1988 French motorcycle Grand Prix

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The 1988 French motorcycle Grand Prix was held on July 24 at the Paul Ricard circuit.

[edit] 500 cc race report

Christian Sarron’s 5th pole in a row, and his last ever in 500 GP.

Niall Mackenzie gets the start, and through the Mistral Straight for the first time it’s Wayne Gardner, Kevin Schwantz, Mackenzie, Wayne Rainey, et al. At the start of the 2nd lap it’s Gardner, Sarron, Schwantz, Rainey, ….

Shunji Yatsushiro and Patrick Igoa collide and crash out.

Sarron moves to the front, Eddie Lawson to 4th.

The quartet of Gardner, Lawson, Sarron and Schwantz leave Rainey behind.

Going into the last lap, it seems Lawson has made a mistake, because Gardner has a gap and looks certain to take the win, but he has a breakdown and struggles home to a 4th place.

1	Eddie Lawson	42:15.520
2	Christian Sarron	+0.220
3	Kevin Schwantz	+0.460
4	Wayne Gardner	+5.720
5	Wayne Rainey	+17.630
6	Randy Mamola	+27.810
7	D. De Radiguès	+30.620
8	Pierfrancesco Chili	+30.870
9	Kevin Magee	+35.110
10	Ron Haslam	+35.310
11	Rob McElnea	+59.870
12	M. Campbell	+1:19.040
13	M. Baldwin	+1:42.640
14	A. Valesi	+1:46.140
15	F. Barchitta	+2:02.540
16	D. McLeod	+1 lap
17	M. Gentile	+1 lap
18	M. Papa	+1 lap
19	F. Biliotti	+1 lap
20	M. Fischer	+1 lap
21	E. Laycock	+1 lap
22	C. Arciero	+1 lap
23	N. Schmassman	+1 lap
24	M. Duyzers
	P. Igoa	ret.
	R. Nicotte	ret.
	D. Amatriain	ret.
	T. Rapicault	ret.
	Bruno Kneubühler	ret.
	W. Von Muralt	ret.
	Niall Mackenzie	ret.
	S. Yatsushiro	ret.
	Raymond Roche	ret.
	E. Sabatier	ret.
	J. Demierre	ret.
	V. Scatola	ret.

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1	1988 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix Report
2	1988 United States motorcycle Grand Prix Report
3	1988 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix Report
4	1988 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix Report
5	1988 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix Report
6	1988 German motorcycle Grand Prix Report
7	1988 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix Report
8	1988 Dutch TT Report
9	1988 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix Report
10	1988 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix Report
11	1988 French motorcycle Grand Prix Report
12	1988 British motorcycle Grand Prix Report
13	1988 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix Report
14	1988 Czechoslovakian motorcycle Grand Prix Report
15	1988 Brazilian motorcycle Grand Prix Report

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