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Schwantz on a roll

World Champion Kevin Schwantz recently served notice that he has no intention of relinquishing his number-one plate without a fight.

In the second of a comprehensive series of pre-season test sessions, Schwantz lapped Australia’s Eastern Creek GP course aboard a prototype of his 1994 Suzuki RGV500 at 1:31.4, unofficially equaling the lap record set by Michael Doohan in the 1992 Australian GP. Eastern Creek is the site of the 1994 season opener March 27.

Schwantz reportedly does indeed intend to carry the championship number one on his bike’s number plates. Schwantz, who insists he’s not superstitious, admits his traditional number 34-the number used by his racing uncle-also will be there, smaller and in shadow type.

Ex-MXer Bayle lands Aprilia GP ride

Don’t look now, but former motocross champion Jean-Michel Bayle has landed a plum of a ride in just his second full season of grand prix roadracing.

Bayle, who commands a valuable sponsorship deal from Chesterfield France, reportedly has signed a deal to pilot an Aprilia 250 GP machine as part of a race team that also inludes established stars Jean-Philippe Ruggia and Max Biaggi.

Bayle was dubbed “Jean-Michel Snail’’ by a sarcastic European media after a less-than-stellar beginning last season aboard privately entered Aprilias using works engines.

McGrath unbeatable for supercross championship?

Honda sensation and 1993 Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath is proving skeptics wrong as he continues smashing the record books. With five rounds down, McGrath confounded those who claimed he could not repeat his 1993 feat, blitzing to convincing wins in the first four supercross rounds in Orlando, Houston, Anaheim and San Diego.

Michael Craig, Yamaha’s replacement for the retired Damon Bradshaw, is the only rider to beat McGrath, doing so in the series’ fifth round, in Tampa. He challenged McGrath for the lead in the San Diego race the week previous, but saw his chance come alive in Tampa as McGrath crashed off the course and lost more time than could be made up, eventually finishing fifth.

Though great starts have played a big role in the scheme of things, McGrath is noticeably a level faster than the rest of the field, and when coming from behind it almost appears as if he is toying with the other riders. These riders include Kawasaki’s Mike LaRocco, who at the beginning of the season appeared to be the biggest threat to McGrath. That threat vanished, at least in the sense of series points, as LaRocco’s Kawasaki broke its engine cases while coming up short over a set of triples in the main event of the Anaheim round.

Even after his Tampa slip, McGrath has a firm grip on the series with a 26-point lead on Craig, 1 16 to 90. Kawasaki’s Mike Kiederowski sits in third after a slow but consistant series start, with 81 points.