MOTORCYCLES : Doohan Is Set to Win for Australia

Mick Doohan of Queensland, Australia, has already clinched the world 500cc motorcycle road racing championship, so what’s his incentive in today’s United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Raceway?

“It’s pay-back time,” he said with a grin. “Americans won the last two Australian GPs, so it’s up to me to pay them back.”

John Kocinski, defending USGP champion from Little Rock, Ark., won this year’s season-opener in Australia and Kevin Schwantz of Paige, Tex., won last year en route to the world championship.

Schwantz, runner-up to Doohan this season, fell during morning practice Saturday and will miss the rest of the season, including today’s race. The fall, which came at low speed in Laguna Seca’s famed corkscrew corner, dislocated his left hip and broke his right wrist. Schwantz was already riding with a cast on his ailing left wrist, which had been broken twice earlier in the season.

“Not making the start of my home Grand Prix is a big disappointment,” Schwantz said after having his hip popped back in place and returning to the track. “It seems like this place just doesn’t like me.”

He plans to have immediate surgery on the left wrist so it will have time to strengthen before next season.

Doohan gave an indication of his resolve when he stole the No. 1 qualifying position from Kocinski on his final lap of the 2.214-mile hillside circuit. His lap of 91.893 m.p.h. was just 0.008 seconds quicker than the defending champion.

Luca Cadalora of Italy, riding for Kenny Roberts’ Marlboro Yamaha team, was third, followed by Shinichi Itoh of Japan and Doug Chandler, Kocinski’s Cagiva teammate from Salinas, who moved up to fifth when Schwantz withdrew.

“It’ll be a close race, the same as last year,” Doohan said. “It’s the nature of the track. The thing is that it’s all stop and start, which makes it difficult to make up an advantage on anyone.”

Kocinski also said he expected a repeat of last year’s battle.

“Winning at home meant a lot of me,” Kocinski said. “I feel good about Sunday’s race, but you have to ride within the limits of your motorcycle, and so far we’ve not been able to get around here as quick as Doohan. I think it will go down to me, Mick and Cadalora.”

Doohan, 29, is on target to equal Giacomo Agostini of Italy as the winningest single-season rider in Grand Prix history. With eight victories in the year’s 11 races to date, Doohan needs to win today and also in Argentina and Spain to equal Agostini’s 1972 record of 11 victories on his factory MV Agusta.

Doohan appeared to have the title won in 1992 after winning five of the first seven races, but a leg injury from a crash during practice for the Dutch GP caused him to miss enough races that Rainey caught and passed him in the final race.

The leg, which apparently was not set properly, caused him problems all last season before he underwent another operation to repair the earlier damage.

“I almost quit after the 1993 season because I didn’t have the strength to ride the way I needed to ride to win,” Doohan said. “Like here at Laguna Seca. I was leading late in the race when I fell. It was because I lacked the strength to keep going.”

Doohan was leading with only seven laps remaining last year when he fell and gave the lead and the victory to Kocinski.