Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Niall Mackenzie in the early stages by similar back-marker intervention. Mackenzie managed to stay comfortably ahead of Banco-Yamaha teammate . Miguel DuHamel, who had held on well from a strong start, and was eventually relieved of the persistent attentions of Randy Mamola when the American faded, to finish a lonely eighth. Schwantz had been in fifth place until after half distance, riding quite alone, when he also lost the front wheel in exactly the same place as Suzuki teammate Chandler. "If I'd been 100 percent strong I may have saved it, but I just didn't have enough strength in my left arm," he said (the arm is still in a lightweight plaster cast). Along with Criville's crash early in the race, this left points available for privateers; and the man who took most of them was GP debutant Jamie Whitham, riding a Harris Yamaha in fine style. The 'British bright hope came under severe pressure from Toshiyuki Arakaki until the Japanese charger obligingly ran wide a few laps from the end, recovering to take 10th and last point some 12 seconds adrift. Kiwi replacement for Peter Goddard on Bob Maclean's Valvo line RocYamaha, Andrew Stroud; had been up with this scrap unill. he faded to 11 th with his rear Dunlop blistering; Serge David's Roc Yamaha was 12th, and Cees Doorakkers 13th. There were 18 finishers, with Papa's Librenti last, two laps behind. Rainey's win moved him to second in the championship, dosing on Doohan, 93 points to 130. Schwantz drops to third on 87, Chandler is fourth on 72, with Kocinski fifth on 67. 2SOccGP Young Italian lion Max Biaggi was out before it had begun. His Aprilia had ignition trouble on the warm-up, and wasn't able to start. HB Honda rider Helmut Bradl had already withdrawn because of his injured back, but there were plenty of Italians ready to take their places with Loris Capirossi's semi-works arlboro Honda RS/Spl the first to lead, only to be overwhelmed by the Aprilias of P,ierfrancesco Chili and Loris Reggiani and Doriano. Romboni's Honda RS/Spl on the second lap. . Carlos Cardus (Repsol Honda NSR) was also in the leading pack, and the similar bikes of Masahiro Shimizu and Luca Cadalora close behind, with Jochen Schmid closing up on the sale works Yamaha. The first major shuffle happened at the end of lap three, when Shimizu was high-sided at the pit lane corner, lucky to avoid getting hit, and slowing down first Schmid and then Ruggia's Gitera among the pursuers. Romboni was the next to go, suffering gearbox seizure in the same place at the end of the seventh lap, luckily without crashing, when he was in second place. Winner Loris Reggiani (13) and P.F. Oilli (7) were together for the entire 250cc GP. By then, Chili and Reggiani were off up front, for a duel that lasted for the rest of the race. Chili led most of the first half; Reggiani took over from laps 16 to 21, then Chili moved back for the last few laps. But Reggiani, injury or not, was not to be denied, and he outbraked his countryman into the hairpin on the last lap, and rode on the edge of disaster to the finish, to win his second race of the year by quarter of a second. Capirossi stayed in the front group until lap 15, when he suddenly slowed on the pit straight, another viCtim of Garriga completed row two, 'Saying: "lUke it here, because it's a rider's circuit and~~ not a bike circuit." Which. was true enought but spoiled by the two ultra~slow comers that nobody could fJnd~ords to praise., ' Randy Mamola led row three, without the Budweisec logos on his Yamaha)! n the absence of Michael Doohan, every Japanese because of local alcoholic drink advertising laws, The next qualifier was Alex Barros, , make of bike had a crack at pole, with Wayne but the Brazilian had crashed the Cagiva, and was out of the race after breaking his Gardner, John Kocinski and Wayne Rainey domicollarbone, Next came Niall Mackenzie, making the best of things in spite of disnating the first three sessions (two untimed each agreements with his team over suspension directions. Arakaki was next, the top primorning, and one timed on Friday afternoon). It vateer. looked as though 'Rainey had control of the crucial Row four was led by Miguel DuHamel on the second Banco Yamaha, the Frenchlast timed session, too. Canadian riding a little more calmly now as the season wears on, but still almost slidUntil the last' minute, when Doug Chandler did ing into the the pit wall, then boWing at the mechanics leaning over the railing as he exactly the same as last week, putting on the right continued on his way. tire and finding a deal: track to move ahead by just Next to him, GP debutant Jamie Whitham was making an excellent showing on the over two tenths of a second. injured Buckmaster's Harris-Yamaha. The British rider really did look good, riding The California riders' second successive pole aggresSiVely, sliding the rear under brakes and power, and moving up to place second proved he is now well on top of things in his first seaprivateer after following Schwantz in the last session. "It's the best bike I've ever ridden," he enthused. son with the Lucky Strike Suzuki{ able to set the bike up quickly, thou,gh still working on its frustrating balSerge David's Roc-Yamaha was next, with Mitchell completing the rowan his ance problem. "It needs more weight on the front," he Harris. Goddard's replacement Andrew Stroud was again impressive, heading row five from Rudroff, Sarron and Catalano, with the last-named crashing twice in the said, adding that he was already leaning forward "with my head in the screen" to reduce the weight.transfer out of the comers. same practice session, without serious injury. The displaced R' was looking fit and strong for the first time all year, but admitEddie Laycock led row six with a sad story of his own - the gearboX mainshaft had ted that he still lacked confidence. He was using new Ohlins front forks to go with the broken and destroyed the casings of his '91 YZR Yamaha on both sides, and he was CES electronic rear, and finding them troublesome; the new./ldrone" engine,. and the reduced to begging for major engine parts so he could make the race. electronic "kill-shift", although in the three lower gears he was still using the clutch and There were 29 qualifiers, but only 26 starters, with Barros out, as well as Thierry closing the throttle to avoid wheelies. "It saves a littl~ time in the top three gears," he '. Crine, who broke bones in his hand, whHe Wild Card rider Bernard Garcia (on a spare , Banco Yamaha) dislqca his hip and broke his pelvis in an unlucky Friday fall: said; adding: "The jmportimt thing here is that the bike'should be easy to ride." . Kocinski was alongside him, less than a tenth down. after messing around with'gear~ I..euthe's VRP and Moreno's Hards didn't make the time. ing after being forced to S\Vitth to the "old" engine in the last session because he'd A number of crashes affeCted the profile of the 250cc front row somewhat - but it gone so far off with gearing in the new one (he had one of each, while Rainey had two was always going to be a little different anyway, with Luca Cadalora not on it. new ones). He did an identical time with it, which suggests he might have been quicker P.F. Chili set the fastest time, and stayed on board too, with nothing but good to say but for his error; and he intended to switch back to the new one for the race. Kocinski about his Aprilia. Second went to Jochen Schmid's works Yamaha, the German test badly needs a good result as contract-time draws near, and this highly technical circuit rider delighted to be among the Italians and in his best position of the year. "This is a represented a good chance. But he crashed on Friday, without injury, and was feeling new bike, because Yamaha didn't contest the class last year; but I always felt it had the the pressure. potential to get up there," he said. Gardner completed the first row, on a time from the first session after spending the The highly technical nature of the track favored riding skill above machine superiorsecond day testing tires to find one that would give him the positive steering he want- ity, and Loris Capirossi took advantage of it, putting his Honda RS/SPL third fastest, ed for the many downhill comer entries. "We ve also been playing with suspension - ahead of countryman Loris Reggiani, who broke a rib in a crash on Friday, but came you can lose the back going into the turns here," he ~id. back again on Saturday full of painkillers and fighting spirit. Lawson led row two, with the Cagiva well on the pace and so kitted out with elecThis left Cadalora to lead row two, after taking a bad guess on gearbox settings and tronies that he quipped: "This thing's gonna short out one day and I'll go up in sprockets on the second day, leaving himself more testing to do on race morning. He smoke." The latest innovation was a kill-shift like that used by Rainey, among others. had the chance of tying up the title, but he wanted to do it with a race win, and said: He had Alex Criville alOngside, the Spaniard having fallen unhurt on the first day of ''That will be difficult here." He crashed unhuit on race morning, and ran back. to the . practice; then came Kevin Schwantz, who had been third-fastest in the morning, but pits for his spare bike. simply didn't get a clear track. in the aftemO

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