Newsgroup: it.sport
Titolo: Dorna NEWS - Lucky Strike Riders

19 July 1996 - 18:30 CET
First Qualifying Practice
LUCKY MEN IN THICK OF CLOSE TIMES
Team Lucky Strike Suzuki riders Scott Russell and Terry Rymer were among 
the fast men in today's first qualifying session
for Sunday's British GP, where the first 11 riders set times within a 
second of the lap-record pole time.
Unfortunately, they were at the wrong end of the group, with Russell 
11th and Rymer 14th. Both had been higher in "untimed"
practice in the morning, with Russell third overall and Rymer seventh. 
"With times this close, it's a bit of a lottery where you
end up - but we have a day left," said team manager Garry Taylor
Provisional pole went to 500-class rookie Jean-Michel Bayle's Yamaha, 
narrowly ahead of defending champion Michael
Doohan's Honda; but both times were outside the long-standing lap record 
set in 1991 by Kevin Schwantz's Lucky Strike
Suzuki.
SCOTT RUSSELL - 11th Position, 1:34.343
I'm going faster than I did last year. But then - ra ra - I knew I was 
going to do that. I'm not happy with my position. I reckon
we can do something about that tomorrow.
I like Donington Park, but I'm trying not to make it like a place where 
I'll go better than usual because of that. I want to go the
same at all tracks.
We started with the bike too stiff at the rear, which is the way it 
needs to be for Assen and Nurburgring, but it was making it
too nervous under braking here. We have good settings from last year, so 
we have a base to work from - but to be honest I
hoped I'd be further down the road now, testing race tyres, and we're 
still chasing settings.
TERRY RYMER - 14th Position, 1:34.994
I know this track well, but this is the fastest I've ever been round it. 
That's a personal milestone.
I'm still having trouble with the right ankle I injured when I was 
brought down in the warm-up lap in Germany. Because of that
I had to pull out of the Spa 24-Hour race last weekend.
Now it's a bit painful, but it's on the mend. The main problem is moving 
around on the bike to change direction or move my
weight over the bars.
I'm easing myself into this race; trying to treat it like any other, to 
be a little better every time I go out. There's a lot of extra
pressure from the Press, being the only British works 500 rider. It's 
difficult to shrug off, but I tell myself to be focussed and to
concentrate. So far, it's working.
GARRY TAYLOR - Team Manager
Scott's chasing settings, and seems to be getting a bit worried about 
it. We'll work on helping him calm down a bit - he's on
for a good result here if he can do that.
Terry's carrying an injury, and a lot of pressure, which isn't ideal. 
He'll be okay, though. His approach is very cool - he's really
impressed us all, I’m sure he will be up there.
Address: 
http://www.speednet-pro.com
-- 
Dorna NEWS is a service of
FIM World Motorcycle Championship
Official Information Service
http://www.dorna.com
Developed by Delta Tre Informatica srl
http://www.deltatre.it

20 July 1996 - 18:30 CET
Final Qualifying Practice
LUCKY MEN MISS OUT IN LAST SESSION SCRAMBLE
Team Lucky Strike Suzuki riders Scott Russell and Terry Rymer were out 
of luck in a stunning final practice session for
tomorrow's British GP. Although both improved on their times of 
yesterday - with Russell equalling last year's pole time - the
other riders also found something extra, and the pair ended up 12th and 
15th respectively.
This put them on the third and fourth rows of a very tight-packed 
starting grid, and kept the pressure on for a flying start at a
circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
Russell was angry after the end of the session, when his last attempt at 
a hot lap was spoiled when he was baulked by a
slower rider at the final chicane. Donington is a favourite track for 
the American former Superbike World Champion, and he
had hoped at least to equal his front-row position of last year. Russell 
did not start the race, after being brought down at high
speed by a rider who turned across him on the main straight.
A hard-fought pole position went to Michael Doohan's Honda from Loris 
Capirossi's Yamaha, with the first seven riders
inside the track's long-standing lap record.
SCOTT RUSSELL - 12th Position, 1:33.762
I'm sick. I'd hoped for so much - certainly the front row. I was going 
for a fast lap right at the end, and then I got stuck behind
a privateer for the last three corners. It made me mad.
Still, that's only practice. I always do go faster in the race than in 
qualifying.
There's the question of starting so far back - it's hard to pass round 
here, so I'll need to make up as many places as I can by
the first corner. I've been starting pretty good the past few races, so 
I'm confident.
What we did today was to soften the bike up, and make it less nervous. 
It's better, but we were still chasing the final settings,
which you don't want to be doing.
What you'll need tomorrow is not a bike that'll do one fast lap, but to 
get it right for 33 laps consistently. That's what I've been
working on, and it's the race that counts.
TERRY RYMER - 15TH Position, 1:34.264
It's going alright. We're not really very far away, and I know exactly 
where I'm losing the time - on the final section, with the
slow chicane and the two hairpins. Because of my ankle injury from two 
weeks ago I'm finding it hard to move the bike
around, and I'm slower than I should be through the quick changes of 
direction.
You wouldn't want to start from 15th, but I'm remembering that there are 
some real qualifying experts among the fast guys. It
all depends how much you want to risk, when it's not even the race yet.
We've been working on feel at the front, to make the corner entries less 
uncertain. We were still making small geometry
changes this afternoon, but I'm fairly happy with the bike as it stands, 
and I'm looking forward to the race.
GARRY TAYLOR - Team Manager
Disappointing positions, but as everyone can see it is very, very close. 
There's still everything to race for.
Scott's been trying one or two things out, and then he lost his chance 
of a better time with a slower rider in his way. He always
races better than he practises, so he's still on for a good result.
Terry's doing really well considering he's carrying an injury. We must 
have just about exhausted the Shires of ice to ice-pack
his ankle, but it's been all-action throughout practice, and there 
simply hasn't been a chance for him to rest it up. He's doing a
really professional job for us substituting for Daryl Beattie while he 
is injured.


21 July 1996 - 17:00 CET
Race
LUCKY MAN RUSSELL STORMS TO FIGHTING FIFTH
Team Lucky Strike Suzuki rider Scott Russell rode to an excellent fifth 
place in the British Grand Prix here today, forcing his
way forward from a lowly 12th qualifying position to be challenging for 
the top-three rostrum by the finish.
Russell took the fastest lap of the race as he kept the pressure on, an 
amazing four thousandths short of former Lucky Strike
Suzuki rider Kevin Schwantz's long-standing 1991 lap record.
The race was won by Michael Doohan in the last lap. His team-mate Alex 
Criville was second, and Japanese GP winner
Norifumi Abe (Yamaha) third.
Russell's ride saw him way down into the first corner after starting 
from the third row of the grid. By the end of the lap he had
picked his way through to 12th, and he kept on pushing forward to arrive 
in fourth on the 21st of the 30 laps.
By the finish, the former Superbike World Champion was less than a 
second away from a top-three rostrum result, with third
to fifth places crossing the line almost close enough for a photo 
finish.
Temporary team-mate Terry Rymer, riding with an injured ankle after a 
crash at the German GP two weeks ago, crashed out
unhurt on the fourth of 30 laps.
The race was run in warm, sunny conditions, after dry weather throughout 
practice.
SCOTT RUSSELL - Fifth Position
That was a tough race. I was fighting for grip all the way, and 
struggling to stay with the group. But I kept trying because I
was sure I could get third.
Maybe I could have, but I made a couple of mistakes in the last couple 
of laps that lost me time, and I was just that little too
far behind to make the attack I was planning.
I got a good launch off the start line, then it bogged down a bit, so my 
hopes of moving through from the third row to be
among the leaders didn't work out. It wasn't easy to pick my way through 
people, but I was making progress so I kept
pushing to the end.
I'd hoped for a good result here, and if things had been only a little 
different I might have had one. I did my best, anyway.
TERRY RYMER - DNF
There's not much to say. I've had a hard weekend, what with trying to 
overcome pain from my ankle all the time - then it
ended with a crash. I must have been pushing a bit too hard too soon. 
Damn.
GARRY TAYLOR - Team Manager
Scott rode a blinder of a race. Coming through from where he started was 
a real achievement, and getting fastest lap proved
how hard he was trying. The weekend didn't go as well as we'd hoped, but 
his performance puts the whole team in a really
positive frame of mind. He keeps getting stronger race by race.
Terry didn't deserve to get knocked off and hurt at the last race, and 
he didn't deserve to be still paying the price now. Just
one of those days, I suppose.
