1998 MotoGP at Johor Circuit

[Guest KISS]

Here's an interesting write up about this particular event held 9 years ago at the Pasir Gudang track.

What's more memorable is that during this time, I was competing in the Johor Race Series and in Jan 98, me and the other competitors were practising on the weekends for the coming 1998 season when Syed told us the FIM guys are coming for an inspection of the track to see if it's viable to hold a motorcyle Grand Prix here in April.

Shah Alam circuit didn't want to host the event, Sepang was not completed yet, the only option is Johor.

 

Here's the article:

 

Malaysian Grand Prix Results.

Doohan Back on Top

By Colin MacKellar

 

1998 Malaysian GRAND PRIX

 

TRACK: Johor

DATE: 19 April 1998

 

WEATHER: Very hot, humid and sultry

 

 

 

500cc Race Results

------------------

 

Pos No. Rider Nat Bike Time/Diff

--- --- ----- --- ---- ---------

1 1 Doohan Aus Hon 45'15.533

2 8 Checa Spa Hon 2.634

3 6 Biaggi Ita Hon 4.410

4 4 Criville Spa Hon 10.619

5 19 Kocinski USA Hon 13.079

6 25 Kageyama Jpn Suz 19.382

7 52 Fujiwara Jpn Yam 41.494

8 17 v.d. Goorbergh Ned Hon(2) 44.970

9 28 Waldmann Ger KR3 52.131

10 18 McCoy Aus Hon(2) 1'00.294

11 10 Roberts Jr. USA KR3 1'20.245

12 23 Wait USA Hon(2) 1'23.599

13 22 Gimbert Fra Hon(2) 1'34.532

 

No Other Finishers

 

 

500cc Championship Points

-------------------------

 

Rider Points JPN MAL

----- ---- --- ---

1. Biaggi 41 25 16

2. Checa 28 8 20

3. Criville 26 13 13

4. Doohan 25 - 25

5. Okada 20 20 -

6. Haga 16 16 -

7. Kocinski 14 3 11

8. Nanba 11 11 -

9. Aoki 10 10 -

10.Kagayama 10 - 10

 

 

Manufacturers Championship

--------------------------

Honda

Yamaha

Suzuki

Modenas KR3

MuZ

 

 

Doohan Takes Tactical Win

Extreme Temperatures Decimate Field

The Malaysian GP is known for it's energy-sapping temperatures and humidity, and this year's event was one of the worst. With temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), the riders had to be in peak condition to be able to concentrate for the full 30 laps of the Johor track. Although one of the oldest riders in the class, Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda) demonstrated that he is also one of the fittest as he executed a race strategy that saw him take the lead on lap 22 from Max Biaggi (Marlboro Team Kanemoto Honda) and pull away for a safe margin of 2 seconds at the flag. Carlos Checa (Movistar Pons Honda) had a good race into second place, with Alex Criville (Repsol Honda) putting aside a disastrous qualification performance to take fourth place from John Kocinski (Movistar Pons Honda). The conditions took their toll on the field with only 13 riders completing the race.

Doohan had managed to wrest pole position from Biaggi in the closing minutes of the second qualification session. Biaggi came back with faster times, but he slid off before he could better Doohan's time. As the race started, the sprint to the first corner was won by Nanba (Team Rainey Yamaha), but Biaggi passed him on the first lap and led the field when they passed the line for the first time. The first lap had already seen some carnage, with Okada (Repsol Honda), Barros (Gresini Honda) and Crafar (Red Bull Yamaha), all biting the dust. The next lap they were joined by Nanba, who was unable to master a fierce tank-slapper and baled out, almost taking Doohan with him as the Australian ran into the back of the Nanba's bike. This put Doohan in second place, with Norik Abe (Team Rainey Yamaha) third and the Movistar men, Checa and Kocinski, close behind.

 

Although things had settled down a little at the front, there were still a lot of bikes falling. On lap four, Nobuatsu Aoki (Suzuki Grand Prix) slid off, the tank igniting and burning when it detached from the bike. Biaggi still led, shadowed closely by Doohan, who gave every impression of being able to pass at will, but deliberately chose to let Biaggi take the more tiring role of race leader. Both riders had a slight advantage on third place rider Abe when his Yamaha stopped on the seventh lap. This put Checa into third place, and over the next five laps he closed the gap on the leaders. Kocinski was unable to move forward with his teammate Checa and found himself competing with Alex Criville, who had been picked off riders from his 17th starting position on the grid.

 

By lap 14 there were only 14 riders left on the track. Biaggi was still leading, closely followed by Doohan and Checa, this group holding a 4-second advantage over Criville and Kocinski as they fought for fourth place. On lap 22, Doohan passed Biaggi on the front straightaway and immediately started to pull away. Three laps later Checa successfully tried the same move on Biaggi, who after commented that during the race he discovered that some of the gears in his gearbox were too short, preventing good drive out of the corner. The race was now essentially over, with Doohan taking the flag comfortably ahead of Checa, followed by Biaggi, Criville and Kocinski.

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

250cc Race Results

------------------

 

Pos No. Rider Nat Bike Time/Diff

--- --- ----- --- ---- ---------

1 31 Harada Jpn Apr 42'55.302

2 5 Ukawa Jpn Hon 1.259

3 19 Jacque Fra Hon 12.166

4 7 Aoki Jpn Hon 15.887

5 65 Capirossi Ita Apr 18.934

6 4 Perugini Ita Hon 19.162

7 9 McWilliams Gbr Hon 21.821

8 11 Fuchs Ger Apr 24.109

9 27 Porto Arg Apr 26.216

10 17 Cardoso Spa Yam 34.541

11 12 Tsujimura Jpn Hon 40.510

12 44 Rolfo Ita Hon 45.201

13 20 Numata Jpn Suz 45.397

14 24 Vincent Gbr Hon 47.662

15 18 Miyazaki Jpn Yam 1'13.383

 

250cc Championship Points

-------------------------

 

Rider Points JPN MAL

----- ---- --- ---

1. Harada 38 13 25

2. Jacque 27 11 16

3. Kato 25 25 -

4. Nakano 20 20 -

5. Ukawa 20 - 20

6. Capirossi 20 9 11

7. Aoki 18 5 13

8. Matsudo 16 16 -

9. McWilliams 15 6 9

10.Perugini 14 4 10

 

 

Harada Takes Hard Win

Rossi Crashes at Last Corner While Leading

This should have been Valentino Rossi's (Nastro Azzurro Aprilia) first 250 GP victory, as he led for much of the race, but he tumbled out of the last corner under pressure from Tetsuya Harada (Aprilia Racing Team). Rossi had ridden the race in a style reminiscent of his 125 days, trying unusual lines, the bike twitching and shaking throughout the race. He was leading the last lap and seemed safe until the last corner, when Harada pushed up the inside and Rossi high-sided when trying to get on the throttle too quickly. Tohru Ukawa (Benetton Honda) was the only NSR Honda that was able to stay with the factory Aprilias, taking second place after Rossi's fall, with Jacque (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda) lucky to take third place.

Jurgen Fuchs (Docshop Racing) was the surprise holder of the pole position after the qualifying sessions, with Capirossi (Aprilia Racing Team), Rossi and Jacque completing the front row. Fuchs did not get away from the lights cleanly and it was Jacque who came through the first corner in the lead. Rossi went by almost immediately and quickly built up a two second advantage. Jeremy McWilliams (QUB Team Optimum Honda) was at the front of a pack of riders competing for third place, consisting of Ukawa, Capirossi and Perugini (Castrol 250 Team Honda). By the end of lap two Harada was still in ninth place, but he cut through the field in the next few laps to catch up to Ukawa and Jacque on lap seven.

 

On lap 10, Harada caught Rossi and spent three laps shadowing him. Rossi seemed to slow the pace a little, but Harada would not pass, resulting in Ukawa joining and passing both on lap 13. All three riders now had a two second advantage over Jacque, with Capirossi, Aoki (FCC TSR Honda), McWilliams and Perugini contesting fourth. The gap between the leading trio and Jacque continued to extend until it had reached seven seconds by lap 21 of the 28 lap race.

 

With two laps to go, Rossi passed Ukawa, taking Harada with him. He seemed to have a slight advantage over the Harada, especially on Turn 3, a tight left-hander, which Rossi cut through very aggressively. He held the lead through to the final half circuit, with Harada just a few yards behind. Rossi set himself up for the slowish right-hander on to the straightaway, by going to the very outside of the track to try and get the best drive out of the corner to the flag. This left a huge gap on the inside which Harada dived into, forcing Rossi wide. Rolling hard on the gas with the bike leaned over, the back stepped out, gripped and threw Rossi over the bars as the bike and rider flipped over the run-off area. Fortunately Rossi walked away.

[biking nomad]

wow!

Never knew MotoGP was in PG!

Tks for digging up the article!

 

Rossi crashing out in Johor reminds me of last season. He's always been a risk taker. Glad he never lost that!

[EVOIIIGSR]

yup ... i was there!

[spy622]

I wonder wat was the lap time??...how many laps did the 500 n 250 rans??

[ambasnakeman]

if i am not wrong, Rossi had his debut here in the 125cc class and finished 9th

[Guest KISS]

Originally posted by ambasnakeman@March 05, 2007 08:10 pm

if i am not wrong, Rossi had his debut here in the 125cc class and finished 9th

Nope, Rossi was in his first year on the 250cc class. He was leading all the way till the end. The crash was spectacular, and it dissapoints the crowd.

 

I don't have the exact timing but here is the time difference between each class.

 

500cc - 1.28

250cc - 1.30

125cc - 1.32

 

That means the fastest 250cc rider will be able to ride around the track together with the slowest 500cc rider.

 

I believe Johor Circuit is the only track on the MotoGP calendar where the time difference between the classes in only a mere 2 secs difference.

 

The 500cc class ran for 30 laps. Many riders found out that PG was a challenging track as many riders fell. Abe fell at Turn 3,Nanba right after Turn 1, Barros at BMW. Read the article.

[-tRuSt-]

Originally posted by ambasnakeman@March 05, 2007 08:10 pm

if i am not wrong, Rossi had his debut here in the 125cc class and finished 9th

yup...rossi had his debut at PG...

[stroker]

And yes, not forgetting to mention when the TV crews were interviewing Doohan, there were sh!tloads of flies hoovering above/ pestering him..

[Guest KISS]

And also, a 125cc rider killed a cobra at Turn 6 during practise time. It was shown on TV.

[Lion]

Doohan's record timing and still standing at PG...

 

1min 28s... Racing without brakes.

[ambasnakeman]

Originally posted by KISS@March 06, 2007 12:15 am

Nope, Rossi was in his first year on the 250cc class. He was leading all the way till the end. The crash was spectacular, and it dissapoints the crowd.

 

I don't have the exact timing but here is the time difference between each class.

 

500cc - 1.28

250cc - 1.30

125cc - 1.32

 

That means the fastest 250cc rider will be able to ride around the track together with the slowest 500cc rider.

 

I believe Johor Circuit is the only track on the MotoGP calendar where the time difference between the classes in only a mere 2 secs difference.

 

The 500cc class ran for 30 laps. Many riders found out that PG was a challenging track as many riders fell. Abe fell at Turn 3,Nanba right after Turn 1, Barros at BMW. Read the article.

how could he have done his debut on 250cc class......i was think all this while he started 125cc on aprilia.....

 

 

doc dol, care to share(singapore's biggest rossi fan)

[Guest KISS]

It's his first year in the 250cc class, not the first year he started racing in the GPs.

 

1996 - 125cc

1997 - 125cc champion

1998 - 250cc debut

1999 - 250cc champion

2000 - 500cc debut

2001 - 500cc champion.

 

I'm not a fan of his but I believe my facts are correct.

[ambasnakeman]

oh cool, so debut in gp was 96, at johor.....than 1998 he did his debut in 250 and he crashed.

 

which corner did he crash......anywhere can get gp videos of johor

[5thRider]

Originally posted by ambasnakeman@March 06, 2007 08:28 pm

oh cool, so debut in gp was 96, at johor.....than 1998 he did his debut in 250 and he crashed.

 

which corner did he crash......anywhere can get gp videos of johor

Last corner... Looked painful...

[ahmadtmz]

I was there too ! ya rossi's crash was painful..

[cosmico]

last corner last lap....harada overtook on the inside of rossi after outbreaking him....rossi being rossi did not want to give up followed harada closely on the outside...right beside harada....and highsided on the exiting apex as he push for more gas....

[JawsJaws]

Originally posted by Lion@March 06, 2007 02:25 pm

Doohan's record timing and still standing at PG...

 

1min 28s... Racing without brakes.

haha this is no brake drill la

somebody was teaching somebody no brake drill at sbf

dont know can work or not

[stroker]

Originally posted by cosmico@March 07, 2007 12:22 am

last corner last lap....harada overtook on the inside of rossi after outbreaking him....rossi being rossi did not want to give up followed harada closely on the outside...right beside harada....and highsided on the exiting apex as he push for more gas....

Yeah, now I rem which scene... ;=)

[Guest KISS]

Originally posted by ambasnakeman@March 06, 2007 08:28 pm

oh cool, so debut in gp was 96, at johor.....than 1998 he did his debut in 250 and he crashed.

 

which corner did he crash......anywhere can get gp videos of johor

Rossi makes his 1996 debut at the 125cc class not at Johor, coz the Grand Prix was held at PG once in 1998. Probably at Shah Alam then.

 

The videos? I have them before but gave away recently.

 

And also the World Superbike event did have 4 races held at Pasir Gudang in 1992 and 1993.

[cagiva03]

Even the 125 cc are doing 1 min 32 sec. What the hell!!!!!!

[Guest KISS]

Originally posted by cagiva03@March 07, 2007 10:49 pm

Even the 125 cc are doing 1 min 32 sec. What the hell!!!!!!

They are the best riders on the best machines on this planet. Not suprising timings.

 

In 1997, a Japanese female rider on a 250cc was clocking around 1.36 in the Asia Pac race! I forgot her name.

[stroker]

Originally posted by KISS@March 08, 2007 12:40 am

They are the best riders on the best machines on this planet. Not suprising timings.

 

In 1997, a Japanese female rider on a 250cc was clocking around 1.36 in the Asia Pac race! I forgot her name.

On a PGM4. Cheers

[stroker]

Originally posted by cagiva03@March 07, 2007 10:49 pm

Even the 125 cc are doing 1 min 32 sec. What the hell!!!!!!

Not surprising. The thais on the honda rs125s are already clocking 1:36s. So a 1:32 for GP-grade factory 125s is hardly surprising..

 

Cheers.

[Tortise]

Originally posted by stroker@March 08, 2007 04:53 am

Not surprising. The thais on the honda rs125s are already clocking 1:36s. So a 1:32 for GP-grade factory 125s is hardly surprising..

 

Cheers.

U mean the thais are riding Honda RS125? Damn where did they get that bike?

 

I hope they dun qualify for Malaysian Race Series. We will all have a big problem wit dat.

 

[stroker]

Originally posted by Slowpoke34@March 08, 2007 08:56 am

U mean the thais are riding Honda RS125? Damn where did they get that bike?

 

I hope they dun qualify for Malaysian Race Series. We will all have a big problem wit dat.

 

Yes, the thais were on Honda RS125s before. But that was during the 2001 era. They've since stop participarting in most races in msia.

 

Anyway, side track a little, the thais are so good, whichever bike they enter with spells trouble for us. ha.