The 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons in the Motorcycle World Championship were dominated by Repsol Honda. The official team of HRC, Honda’s competition department, led the way through the all–conquering Mick Doohan and Alex Criville. The latter, plus compatriots Alberto Puig and Carlos Checa, definitively opened the doors for Spaniards in the premier class.
The union of Repsol and the biggest brand in motorcycle racing was fundamental. Until the end of 1993, HRC bikes had used the blue and white livery of tabacco company Rothmans, and in 1994 the team had not found a suitable sponsor. At the end of that campaign, Repsol allied itself with the Japanese giant, beginning an era of continued success.
From March 1995 through to October 1997, the Repsol Honda team won 18 of the 28 Grands Prix contested. That meant some 65% of the available victories. There were 26 further podium finishes, through riders such as Mick Doohan and Alex Criville, Shinichi Itoh and Tadayuki Okada.
The lion’s share of the wins went to Australian legend Doohan, who had already earnt the 1994 500cc title and added a further two to his trophy cabinet with Repsol. Nobody was able to match him in the 1994 and 1995 seasons as he won in comprehensive fashion, time and time again.
Doohan’s strategy was to break away from pole position, killing the race off as a competitive contest three or four laps in. The familiar “No problem; another race, another win. I’m satisfied” would be uttered with a smile after almost every GP.
Indeed, few riders were ever able to provide him with problems. Luca Cadalora and fellow Australian Daryl Beattie took advantage of rare mistakes from Doohan to pressure him in 1995, but there was nobody consistent enough to wrestle the title from his grasp.
Doohan enjoyed complete superiority in the World Championship, until Criville emerged from his shadow to make things difficult. The wake–up call came in 1995, when the Spaniard won the season finale at his home race in Montmelo.
When the 1996 season began, Criville was a new man; a rider who had discovered that he set the limits for himself. He trained exhaustively in the winter at his gym in Vic, on the Kenny Roberts dirttrack at Montmelo, in the mountains near his home and at the Sentul circuit. His preparation bore fruit, as the Repsol Honda rider became an authentic contender for the title.
The battle with Doohan was full of unforgettable moments. Take, for example, the final lap of the Spanish GP at Jerez, when a crowd invasion distracted Criville and he was passed by his rival –later crashing on the final corner in a desperate attempt to regain the lead.
And who could forget the final lap battles between Criville and Doohan at the Dutch TT, the Austrian GP, the Czech round and the Catalan race? Or at Doohan’s home round in Eastern Creek?
Criville’s first win came in the Austrian GP, over his Australian teammate. “Now I know that I can beat him,” he said after the victory, and he would do just that fifteen days later at Brno. A photo–finish was required, but Criville was awarded the triumph by just two–thousandths of a second –just 10 centimetres in distance.
The summer of ’96 was something akin to a civil war. Every race featured a tussle between the duo, but Doohan would win the title with races to spare due to his consistency and Criville’s worse start to the campaign. The hostilities reached a climax at the final round of the year, at Eastern Creek.
Criville had wanted to repay Doohan for his colleague’s win at Jerez with victory on the Australian’s home turf. The final lap at Eastern Creek would be one of the most spectacular of the 500cc era. Neither of the two would back off an inch, and that was precisely why both would end up crashing out of the race.
Criville’s establishing himself as a main candidate for the title provided a revitalisation for Spanish racing, with increased coverage and publicity for the sport. The possibility of a Spanish 500cc World Champion attracted a renewed interest from fans, as did the presence of Alberto Puig and Carlos Checa in the Sito Pons–run team capable of winning races.
Puig won at Jerez in May of 1995 and Checa did likewise at Montmeló in September 1996. These two home victories were enormous for the team and for the riders. Sito Pons had been the first Spaniard to move up to 500cc, alongside Juan Garriga, and in his new role as team manager he had brought through Criville, Puig, Checa and Juan Bautista Borja.
A serious accident at Le Mans in practice for the 1995 French GP left Puig with an horrific leg injury, requiring countless operations. But he would overcome the odds and return to riding.
Although the premier class would attract the most attention during this time, the lower cylinder categories also featured Spanish success stories. In 250cc, Luis d’Antin took several podium finishes. In 125cc, Emilio Alzamora and Jorge Martinez Aspar were always amongst the best in the class, alongside Japanese World Championship winner, Haruchika Aoki.
