that he fell didn't worry us. Conditions were atrocious, but we only had one day and he needed to get some time on the bike." The return of Kevin Schwantz to racing came less than two weeks after he had broken a bone in his left arm and dislocated his left hip when he was skittled out of the lead of the Assen GP by Eddie Lawson. At the time, doctors told him the hip injury meant he must lie still for 10 days, and would then be on crutches - but the defiant Texan was walking five days afterwards to go for intensive therapy at GP doctor Claudio Costa's clinic in Italy. After the first timed practice session in Hungary, where he had recorded fourth-fastest time in mixed conditions, he said: "I feel tired and sore all over. But it's still only Friday. I haven't done any riding for two weeks, so I figure I should improve my condition quickly as I take more exercise. ,My hip is no problem. I could drag my knee without any pain or difficulty. The hard thing is using my arms. The left one doesn't have full movement, and I have an infection that is troubling my right arm. I'm hoping they'll be up to 75 percent of full strength on Sunday. But I'm not only riding because Mick (Doohan) is out. I'm here because I want to race, and I feel able to do it." Should Kevin Schwantz - or several other riders - have been allowed to ride in Hungary? The Texan's premature return may trigger fresh controversy over medical rules that many feel are too lenient. With only one short straight and a preponderance of second-gear corners, many with downhill approaches, the Hungaroring is a very physical track - hard on an injured rider. Yet Schwantz was not the only one riding less than fully _ fit. Randy Mamola's four-week-old hand injury was far from better, while Wayne Gardner was still stiff and sore after he fell heavily at Assen. At the Hungaroring, doctors discovered a cracked rib. He told a French journalist: "If I'd been sane, I wouldn't ride here. But there is so much pressure on us that I went ahead." Wayne Rainey also came back after having pulled out of the German GP then leaving Assen early. He said that his injured wrist was now close to being at full strength. aine~ on top in French GP arlboro Yamaha's Wayne Rainey won his second 500cc Grand Prix of the season as the World Championship Road Race Series visited the MagnyCours circuit in France for the first time on july 19. Defending champ Rainey passed his teammate john Kocinski on the first lap and led the rest of the way, beating Rothmans Honda's Wayne Gardner by 6.682 seconds after 27 laps. For Gardner, the second place finish was his best result of the season. Third place went to Kocinski after a race-long battle with eventual fourthplace finisher juan GaT!iga on the Ducados-backed Yamaha. Fifth place went to Cagiva's Eddie Lawson. French Canadian Miguel DuHamel finished seventh with Budweiser Yamaha's Randy Mamola ending up eighth. Lucky Strike Suzuki's Kevin Sch}Vantz and Doug Chandler both crashed out of the GP in separate incidents. Neither of the two Americans suffered injury. Rothmans Honda's Michael Doohan, who is recovering from a broken leg and didn't race in France, still holds a 37-point lead over Rainey, 130-93, with three races remaining. Schwantz is third with 87 points, ahead of Chandler's 72 and Kocinski's 67. Italian Luca Cadalora missed out on the opportunity to clinch the 250cc World Championship in'France when he finished third behind the Aprilias of countrymen Loris Reggiani and Pier-Francesco Chili. Reggiani beat Chili by a scant 0.257of-a-second after 26 laps of action. Mitsui Yamaha's jochen Schmid and Repsol Honda's Carlos Cardus rounded out the top five finishers. Two-time MX World Champion jean·Michel Bayle finished 24th out of 25 finishers in his road racing debut, after qualifying in the 38th and final position. The Frenchman, who rode a Rothmans-Motul-backed Honda RS250, finished one lap behind race-winner Reggiani. Though he failed to clinch the title in France, Cadalora still holds a commanding 50-point lead over Reggiani, 167-117. Chili is third in the championship with 87 points. Semprucci Pit Lane Honda's Ezio Gianola closed to within one point of 125cc championship leader Ralf Waldmann with his victory in the French 125cc GP. Gianola beat Marlboro Team Pileri Honda's Noburo Venda by over five seconds in taking the victory; jorge Martinez finished third on the Coronas Elf Honda. Waldmann could only manage a 10th place finish af~er his Zwafink Racing Honda broke a reed valve, and he now leads Gianola by only a point, 102-101. Alessandro Gramigni, fifth in France, is third with 95 points. M Yamaha became the last 500cc GP team to join the trend towards droning Honda-style engines in Hungary, with one each for the official works Marlboro-Roberts riders Wayne Rainey and John Kocinski. Both made similar comments to those of new droner converts from Suzuki and Yamaha, particularly praising the machine's drive out of corners. But Rainey said: "This is such a slow and tight track that it's hard to tell the difference. I tested both and lap times were much the same, though I think the new one might pick up the gears better." However, there were strong rumors that the Honda-clone engine was only a stop-gap measure, and that a completely new engine would be seen later this season, probably at the British GP. Like Cagiva, but unlike Suzuki, the twin-crank Yamaha does not have a balance shaft, and as a result the new high-torque cylinder timing, with each crankshaft having 'the pistons timed very close together, and two pistons on alternate cranks firing simultaneously, causes significant vibration. The last remaining question was that, since this time Cagiva had beaten Yamaha to the tracks, was the japanese company for once copying the Italians, instead of the other way aI'ound? Wayne Rainey used the new type of "kill-shift" mechanism that automatically cuts the ignition during upward gear changes, allowing clutch less changes with the rider able to hold the twist-grip open. However, trackside spies were surprised to see that he was still flapping his throttle hand the same as if he was on a stock manualclutch bike. Later, he explained: "If I didn't close the throttle I'd get highsided. The main advantage is that you can kick the gears through more easily at high rpm, but I don't think you're . saving much time." The kill-shift, sometimes wrongly referred to as a semi-automatic transmission, was pioneered in the 250cc class this year by Yamaha rider Jochen Schmid and Aprilia riders Loris Reggiani and Pier-Francesco Chili. The final track inspections of the last two GP road race circuits to be run on this year is taking place this week. Following the July 19 French GP, a contingent of FIM, IRT A and IMRA representatives flew to Sao Paulo in Brazil and then to Kyalami in South Africa. There is doubt over whether the promised chicane has been made at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil, although track officials promise that it has been done (they said the same thing last year too, but it was not true). But the general feeling among the racing management is that the race is almost certain to go ahead without a hitch. Cagiva used a Showa electronic rear suspension system for the first time in Hungary, with one each for Eddie Lawson and Alex Barros. The programmable device is believed to work only on compression damping, which it can stiffen up when the throttle is opened, to prevent squat under acceleration. It can also be programmed to react differently to different speeds of compression. Barros said: "When we first tested the system at Mugello, the bike was unstable on fast corners. But it seems to work really well here." World Championship leader Michael Doohan missed the Hungarian GP and the French GP as well after complications set in after the operation to mend his broken leg in Holland. At first he had hoped to be racing within weeks, but the operation involved some reconstruction to the bones, and during the next week an infection set in, causing serious swelling and requiring more surgery during which his calf muscle had to be opened back to the bone. He is expected to return for the Britisl). GP on August 2, when he will still be leading the 500cc World Championship. The annual game, of musical saddles was well under way by the time of the Hungarian GP, with the retirement of Eddie Lawson combined with the Cagiva's new competitive streak set to trigger the biggest rumors. Current rumors link two-time World Champion Wayne Rainey with the Italian squad. Rainey admits he has been looking around and checking his options, but his reputed asking price of $2 million is beyond the reach of most teams except for Cagiva. His name had been linked with the Campsa-Honda squad, but their reputed budget of $4 million wouldn't stretch far enough, and in any case they have Alex Criville already signed up. They are expected to field a 250cc next year, taking over the ,works Honda currently alloted to the Carlos Cardus Repsol team, with rider Alberto Puig. Rothmans Honda is expected to retain Michael Doohan, and add Daryl Beattie to the squad, with Wayne Gardner once again talking now about retirement, though with rather more conviction than in recent years; Lucky Strike Suzuki has already signed Kevin Schwantz, and Doug Chandler believes he will stay put, with negotiations already at an advanced stage. This just leaves the question of who will replace Rainey on Team Marlboro Roberts. The obvious answer would be his current teammate John Kocinski - but he is also rumored to be an the move. Kawasaki is expected to make their road race GP return in South Africa, with at least one and possibly two Wild Card entries in the 250cc class at Kyalami. Their team is run by former World Champion Kork Ballington, who lives in 'South Africa, and one rider is expected to be Robbie Petersen, also South African, who has been racing a Del Amo-backed Yamaha in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series in 1992. If you'd like to compete aboard a Honda RS125 road racer, give Moto Liberty of Carrollton, Texas a call at 212/242-6440. They have five "renta-GP-bikes" "and tlu;ee have already been spoken for as far as the August 7-9 WERA Pro Series weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park is concerned. All five are available for the September 18-20 WERA Pro Series meet at Moro 0 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and for the Grand National Final at Road Atlanta in Georgia. You can rent an RS 125 for $500 for the weekend, and that includes a raceready bike with new tires, and technical assistance throughout the weekend. A 750 damage deposit is al 0 required, entry fees are not included, and the $500 rental fee can be applied to the purchase of any RSI25 from Moto Liberty. Nope; there's no mileage charge! Racing Enterprises Motocross (REM) will host the Bridgestone/KTMsponsored Commotion By The - - - - - - - Continued on page 5 3

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