Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE S pencer Wins 500 cc Race ANDERSTORP, Sweden (AP) Freddie Spencer edged fellow-American Kenny Roberts to win the 500cc race in the Swedish Grand prix and virtually clinch his first world champi- onship title. Spencer, a 21-year-old Honda rider from Shreveport, La., won by just 16 hundredths of a second in a dramatic finish. That was the short Associated Press story that ran in newspapers across the world on Monday, August 7, 1983. The report mentioned nothing of the now famous collision between Spencer and Roberts on the final lap, which caused Roberts to run wide. Prior to the collision of Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez in Malaysia a few weeks ago, the Roberts-Spencer duel in Sweden was one of the most famous clashes ever that had Motorcycle Grand Prix Championship implications. It just so happens that that race, like Malaysia, was also the penultimate round of the champion- ship that season. In '83 Spencer was holding a two-point lead over Roberts going into Sweden. Roberts led Spencer going into the last lap of the race. Heading down the back straight, Spencer placed his Honda right behind Roberts' Yamaha as they reached the second-to-last corner, a ninety-degree right-hander. As both riders applied their brakes, Spencer came out of Roberts' slip- stream and managed to get inside of the Yamaha. As they exited the corner, both riders ran wide off the track and into the dirt. Spencer was able to get back on the track and back on the power first, crossing the finish line just ahead of Roberts for a crucial victory. Roberts considered Spencer's pass to be foolish and dangerous, and exchanged angry words with him on the podium. Even though Spencer apologized, he later told the press, "Los- ing on the last lap is part of racing." For his part Roberts vowed to "Never again give an inch of track to Spencer." P102 THE '83 GP CLASH In some ways the Spencer-Roberts clash was even more intense than Rossi-Marquez, since unlike the recent clash, both riders were bat- tling for the title. It was also a passionate battle especially because Honda was shooting for its first premier class Motorcycle Grand Prix Cham- pionship. Unlike this year's controversial run-in, where it seemed everyone in motorcycling jumped on one side or the other and arguments in social media ignited like a lightning storm, in '83 most people only learned of the Spencer-Roberts collision in Sweden a week or two later via Cycle News or perhaps if you one of the few who had cable TV on "MotorWeek Illustrated" hosted by Dave Despain on Ted Turner's Superstation, WTBS. There were no hearings, no decisions handed down from high courts. It was just Roberts feel- ing he'd been shafted by Spencer, but Freddie, being such a nice person and so open and