Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ing the front row was Kiwi Aaron Slight on the Moving Kawasaki ZXR750 with a 1:07.73. Frenchman Adrien Morillas qualified sixth overall, no mean feat on his privateer Yamaha OW01, considering there were another five factory works/ semi-works machines behind him. Raymond Roche, Rob Phillis and Stephane Mertens completed the second row, but the latter would not start the race. Mertens had injured his shoulder in an horrific accident at Phillip Island the week previous. He. had practiced his Total Wanty Ducati against doctor's orders' and rode in three of the four sessions, but wisely gave up the struggle knowing it would not be possible to last the two 33-lap races around the tight Manfeild course. Aussie Scott Doohan was II th fastest, riding the same factory Yamaha Magee had won on in Australia. Doohan's best time of 1:08.28 was only 1.5 seconds slower than that of polesitter Falappa. Because there is no Peter Jackson brand of cigarette sold in New Zealand, the Yamahas of Doohan and teammate Troy Corser were appearing in Marlboro colors. Race one Of the 26 riders who practiced, only 25 would start following Stephane Merten's withdrawal. But the low competitor turnout was to be expected for this final, far flung round. However, what the racing lacked in quan c tity was more than made up by quality - the local fans, an estimated 10,500 of them, were not disappointed with the racing. Pirovano got his usual rocket start and led into the first turn but· had Falappa, Merkel, Slight, Polen and Phillis all breathing down his neck at the end of the first lap. Morillas was also in contehtion and was figured as high as eighth after 16 laps but was sidelined when the fuel pump packed up. Swede Christer Lindholm retired his Hallman & Enqvist Yamaha OWOl two laps before that with a flat battery. Pirovano led the next 10 laps but had all sorts of handling problems and gradually slid downfield. He went from first to fourth in one lap as Slight, to the delight of the locals, went by, followed by Falappa and Polen. Pirovano later said the problems were caused by the rear linkage they had used from Magee's Phillip Island bike. While it obviously suited Magee, the little Halian was struggling to get it dialed in to his requitements. By mid-distance, 16 laps, Polen and Falappa led from Roche, Slight, Pirovano and Phillis, the crowd delighted with a typically Superbike freight train. When Polen got in front, many expected him to cut loose, but Falappa had other ideas and stuck with his Team Police Ducati teammate. But with 10 laps to run, Falappa was out when a bolt came loose on the gear linkage and he couldn't change any gears. That left Polen clear and he went on to win by almost six seconds. Behind him the action was frantic as Roche and Slight battled for second. The home crowd w~s delighted when Slight clinched the runner-up slot by over two seconds from Roche. The Frenchman had tried a desperate last lap pass into turn one but got in too hot and went wide on the exit. When he crossed the finish line in third place, he knew the fight for the title was over since Polen had won the race. Phillis secured fourth place but only by 0.42 of a second from Pirovano Doug Polen ended the season with 371 points to Raymond Roche's 336 points. while Merkel had a good race to sixth place. Merkel had started well but his bike was lacking good mid-range acceleration and that took its toll in the long, 33-lap race. Bontempi took seventh place, followed home by Scott Doohan. The - Aussie had been nervous before the start of the race and' said that's why he had such a bad start - 15th on the first lap, but was revelling in riding the ex-Magee bike. Doohan said it was a much smoother ride than his own OWOl and had better mid-range acceleration. Raymond Roche finished third and fourth, but it wasn't enough to stop Polen, New Zealander Aaron Slight tallied a 2-3 finish in his home round of the series. Race two Morillas was an early casualty for the second race. His Yamaha started spluttering on the sighting lap and he pulled out with a suspected electrical fault. Even though the championship was sewn up, there was no way Polen was going to take it easy in the final race of the series. Falappa charged away from pole when the lights flicked green but Polen was right with him, followed by Pirovano, Phillis, Slight, Merkel and Roche - the Frenchman making a decent launch for a change. Falappa and Polen broke clear of the pack and cut some hot laps while Slight moved up to third, fending off Roche, Pirovano, Merkel and Phillis. Polen kept the pressure on Falappa all. race, sticking in his wheel tracks, waiting for any small error from the Italian. Into the final lap Polen make his move., getting by his teammate into turn one, a left-hander at the end of the start/finish straight. But Falappa wasn't finished. Into the final turn he squeezed out Polen on the brakes and came out of the corner just in front to hold on at the line to win by one-hundredth of a second - the closest finish of the season! Polen conceded Falappa's outbraking efforts were unbeatable on the day: "There were a couple of places I knew I could pass Giancarlo (Falappa)," he said. "But he's so good on the brakes that I knew if he got in front of me going into the last corner, I would be struggling. As we went around that last sweeper, I actually thought about trying to pass him but I figured I might run too wide or crash. Instead, I tried to do it just on horsepower off the final bend. I guess it wasn't enough." Behind the 'battling, blood red boomers, Slight managed to get a break on Roche who, by now, had relaxed his pace somewhat, knowing the championship was lost. Pirovano came home fifth after a frantic battle with his teammate, Merkel. The pair were separated by a mere three-hundredths of a second at the line. Pirovano's crew had switched back to their regular rear linkage for race two and their rider was a lot happier with the handling. However, his second race performance lacked the inspiration he showed earlier in the year. Merkel was happy with sixth place, except his bike lacked the grunt needed to pass his teammate - even after changing engines between races. He's looking forward to a fresh start in 1993 - compete fitness plus a new factory YZR should see Merkel back in the ballpark. Phillis took seventh, enough to ensure his third place in the championship for the second consecutive season and Scott Doohan finished eighth on the Magge/Phillip Island bike. . eN Results QUALIFYING: I. Giancarlo Fa1appa (1:06.74); 2. Fabrizio Pirovano (1:06.82); 3. Doug Polen (1:07.02); 4. Fred Merkel (1:07.05); 5. Aaron Slight (1:07.32); 6. Adrien Morillas (1:07.59); 7. Raymond Roche (1:07.64); 8. Robert Phillis (1:07:70); 9. Stephane Mertens (1:07.81); 10. Daniel Amatriain (1:08.17); 11. Scott Doohan (1:08.28); 12. Piergiorgio BonLempi (1:08.40); 13. Jeffry DeVries (1:08.60); 14. Christer Lindholm (1:09.04); 15. Troy Corser (1:09.27); 16. Tony Rees (1:09.96); 17. Roben Holden (1:10.22); 18. Russell Josiah (1:11.12); 19. Paul McQuilkin (1:11.13); 20. Paul Gee (1:11.47); 21. Wayne Picaro (1:11.84); 22. Mike King(I:11.84); 23. Stuart Murdoch (1:12.18); 24. Scott Buckley (1:12.63); 25. John Hepburn (1:13.21); 26. Jarred Gillard (1:13.38). RACE I: I. Doug Polen «Due); 2. Aaron SLight (Kaw); 3. Raymond Roche (Due); 4. Robert Phillis (Kaw); 5. Fabrizio Pirovano (Yam); 6. Fred Merkel (Yam); 7. Piergiorgio BonLempi (Kaw); 8. Scott Doohan (Yam); 9. Daniel Amamain (Due); 10. Troy Corser (Yam);11. Tony Rees (Yam); 12. Russell Josiah (Kaw); 13. Paul McQuilkin (Suz); 14. Mike King (Due); 15. Scou Buckley (Yam); 16. John Hepburn (Suz); 17. Jarred Gillard (Hon). RACE 2: I. Giancarlo Falappa (Due); 2. Doug Polen (Due); 3. Aaron Slight (Kaw); 4. Raymond Roche (Due); 5. Fabrizio Pirovano (Yam); 6. Fred Merkel (Yam); 7. Robert Phillis (Kaw); 8. Scott Doohan (Yam); 9. Daniel ArnaLriain (Due); 10. Troy Corser (Yam); II. Christer Lindholm (Yam); 12. Tony Rees (Yam); 13. Paul McQuilkin (Suz); 14. Russell Josiah (Kaw); 15. Scott Buckley (Yam); 16. John Hepburn (Suz); 17. Stuan Murdoch (Yam); 18. Paul Gee (Kaw); 19. Jarred Gillard (Hon). WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SUPEUIKE SERIES fiNAL POINT STANDINGS: I. Dou~ Polen (371); 2. Raymond Roche (336); 3. Rob PhillIs (289); 4. Giancarlo Falappa (279); 5. Fabrizio Pirovano (278); 6. Aaron Slight (249); 7. Stephane Mertens (182); 8. Daniel Amatriain (156); 9. Carl Fogarty (134); 10. Piergiogio Bontempi (125); II. Scott Russell (83); 12. Kevin Magee (71); 13. Fred Merkel (65); 14. Christer Lindholm (50); 15. Andrien Morillas (45). 7

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