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RACE WATCH
Can anyone stop Doohan?
If Mick Doohan would like to forget his 1993 GP season, he most surely will want to remember 1994. For if Doohan marks 1993 as the year in which his career was on hold as a result of a 1992 leg injury and its subsequently botched medical treatment, he’ll also mark 1994 as the year he won six straight grands prix, bringing his season total to seven wins. The last time anyone did something similar was 1972, when Giacomo Agostini won five straight aboard his MV. Ago, now in charge of Cagiva’s GP fortunes, went on to win the world championship in 1972, his seventh in the 500cc class.
Can Doohan also emerge from his record-setting string-the latest of which, at presstime, was the French GP-a world champion? That’ll depend on Doohan and his two closest challengers-Kevin Schwantz and John Kocinski. By the time nine of this year’s 14 rounds were in the record books, they’re the only two men, besides Doohan, to have won a race. Kocinski, who has had his problems after winning the opener, finished second in France and is third in the points standings, all but out of the picture a whopping 104 points behind Doohan’s total of 211. And Schwantz, who crashed out of fourth place two corners from the conclusion of the French GP, isn’t in much better shape-he’s second in the standings, with 135 points. He continues to struggle with his 185-horsepower racebike using a left wrist dislocated in a practice get-off at the Dutch TT.
Can anyone beat Doohan?
Well, maybe, but they’d better hurry. At presstime five races remained, so this might just be Doohan’s championship to lose. To do that, he’d have to crash out of, or experience mechanical failure in, more than three of the remaining five races. If he fell out of just three and if Schwantz won those three races, Schwantz still would be a point behind Doohan’s current total. If Doohan wins one more race in which Schwantz fails to score a point, the championship will be his. Stranger things have happened.
Falappa showing signs of improvement
Factory Ducati World Superbike pilot Giancarlo Falappa, who remains unconscious after suffering severe head injuries in a testing accident June 11 at Albacete, Spain, is said to be showing small signs of improvement.
Falappa was injured when the engine of his Ducati Superbike blew up, the mechanical carnage apparently seizing the engine and spitting Falappa off head-first.
In a treatment similar to that administered to Formula One racer Karl Wendlinger following his accident in this year’s Grand Prix of Monaco, doctors have held Falappa in a medically induced coma. The purpose of the treatment is to control swelling of cranial tissue. Wendlinger apparently is on the road to near-complete recovery, but doctors say it’s far too early to speculate about the success of the treatment in Falappa’s case. To help minimize pressure on brain tissue caused by swelling, doctors reportedly have drilled holes in Falappa’s skull.
Stunned team members said they would maintain a vigil at Falappa’s bedside because, one of them remarked, “It’s very important that someone from the team be there when Giancarlo opens his eyes.”
Falappa, a former motocrosser, is known for an aggressive, late-braking riding style that includes squaring off corners, MX-style. He was third in the World Superbike points standings at the time of his accident.
A champion bows out
The names of those who have retired recently from the Supercross/motocross wars comprise an impressive list of champions. Included on it are the names Damon Bradshaw, Jeff Ward and Johnny O’Mara.
And now, add to that list Jeff Stanton, who announced his impending retirement while accepting his thirdplace trophy following the Red Bud National Motocross in Buchanan, Michigan.
Stanton has won three Supercross championships and three 250 national motocross championships, and has been a member of the U.S. MX des Nations team many times. He now says racing isn’t as much fun as it used to be. So, he says, he’ll retire from riding after the end of the national motocross series in September.
Coming, as it did, over the track PA system, Stanton’s announcement was a surprise to his Honda team. “They didn’t know I was going to say anything today,” Stanton said.
No word from Honda on who might replace Stanton on next year’s squad.
Smith twice as reliable
Team Suzuki off-road racer Rodney Smith recently wrapped up his second-straight AMA National Reliability Series Championship. That’s the series the AMA uses to qualify riders for its International Six Day Enduro team. Smith battled with Suzuki teammate Randy Hawkins, who, riding in the 125cc class, was gaining points on Smith in the tighter eastern events. But Smith came alive as the series moved west, clinching the championship with one round remaining by taking the win at the Trask Two Day. Smith continued his winning ways by seizing the victory at the series’ final round in Speedsville, New York.
So, does that mean Smith is on the Six Days team? Not necessarily, as team members are yet to be determined. The AMA says it’s selecting 19 potential team members, one of whom will be Smith. After an intensive training camp, six riders for the Trophy team, and four for the Junior team, will be selected.
