{"id":97922,"date":"2020-06-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pre.boxrepsol.com\/uncategorized\/alex-criville-jewel-spanish-motorcycling\/"},"modified":"2024-10-16T10:41:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T12:41:24","slug":"alex-criville-jewel-spanish-motorcycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boxrepsol.com\/en\/legend\/alex-criville-jewel-spanish-motorcycling\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00c1lex Crivill\u00e9, the crown jewel of Spanish motorcycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last season of the 90’s was made up of 16 races and was the year in which the Phakisa Freeway in South Africa, Motegi in Japan, Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, and Sepang in Malaysia were added for the first time. And, in that same year the Motorcycle World Championship saw the Imola in Italy, Paul Ricard in France, and the Autodromo de Buenos Aires in Argentina for the last time.<\/p>\n

Four riders wore the Repsol Honda Team colours that season: the Australian Mick Doohan<\/a>, Japanese Tadayuki Okada, and the Spaniards Sete Gibernau and \u00c1lex Crivill\u00e9<\/a>, who after finishing runners-up in ’96, only needed to climb one more place to be crowned champion.<\/p>\n

Malaysian GP:<\/h3>\n

The season started in Malaysia with the addition of the Sepang circuit and \u00c1lex Crivill\u00e9 in fifth position on the grid, albeit not for very long. As soon as the light turned green, he overtook three of the four riders ahead of him and, before finishing the first lap, he had caught up on the race leader, John Kocinski. Crivill\u00e9 and the North American duelled for first place, but it was to be another North American, Kenny Roberts Junior, who would take the lead in the race. This battle meant \u00c1lex ran out of spare tyres and, at the finish, and had to settle for third place. The victory went to Roberts Jr. while Doohan finished fourth and Okada in fifth.<\/p>\n

Japanese GP:<\/h3>\n

The second race of the year saw the debut of the Motegi circuit. Owned by Honda, it promised a spectacle of braking and acceleration, but unfortunately the weather didn’t’ hold up over the weekend. A bad qualifying placed \u00c1lex Crivill\u00e9 in ninth position on the starting grid, although, as in the first round of the World Championship, his good start and his ability to get back into the race led him to a commendable fourth position. His exploits left him knocking at the podium doors.<\/p>\n

Spanish GP:<\/h3>\n

The Motorcycling World Championship came to Spain and could not have started worse. During the official training, the Repsol Honda Team rider Mick Doohan suffered a serious accident and as a result the Australian was forced out for the season. He never fully recovered and, unfortunately, he never again competed in the World Championships. A great loss for the team and for motorcycling. In that fateful Spanish Grand Prix, \u00c1lex Crivill\u00e9 had the opportunity to pay tribute to his teammate by achieving pole position, the fastest lap, and a great victory that foreshadowed what was to come.<\/p>\n

<\/picture>\n\"\u00c1lex<\/picture>\n