VOLUME ISSUE MAY , P131
Agusta team. Such a move would
disappoint the fanatical Italian
fans, to say the least. A possibly
riotous situation was averted
"when the Chief of Police pointed
out that he and his men could not
guarantee crowd control if the
volatile customers were robbed of
the awaited Yamaha versus MV
battle." Nobody should want a riot,
and the FIM announced that the
36-lap race was back on.
"It's a hackneyed expression,"
wrote Cycle News, "but one could
literally feel the tension. What
a front row. Agostini, Lansi
-
vuori, Sheene, Read and Bonera.
Anyone could win." At the end of
the first lap, it was Sheene out in
front, with the tight pack from the
front row right behind. By lap two,
the race had become "a prover-
bial covered-by-a-blanket con-
test." On lap three, Bonera, who
had never won a Grand Prix event,
had taken over second spot. On
lap three, the Italian rider passed
Sheene and moved into the lead.
Sheene struggled to stay close
to Bonera, "but the MV rider was
in brilliant form and began to
pull away," even setting a new
lap record for 500cc bikes on
lap number six. Bonera wasn't
the only racer who was eclipsing
track records. Agostini matched
that, then shaved off four-thou
-
sandths of a second to break
the short-lived record time. Next
man up to answer the challenge
was Sheene, who then topped the
official track record set by Kenny
Roberts, who had done the deed
on his TZ 750 the month before.
On lap 12, Ago slipped past his
younger countryman and took
the lead. Bonera stayed close,
but the freakish pace set by the
racers was now beginning to
derail many of them. Phil Read
had overshot a corner earlier in
the race, and on lap 20, Sheene
and his Suzuki went down at the
entrance to the Imola chicane.
A race where "anyone could
win" was now becoming a two-
man battle, with Ago and Bonera
outdistancing the rest of the
pack. Agostini led, but Bonera
shadowed him for the distance.
They pushed each other to such
a fierce pace that by the 31st
go-round, the two Italians had
lapped up to fourth place. Aston
-
ishingly, Agostini still had one
more shattering run in reserve,
setting one more track record on
that same lap.
It was a grueling pace, one
that had wrung much out of his
Yamaha racer, including (and
unfortunately for him) its most
basic sustenance. On lap num
-
ber 35, Ago, was in first place
in his home country and within
striking distance of lapping his
archrival, Phil Read.
"The Yamaha coughed once,"
Cycle News wrote, "and then
droned to a standstill." It was
now clear why Yamaha had lob
-
bied for a shortened race. The
fuel tank on Agostini's record-
setting machine was empty, dry
as a bone in the desert. Less
than two laps remained.
If the Italians were heartbroken
over Ago's all-for-naught brilliance,
they were equally as ecstatic for
the victory earned by the little-
known Gianfranco Bonera. Bonera
had also come within feet of
lapping his teammate, Read, "but
diplomatically, the Italian eased
off to win nearly one and a half
minutes ahead of Lansivuori."
Yamaha officials had pleaded
for a 30-lap race. MV wanted a
full 36. Had a fair compromise
been reached, each team giv
-
ing up three, the 33-lap contest
would've produced a much-de-
served victory for Giacomo Agos-
tini. MV Agusta, however, would
give nothing. And sometimes,
nothing is a real cool hand.
CN
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Barry Sheene (5) leads
Phil Read (3), Bonera,
Teuvo Lansivuori and
Agostini early in the race.
