1989 German motorcycle Grand Prix

The 1989 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 26–28 May 1989 at the Hockenheimring circuit.[4]

West Germany  1989 German Grand Prix
Race details
Race 6 of 15 races in the
1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date28 May 1989
Official nameGroßer Preis von Deutschland für Motorräder[1][2][3]
LocationHockenheimring
Course
  • Permanent racing facility
  • 6.789 km (4.218 mi)
500cc
Pole position
Rider United States Kevin Schwantz
Time 2:02.620
Fastest lap
Rider United States Kevin Schwantz
Time 2:02.680
Podium
First United States Wayne Rainey
Second United States Eddie Lawson
Third Australia Mick Doohan
250cc
Pole position
Rider West Germany Helmut Bradl
Time 2:11.040
Fastest lap
Rider Spain Sito Pons
Time 2:10.990
Podium
First Spain Sito Pons
Second West Germany Reinhold Roth
Third Japan Masahiro Shimizu
125cc
Pole position
Rider Italy Ezio Gianola
Time 2:23.640
Fastest lap
Rider Spain Julián Miralles
Time 2:24.160
Podium
First Spain Àlex Crivillé
Second Italy Ezio Gianola
Third Spain Julián Miralles
80cc
Pole position
Rider Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger
Time 2:32.240
Fastest lap
Rider Unknown
Podium
First West Germany Peter Öttl
Second Spain Manuel Herreros
Third Spain Herri Torrontegui

The weekend was marred by the fatal accident of Italian-born Venezuelan rider Iván Palazzese in the 250cc race, who died after running into the back of Andreas Preining's seized motorcycle. Palazzese was then struck by Bruno Bonhuil and Fabio Barchitta while trying to pick himself up from the ground, causing him to suffer massive chest injuries that would result in his death.[5]

500 cc race report

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The front of the grid is Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson, who stay in that order through the first few turns, though Mick Doohan soon takes third spot behind Lawson and Rainey, pushing Schwantz into third.

Lawson seems to miss a shift at a chicane, and lets Rainey and Schwantz through, who have become the leading group of three. The group is tight, and Schwantz still hasn’t broken himself of the habit of looking behind him for no good reason.

Lawson puts himself at the front again, while back down the field Niall Mackenzie crashes out.

Schwantz develops a mechanical problem and drops out, leaving Lawson and Rainey to fight it out for first and Doohan and Christian Sarron for third place.

Last lap: Lawson ahead for the first half, but Rainey gets past on the brakes to a chicane. Going into the stadium section, Rainey is doing everything to keep Lawson behind him, doing a tremendous slide on his Dunlops. Rainey takes a very close win from Lawson, with a big gap to Doohan, then Pierfrancesco Chili and Sarron.

Two DNFs in a row seem to have ended Schwantz' hope for the championship, who was already pessimistic since his crash at Jerez. Schwantz can still affect the outcome of the championship by getting between Lawson and Rainey and denying the latter some points. Rainey and Lawson needle each other after the race and then say nothing to each other for the rest of the season.

A 23-year old Mick Doohan achieved his first 500cc podium on this day.[6]

500 cc classification

edit
Pos. Rider Team Manufacturer Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1   Wayne Rainey Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha 19 39:14.750 2 20
2   Eddie Lawson Rothmans Kanemoto Honda Honda 19 +0.270 3 17
3   Mick Doohan Rothmans Honda Team Honda 19 +20.710 6 15
4   Pierfrancesco Chili HB Honda Gallina Team Honda 19 +25.720 5 13
5   Christian Sarron Sonauto Gauloises Blondes Yamaha Mobil 1 Yamaha 19 +37.000 4 11
6   Norihiko Fujiwara Yamaha Motor Company Yamaha 19 +42.980 11 10
7   Kevin Magee Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha 19 +43.540 10 9
8   Dominique Sarron Team ROC Elf Honda Honda 19 +44.980 13 8
9   Freddie Spencer Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha 19 +53.020 9 7
10   Rob McElnea Cabin Racing Team Honda 19 +1:08.530 12 6
11   Ernst Gschwender Suzuki Deutschland Suzuki 18 +1 Lap 15 5
12   Randy Mamola Cagiva Corse Cagiva 18 +1 Lap 14 4
13   Alessandro Valesi Team Iberia Yamaha 18 +1 Lap 16 3
14   Simon Buckmaster Racing Team Katayama Honda 18 +1 Lap 18 2
15   Bruno Kneubuhler Romer Racing Suisse Honda 18 +1 Lap 19 1
16   Hansjoerg Butz Autobus Butz Racing Team Honda 18 +1 Lap 22
17   Rachel Nicotte Chevallier Yamaha 18 +1 Lap 20
18   Vittorio Scatola Honda 18 +1 Lap 23
19   Juan Lopez Mella Club Motocross Pozuelo Honda 18 +1 Lap 32
20   Petr Schleef Schuh Racing Team Honda 18 +1 Lap 24
21   Michael Rudroff HRK Motors Honda 18 +1 Lap 17
22   Josef Doppler Honda 18 +1 Lap 25
23   Peter Linden Team Heukeroff Honda 18 +1 Lap 28
24   Stefan Klabacher Honda 18 +1 Lap 30
25   Helmut Schutz Rallye Sport Honda 18 +1 Lap 31
26   Hans Klingebiel Suzuki 18 +1 Lap 33
Ret   Ron Haslam Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki Retirement 8
Ret   Georg Robert Jung Romer Telefix Honda Retirement 21
Ret   Marco Gentile Fior Marlboro Fior Retirement 27
Ret   Kevin Schwantz Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki Retirement 1
Ret   Roland Busch Schuh Racing Team Honda Retirement 35
Ret   Karl Dauer PC Racing Honda Retirement 34
Ret   Alois Meyer Rallye Sport Honda Retirement 29
Ret   Martin Troesch Honda Retirement 36
Ret   Nicholas Schmassman FMS Honda Retirement 26
Ret   Niall Mackenzie Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha Retirement 7
DNQ   Marco Papa Team Greco Paton Did not qualify
DNQ   Andreas Leuthe Librenti Corse Suzuki Did not qualify
DNQ   Francisco Gonzales Club Motocross Pozuelo Honda Did not qualify
DNQ   Vincenzo Cascino Honda Did not qualify
DNQ   Walther Maier Rallye Sport Honda Did not qualify
Sources:[7][8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1989". Archive.li. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "1989 500cc Class (FIM Grand Prix World Championship) Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  3. ^ "Info". Archived from the original on 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  4. ^ "Moto GP statistics". Moto GP. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  5. ^ "Iván Palazzese". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  6. ^ "MotoGP Riders". www.motogp.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  7. ^ "1989 German MotoGP - Motor Sport Magazine Database". 13 June 2017.
  8. ^ "motogp.com · WEST GERMANY GRAND PRIX · 500cc Race Classification 1989". www.motogp.com.


Previous race:
1989 Nations Grand Prix
FIM Grand Prix World Championship
1989 season
Next race:
1989 Austrian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1988 German Grand Prix
German Grand Prix Next race:
1990 German Grand Prix