REPSOL HONDA PHILLP ISLAND GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Preview Australian Grand Prix Round 13: Phillip Island 1st to 3rd of October, 1999AUSTRALIA... WITHOUT MICK DOOHAN
Australiaís motorcycle racing aficionados still have fond memories of the 1998 Australian Grand Prix. It was there, after a superbly hard fought season, that Mick Doohan clinched his fifth consecutive World Title. These same fans will no doubt be extremely disappointed not to see Doohan racing this year at Phillip Island. Doohan was seriously injured during practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, last May.
Although the iron-willed champion immediately announced his intention to make it back to the starting grid as soon as he possibly could, his injuries have so far prevented him from doing so. Doohan broke his right leg, right shoulder and left wrist in the crash. He underwent a three-hour long operation in San Francisco on May 15th. Two plates and 13 screws were inserted in his right leg, while a plate and six screws were used on his forearm. Doohan returned to San Francisco for more surgery on September 3rd. The plate and screws holding his forearm were removed. They had been thought to be slowing down his healing process.
With an operation so soon before the Australian Grand Prix, Doohan could not hope to be fit in time to return to racing on his home soil. But despite his absence, the Repsol Honda team has maintained its dominance over the 500 class. Alex Crivillé and Tadayuki Okada, who have counted amongst Doohanís fiercest rivals in the past, have kept the Repsol Honda flag flying. Crivillé has taken six wins out of twelve races so far and currently leads the World Championship by a huge 46 points. Okada has taken two wins this year and lies third in the provisional standings, 55 points from Crivillé and a mere 9 points away from second place.
Both men are coming to Phillip Island with just one thought on their minds : adding another victory to their already impressive 1999 record. Doohanís absence has also affected the other member of the Repsol Honda team : Sete Gibernau. Since last year, the Spaniard had been developing the technically innovatice Honda NSR 500 V. Driven by a two-cylinder engine, this bike took full advantage of regulations which allow twin cylinder machines a minimum weight of 101 kilos, as opposed to the fourís weight limit of 131 kilos.
But a single bike against a field of factory V4s is a tough challenge and when Doohan was injured, the Honda factory showed their confidence in Gibernau by giving him access to an NSR 500 V4. Since then, Gibernau has been doing well to get used to this more powerful machine. He is currently fourth in the championship and has already claimed two podiums with the V4. This Sunday, he will be looking for more of the same.
Alex Crivillé. "The Australian Grand Prix brings back mixed memories. Thereís the time when Mick and I crashed out of the race together. Then thereís the 1989 race where I won my first ever Grand Prix only fifteen days after having broken my collarbone at Suzuka. Phillip Island is a challenging circuit. Itís also a very beautiful one and I like it a lot. The weather can be a problem, and it can be hard for us to acclimatise. Itís the end of summer in Europe but in Australia, itís only the beginning of spring. My crash at Valencia was a terrible mistake, especially for the thousands of fans that came to see the race. But itís important for me to put all that behind me and carry on as normal. Come Sunday, my aim will once again be to win although I know my rivals are ready to make the best of my mistakes. For the championship, itís much better for them that I make mistakes. Winning wonít help them much anymore if I also finish high up. Iím determined not to fall into that trap again".
Tadayuki Okada. "I made a little mistake on the last lap at Valencia. I just braked a little too hard going into the final corner trying to stay ahead of Kenny Roberts and Garry McCoy. These things can happen. It was still a good race for us. We made the right tyre choice and most importantly, the bike is now working very well. We are now managing to get it dialled in quite early in practice and that means we can then concentrate on finding the perfect settings for the race. Iím confident the bike will prove just as good when we arrive at Phillip Island so I hope we can do well there. What happened to Alex at Valencia was unfortunate for him. But it doesnít mean Iím thinking about the championship any harder. Iím just going to carry on doing what Iíve been doing all season long : try to win every race I enter".
Sete Gibernau. "We made some real progress with the set-up of the bike at Valencia. Itís not perfect yet, but the whole team is working very hard to get things right. Phillip Island is both technical and demanding, but the four cylinder will be more at ease there than on a track as twisty as Valencia. Iím fourth in the championship now. Moving up a place is looking like a tall order, but I must stay ahead of Biaggi, whoís pretty close behind me. Whatever happens, come race day Iíll just be thinking about getting the best possible result. I havenít been on the podium since Assen and I really want to get back up there".
