AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX: Alex the Lucky
OKADA WINS AND CRIVILLE KEEPS POINTS LEAD
PHILLIP ISLAND
OCTOBER 3
500 World Championship leader Alex Criville can count himself the luckiest man in GP racing after finishing fifth in Sunday's high-speed Australian GP.
The Spanish star had crashed heavily during Friday afternoon qualifying, cracking a bone in his left wrist and was worried he wouldn't even be able to start the race. His injury gave title rival Kenny Roberts a golden opportunity to take a big bite out of the Repsol Honda man's points lead and the American wasn't going to miss his chance.
Roberts dominated the weekend, taking a clear-cut pole position and leading the race from the first lap, when he survived a heart-stopping tankslapper as he accelerated onto the pit straight. From there he steadily built a five-second lead, then with just five laps to go he slowed dramatically as his Suzuki's tortured Michelin rear slick started to break up. One by one his pursuers swept past and suddenly Roberts' title hopes were fading away.
Determined not to give in, he limped home tenth, but instead of cutting into Criville's 46-point lead, he heads into this weekend's South African GP 56 points adrift with just three GPs to go. "We thought we'd win that one but it didn't work out like that," he said. "Everything was going fine when suddenly I felt a bang from the rear end, and the bike started vibrating. I knew it was a tire problem and I had to back right off."
Criville - battling against the pain and struggling to hold onto fourth - could hardly believe his luck as he passed Roberts' stricken Suzuki, allowing him to ease up for a safe fifth-place finish. "On Friday I didn't even think I'd be racing so this result is incredible, though Kenny's problem obviously helped us," said Criville, who was accused of jumping the start. "I had to fight the pain all the way, it was especially bad on the brakes where I was struggling to be precise."
Roberts' end-of-race drama helped move race winner Tady Okada into second place overall, making the Japanese Criville's main threat for the last three races of the year. Okada took the lead for the first time just two corners from the flag. Until Roberts slowed he'd been enjoying a hectic scrap for second with Marlboro Yamaha man Max Biaggi and Valencia winner Regis Laconi (Red Bull Yamaha). Suddenly the trio found themselves duking it out for the win, with Biaggi out front by a fraction. The Italian stayed there until Okada dived ahead into the final first-gear hairpin, holding his advantage to the line for his third win of the year.
Okada stated, "Kenny Roberts was very fast today, there's no doubt about that. I don't think I would have been able to catch him if he hadn't had a problem. But then several riders had a problem today. I guess it was all down to making the right tire choice. It was a very hard race for me. My bike seemed better in some places than the Yamahas and that did help. But I was trying to pass Max (Biaggi) all the time and he was making it really hard for me. I put everything I could into that last braking move."
Laconi was right behind in third, just 0.124 seconds covering the three men at the finish. "I loved that race," grinned Okada. "Max was making it really hard for me but my bike seemed better in some places than his Yamaha. Now I have a possibility of winning the championship, I will try my best at the next races."
Biaggi was happy to be second but frustrated not to have broken his victory drought - the world number two has yet to win a race this year. "Losing a race on the last lap is never nice," he said. "I could hear Tady's engine so I knew he was close and though I tried to close the door, he got me into that downhill hairpin where it's easy to lose control on the brakes."
Laconi was exultant in third - the second podium finish of his career in as many races. "I hope this proves I can race for the win, wet or dry," said the Frenchman who won Valencia on a damp track. "I love to fight with other riders so that race was super fun."
Biaggi's team-mate Carlos Checa took fourth in the last few laps, overcoming Criville and third Repsol man Sete Gibernau, who also suffered rear tire problems along with Honda Pons riders Alex Barros and Juan Borja.
The high-speed Phillip Island track gives tires a harder time that any other GP track, largely due to the awesome fourth-gear final left hander where riders use plenty of wheelspin. "Okada chose a tire that would go the distance, some other riders didn't," explained Michelin GP boss Jacques Morelli. "Okada gets some chatter with the 16.5 he chose but he could deal with that because he knew it would be good right through the race."
Garry McCoy's hopes of repeating his Valencia podium finish in front of his home crowd came to nothing after a tough two days of qualifying. "Considering where we started from, I'm happy to get seventh," said the diminutive Red Bull Yamaha rider. "I started okay but then ran wide on the second lap and screwed up any chance I had of catching the leaders."
Fellow local hero Anthony Gobert's debut ride on the MuZ lasted just two corners, the Aussie wild child cart wheeling into a tire wall after running wide and onto the grass. "Checa got hit by someone and suddenly there was no place left to go," said Goey. "I hit the brakes hard, the rear came round and I was nearly thrown over the 'bars before I went off the track and into the tire wall. I'm a little concussed but otherwise okay."
Norick Abe made a strong showing on his Yamaha, battling with Biaggi until his exhaust broke, and front-row qualifier Tetsuya Harada withdrew with suspension, tire and engine woes.
Race results Phillip Island - 500cc W. Championship
1. Tadayuki OKADA JAP Repsol Honda Team HONDA 42í09.271 1st A.CRIVILLÉ 230 pts.
2. Max BIAGGI ITA Marlboro Yamaha Team YAMAHA 42í09.356 2nd T.OKADA 189 pts.
3. Régis LACONI FRA Red Bull Yamaha WCM YAMAHA 42í09.395 3rd K.ROBERTS 179 pts.
4. Carlos CHECA SPA Marlboro Yamaha Team YAMAHA 42í18.768 4th M.BIAGGI 129 pts.
5. Alex CRIVILLÉ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 42í19.082 5th S.GIBERNAU 124 pts.
6. Sete GIBERNAU SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 42í19.962 6th C.CHECA 102 pts.
7. Garry MCCOY AUS Red Bull Yamaha WCM YAMAHA 42í21.406 7th J.KOCINSKI 97 pts.
8. Nobuatsu AOKI JAP Suzuki Grand Prix Team SUZUKI 42í34.299 8th T.HARADA 94 pts.
9. John KOCINSKI USA Kanemoto Honda HONDA 42í34.490 9th R.LACONI 92 pts.
10. Kenny ROBERTS USA Suzuki Grand Prix Team SUZUKI 42í50.923 10th N.ABE 88 pts.
