Newsgroup: it.sport
Titolo: Dorna NEWS - Chesterfield Riders

5 July 1996 - 18:30 CET
First 250cc Qualifying
Jean-Philippe Ruggia (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): fourth, 2m 02.308s
Jean-Philippe Ruggia is still suffering from the heavy fall he had at 
Assen last Saturday, caused by an engine seizure. Despite
that and a crash in this morning's free practice outing, the Frenchman 
excelled in monsoon conditions at the Nurburgring this
afternoon, taking a provisional fourth fastest as the rain got heavier 
and heavier.
"I crashed on my third lap this morning," said Ruggia. "I was running in 
the engine at the time, and I suppose I wasn't
concentrating hard enough. The fall meant I missed most of the session, 
so the bike wasn't so good this afternoon and we
have a lot of work to do on the gearbox and carburation. But the main 
problem is the track - it's very slippery, so it's
very easy to crash. I'm also still getting a lot of pain from my back 
after my crash at Assen. I also broke a finger in the fall, so
I'm not exactly in great shape."
Olivier Jacque (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): tenth, 2m 03.202s
Frenchman Olivier Jacque tumbled out of this afternoon's soaking wet 
first qualifying session at the Nurburgring. He was not
really hurt in the tumble, but the fall cost him valuable time and he 
ended up only tenth fastest.
"The rear end just slid away from me," said Jacque. "I'm very 
disappointed and I'm getting a lot of pain from the right knee I
bashed when I fell. The bike was working quite well before the crash, 
but a factory bike is more difficult to ride in the rain;
the power delivery is more peaky than the production bike I raced last 
year. It's also very difficult to feel how much grip
you've got at this track."
Massimiliano Biaggi (Chesterfield Aprilia Team): 14th, 2m 04.288s
World Champion Massimiliano Biaggi struggled through this afternoon's 
first qualifying session, taking a lowly 14th fastest in
the appalling conditions. The Italian is still suffering from the 
injuries he sustained when he crashed in the first qualifying
session for last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix at Assen.
"If anything, my back is worse than it was last weekend," said a pained 
Biaggi. "I can't even stand up straight at the moment,
and I needed ten mesotherapy injections just to be able to ride. But it 
was very important to ride and set up the bike for
these conditions, because it seems like the weather may still be bad on 
Sunday. It's not easy for me out there. When it's wet
you get very tense on the bike, and that makes my back even worse."
-- 
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6 July 1996 - 19:00 CET
Final 250cc Qualifying
Massimiliano Biaggi (Chesterfield Aprilia Team): second, 1m 434.141s
Constantly changing weather conditions were the most significant factor 
on the final day of qualifying at the Nurburgring today.
Despite the weather and the lingering after-effects of his big Assen 
crash, World Champion Massimiliano Biaggi went to the
top of the table this afternoon, only to be knocked back to second 
fastest when local Ralf Waldmann (Honda) bettered the
Italian's time on his final lap.
"I'm surprised to be as high as second," said Biaggi. "My back hurts so 
much, you can't believe it. It is losing me a lot of time
through the changes of direction. That is normally my strong point, but 
I cannot change direction so fast now. I had
mesotherapy for pain today and I'll have pain-killers again tomorrow. My 
aim is to maintain my string of podium finishes,
because I may not be able to win with my back hurting so much."
There was controversy at the end of the session when Waldmann's 
team-mate Jurgen Fuchs, Jean-Philippe Ruggia and other
riders were relegated to the back row of the grid for constantly cutting 
the final chicane. After further conferring, officials
finally decided to reverse their decision.
Olivier Jacque (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): fourth, 1m 44.890s
Frenchman Olivier Jacque made sure of a front row start with fourth 
fastest time today, less than a second off pole sitter Ralf
Waldmann's best lap.
"I wasn't riding on the limit because I wasn't getting the right feeling 
from the bike," said Jacque. "We made a change to the
gearbox today and that didn't work either. The knee I hurt when I 
crashed yesterday is okay, though it is a little difficult to
bend the leg. I went over the kerb three or four times at the chicane, 
and I was faster on those laps. But I don't think that
taking that line is such a big advantag, because you lose time when you 
accelerate. Anyway I'm still on the front row and that's
the main thing."
Jean-Philippe Ruggia (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): seventh, 1m 
45.072s
Jean-Philippe Ruggia struggled with his bike set-up today but took 
seventh fastest time for a second row start. Earlier he had
been one of the riders accused of jumping the chicane too often, and 
officials moved him towards the back of the grid. They
later reversed their decision.
"I'm angry, because this morning they told us we can cut the chicane, 
and now they say we cannot," said Ruggia, before the
final decision. "It's incredible - we don't even know what parts of the 
track we can use, and what parts we can't. During the
last five minutes I stopped for a new rear tyre. On my last lap I did 
cut the chicane and that was my fastest lap. I'm not happy
with the settings I've got and I hope it rains tomorrow. I think I'll do 
better if it's wet."


7 July 1996 - 18:00 CET
250cc Race
Olivier Jacque (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): second
Frenchman Olivier Jacque ended his run of bad luck to score his first 
Grand Prix podium finish with second place behind Ralf
Waldmann (Honda) today. Jacque, who had crashed out of first and second 
places at the last two GPs, fought a superb battle
with Waldmann, Max Biaggi and Jurgen Fuchs (Honda). He ended the race 
two second behind Waldmann, and over a
second ahead of third-placed Fuchs.
"I'm really, really happy - we've been waiting for this for a very long 
time," said Jacque. "I think it's come at a good time too,
because the Hondas are getting really fast now and we can finally beat 
Biaggi's Aprilia. That's what cheers me up the most -
because I now think I've got a chance of winning at Donington in two 
weeks time."
Massimiliano Biaggi (Chesterfield Aprilia Team): fourth
World Champion Massimiliano Biaggi bravely rode to fourth place this 
afternoon, shrugging off the pain from the back injuries
he sustained when he crashed heavily at Assen last week. Biaggi fought 
hard with Ralf Waldmann, Olivier Jacque and Jurgen
Fuchs, leading for much of the race. He started the last lap third, but 
Fuchs relegated him to fourth. Biaggi re-passed the
German at the hairpin, but ran wide. His fourth-place finish ended his 
string of podium finishes which had lasted for 17 GPs,
and leaves intact Giacomo Agostini's record of 22 consecutive top three 
finishes.
"I'm happy that I finished and got some points, because that wasn't at 
all easy," said Biaggi, who raced without pain-killers.
"My back hurt a lot and that did slow me a bit. What I'm unhappy about 
is that I lost my chance at beating Ago's record - he
can sleep soundly now! The Aprilia wasn't so good today. The Hondas 
seemed to work well here, especially Waldmann's
because it's his home track."
Jean-Philippe Ruggia (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): seventh
Jean-Philippe Ruggia finished a bitterly disappointed seventh after a 
long and gruelling battle with Luis D'Antin (Honda) and
Luca Boscoscuro (Aprilia). 
"I'm really unhappy about that," said Ruggia. "My bike just wasn't fast 
enough. It seems like the Hondas of Waldmann,
Jacque, Fuchs, Aoki and D'Antin aren't the same as mine."
