1989 United States motorcycle Grand Prix

The 1989 United States Motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It occurred from April 14 to April 16, 1989, at Laguna Seca.[4]

United States  1989 United States Grand Prix
Race details
Race 3 of 15 races in the
1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
DateApril 16, 1989
Official nameDunlop USGP[1][2][3]
LocationLaguna Seca Raceway
Course
  • Permanent racing facility
  • 3.602 km (2.238 mi)
500cc
Pole position
Rider United States Wayne Rainey
Time 1:27.120
Fastest lap
Rider Australia Wayne Gardner
Time 1:28.000
Podium
First United States Wayne Rainey
Second United States Kevin Schwantz
Third United States Eddie Lawson
250cc
Pole position
Rider United States John Kocinski
Time 1:30.160
Fastest lap
Rider United States John Kocinski
Time 1:29.190
Podium
First United States John Kocinski
Second United States Jim Filice
Third Italy Luca Cadalora

500 cc race report

edit

Leading the pack are Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner, Kevin Magee, and Christian Sarron. Eddie Lawson swiftly moves from 6th to 2nd position in the first turn. Rainey begins to widen the gap, while Lawson and Schwantz engage in a close battle. However, Lawson makes a mistake while entering the Corkscrew, causing him to fall back into the group of Gardner, Magee, and Sarron.

Gardner crashes, fracturing his leg. Lawson capitalizes on fuel-delivery issues with Magee's Yamaha YZR 500 on the final lap, securing an all-American podium with Rainey taking first place and Schwantz in second.

During the cooldown lap, Magee, frustrated, initiates a burnout just after turn five. Bubba Shobert, conversing with Eddie Lawson at a low cruising speed, fails to notice Magee and accidentally collides with his right side, resulting in a forceful impact with the pavement. Shobert sustains severe head injuries that mark the end of his racing career, while Magee suffers a broken ankle. With both Magee and Gardner injured, Wayne Rainey's lead in the standings becomes vulnerable, depending on Lawson's ability to optimize the Honda setup or Schwantz's consistency in finishing races.

500 cc classification

edit
Pos. Rider Team Manufacturer Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1   Wayne Rainey Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha 40 58:56.179 1 20
2   Kevin Schwantz Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki 40 +6.849 2 17
3   Eddie Lawson Rothmans Kanemoto Honda Honda 40 +19.912 6 15
4   Kevin Magee Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha 40 +23.732 4 13
5   Niall Mackenzie Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha 40 +28.223 7 11
6   Christian Sarron Sonauto Gauloises Blondes Yamaha Mobil 1 Yamaha 40 +30.595 5 10
7   Pierfrancesco Chili HB Honda Gallina Team Honda 40 +1:29.901 11 9
8   Mick Doohan Rothmans Honda Team Honda 39 +1 Lap 12 8
9   Bubba Shobert Cabin Racing Team Honda 39 +1 Lap 13 7
10   Dominique Sarron Team ROC Elf Honda Honda 39 +1 Lap 15 6
11   Alessandro Valesi Team Iberia Yamaha 38 +2 Laps 16 5
12   Marco Gentile Fior Marlboro Fior 38 +2 Laps 17 4
13   Simon Buckmaster Racing Team Katayama Honda 38 +2 Laps 18 3
14   Bruno Kneubuhler Romer Racing Suisse Honda 38 +2 Laps 19 2
15   Michael Rudroff HRK Motors Honda 38 +3 Laps 21 1
16   Francisco Gonzales Club Motocross Pozuelo Honda 37 +4 Laps 23
17   Vincenzo Cascino Honda 37 +4 Laps 22
Ret   Ron Haslam Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki Retirement 10
Ret   Tadahiko Taira Yamaha Motor Company Yamaha Retirement 8
Ret   Nicholas Schmassman FMS Honda Retirement 20
Ret   Randy Mamola Cagiva Corse Cagiva Retirement 14
Ret   Eugene Brown Suzuki Retirement 24
Ret   Wayne Gardner Rothmans Honda Team Honda Retirement 3
DNS   Freddie Spencer Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha Did not Start 9
DNQ   David Busby Honda Did not Qualify
DNQ   Michael Wild Suzuki Did not Qualify
Sources:[5][6]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1989". Archive.li. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "1989 500cc Class (FIM Grand Prix World Championship) Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "Laguna Seca Raceway - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". progcovers.com.
  4. ^ "Moto GP statistics". Moto GP. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "1989 United States MotoGP - Motor Sport Magazine Database". June 13, 2017.
  6. ^ "motogp.com · UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX · 500cc Race Classification 1989". www.motogp.com.


Previous race:
1989 Australian Grand Prix
FIM Grand Prix World Championship
1989 season
Next race:
1989 Spanish Grand Prix
Previous race:
1988 United States Grand Prix
United States Grand Prix Next race:
1990 United States Grand Prix