10th Place ... Dominique Sarron

10TH Place ... Dominique Sarron

Learning it all again

IT’S DIFFICULT ENOUGH LEARNING the tricks and secrets of the GP world once. Dominique Sarron, younger brother of GP veteran Christian Sarron, had to learn them twice. That’s because he started off in the 250 class and was a fixture there for three years. Now, he's on the Elf Honda team in the 500 class and discovering that it’s a whole new sport. “It’s my first season and only my third race on a 500, and I must learn again,” he says.

While his performance at the season opener was disappointing, he scored 10th places in both the Australian and U.S. rounds. “But I am not so happy,” he reports of his performances, “because I race alone. That’s not good for improvement.” Indeed, Sarron hardly ever saw another rider during the Laguna Seca GP, aside from the usual crowding on the first few laps. He used the race simply as track time on the 500,

discovering more and more of the machine’s personality. “On the 500, nothing is a straight line. You’re always turning or braking, and the bike moves a lot. It's very difficult.”

So, Dominique Sarron put in his 40 laps of practice and got 10th place in the process. Time will tell if that practice will pay off in the season and years that lie ahead.

Ron Lawson