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RACE WATCH
Roadracing Roundup
In a bitter end to a triumphant season that brought the U.S. its 11th 500cc world roadracing championship in the last 14 years, both newly crowned world champion Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz were injured during testing prior to the sea-son-ending Malaysian GP.
Rainey was hurt the worst, despite falling at relatively low speed when he ran off the racing line trying to pass Scotsman Niall Mackenzie. The Team Marlboro Roberts Yamaha ace suffered a broken right thigh, right kneecap, left hand and ribs, and underwent surgery to insert six screws into his leg. He is expected to be sidelined for 12 weeks.
Schwantz, meanwhile, broke his left hand when he crashed trying to pass teammate Didier de Radigues. The Lucky Strike Suzuki rider underwent surgery for the insertion of five pins, and was expected to be healed in as little as two weeks.
Despite their injuries, Rainey and Schwantz both attended the WERA Grand National Finals and Suzuki Cup Finals at Road Atlanta a few weeks later. Rainey, who was sporting a limp, but no plaster, was there to see his 250cc team of Allan Scott and Kenny Roberts Jr. in action. And Schwantz, whose wrist was still in a cast, was there to sign autographs in the Suzuki display tent.
What they, and a large turnout of spectators, witnessed was an excellent weekend of racing. Team Marlboro Roberts Yamaha’s Rich Oliver stole the WERA Formula USA Championship from the series point leader and his teammate, Robbie Petersen, when Petersen retired his YZR500 from the first leg with mechanical problems. Oliver looked like a sure winner in leg one, but let Team Suzuki rider Kurt Hall by on his methanol-burning GSX-R to take the win. In leg two, Oliver left the field behind, taking the win over defending series champion Mike Smith on a big-bore Yoshimura Suzuki that repiftedly made 208 horsepower. Petersen, with a spare motor, took third.
In WERA Formula Two action, veteran Donny Greene rode his Dianetics-sponsored, Keith Codeowned Yamaha TZ250 to a secondplace finish to claim his first national championship in five years. (Greene rode Hondas to the AMA F-2 title from 1984-86.) DavHar Racing’s Chris D’Aluisio took the win on a Yamaha, with Al Salaverria third on an Aprilia and Kenny Roberts Jr. fourth. Roberts’ teammate, Allan Scott, had his hopes of winning the title dashed when he crashed unhurt on the warm-up lap.
Suzuki Cup action was a Team Suzuki benefit as teammates Kurt Hall and Britt Turkington split wins in the 1100 and 750cc races, respectively. New Englander Jeff Heino> provided some drama in the 750cc race when he bullied his way past Hall to claim second briefly, but when he botched a similarly aggressive move on Turkington, Hall reclaimed the runner-up slot.
But the sensation of the weekend was 17-year-old Texan Colin Edwards. Fresh off a win streak that saw him win five novice championships at the previous weekend’s AMA/CCS Finals at Daytona, Edwards added another eight novice titles to his collection at the GNF, plus the Future Stars Championship.
Amazingly, Edwards returned the following weekend as a Pro at the AMA season-ending Grand Prix of Miami, where he finished second behind Jimmy Filice in the 250cc GP class. Filice, riding an F.A. Motor Works Yamaha, sewed up the 250cc title there when challengers Chris D’Aluisio and Nick Ienatsch both encountered difficulties.
The other sensation at Miami was none other than Freddie Spencer, who proved that he still has what it takes when he rode his Two Brothers Honda RC30 to the win in the Superbike National. Commonwealth Honda’s Miguel DuHamel was the fastest rider on the track early in the race, but he retired with a broken rear hub after a cone became lodged between the chain and sprocket.
Vance & Hines Yamaha’s Thomas Stevens wrapped up the AMA Superbike title at Miami by finishing third behind series rival Scott Russell of the Muzzy Kawasaki squad. >
Bayle captures 500cc MX crown, completes hat trick
Frenchman Jean-Michel Bayle capped off a perfect season of motocross racing in the U.S. by doing what no one in the history of the sport has ever done before-win three championships in a single year. At Unadilla, New York, the Team Honda star clinched the 500cc outdoor title to add to the 250cc outdoor and supercross titles he’d won earlier in the year. With 125 and 250cc world championships already part of his resume, there’s little in the world of motocross left for Bayle to conquer.
As always, veteran Kawasaki rider Jeff Ward was in contention for the 500cc crown, right down to the final race of the six-event series. Ward and Bayle each won three races overall, but in the end, Bayle took the title by a scant nine points.
At least Kawasaki came away with one championship this season. Team Green’s Mike Kiedrowski wrested the 125cc national championship from Suzuki-mounted defending champion Guy Cooper after an epic 13-race season.
