1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
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The 1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 7th-9th April, 1989 at Phillip Island.
[edit] 500 cc race report
Green light on the 5-row grid sees Wayne Rainey, Tadahiko Taira and Kevin Schwantz head into the first turn in front of the field, with Wayne Gardner in 4th.
Second lap in 2nd place, Schwantz gets on the throttle while looking behind him and highsides on Turn Four; as he walks away from the Suzuki he looks like he wished he didn’t know the guy who just binned it so foolishly.
Rainey pulls out a lead of more than a second, followed by Kevin Magee, Taira, Gardner, Mick Doohan and Eddie Lawson. Eventually, Gardner gets past Magee at Turn Four, and Pierfrancesco Chili crashes out a second time in 2 races.
Gardner catches Rainey and begins to swap the lead, while Magee, Christian Sarron, Freddie Spencer and Lawson close in. Sarron catches and goes to the front of the leaders, while Magee hangs on in 4th spot. Spencer falls off and DNFs.
Last lap: Gardner, Rainey, Sarron and a small gap to Magee. Rainey’s early break may have cost him rubber, because he seems desperate to find a different line that will get him to slide his way past Gardner, but nothing works, with Gardner winning the race, followed by Rainey and Sarron.
Rainey: “Gardner ran into the back of me twice, and didn’t even notice. He was one of the sloppiest guys I ever raced – he reminded me of a bulldog on a bike. When he was on a good day, he could ride that thing right out of the saddle. He was a bit like Kevin, but more out of control. Not a thinking racer: he rode by the excitement of the crowd. If nobody was there I think he wouldn’t do much.”[1]
[edit] 500cc classification
| Pos | Rider | Manufacturer | Time/Retired | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wayne Gardner |
Honda | 48:15.940 | 20 |
| 2 |  Wayne Rainey |
Yamaha | +0.350 | 17 |
| 3 |  Christian Sarron |
Yamaha | +0.470 | 15 |
| 4 | Kevin Magee |
Yamaha | +1.510 | 13 |
| 5 | Eddie Lawson |
Honda | +10.970 | 11 |
| 6 |  Tadahiko Taira |
Yamaha | +12.570 | 10 |
| 7 |  Ron Haslam |
Suzuki | +32.460 | 9 |
| 8 | Mick Doohan |
Honda | +47.660 | 8 |
| 9 | Michael Dowson |
Yamaha | +1:27.820 | 7 |
| 10 | Dominique Sarron |
Honda | +1 Lap | 6 |
| 11 |  Alessandro Valesi |
Yamaha | +1 Lap | 5 |
| 12 | Damon Buckmaster |
Honda | +1 Lap | 4 |
| 13 |  Marco Gentile |
Fior | +1 Lap | 3 |
| 14 | Nicholas Schmassman |
Honda | +3 Laps | 2 |
| 15 |  Michael Rudroff |
Honda | +3 Laps | 1 |
| Ret | Greg Drew |
PRP | Retirement | |
| Ret | Freddie Spencer |
Yamaha | Retirement | |
| Ret | Randy Mamola |
Cagiva | Retirement | |
| Ret | Malcolm Campbell |
Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret | Kevin Schwantz |
Suzuki | Retirement | |
| Ret | Bubba Shobert |
Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret |  Francisco Gonzales |
Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret | Niall Mackenzie |
Yamaha | Retirement | |
| Ret | James Judd |
Yamaha | Retirement | |
| Ret | Pierfrancesco Chili |
Honda | Retirement |
[edit] References
- ^ Scott, Michael: "Wayne Rainey", page 136. Haynes Publishing, 1997.
| Previous race: 1989 Japanese Grand Prix |
FIM MotoGP World Championship 1989 season |
Next race: 1989 United States Grand Prix |
| Previous race: None |
Australian motorcycle Grand Prix | Next race: 1990 Australian Grand Prix |
