1989 United States motorcycle Grand Prix
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The 1989 United States motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1988 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 14th-16th April, 1989 at Laguna Seca.
[edit] 500 cc race report
At the front of the grid, it’s Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner, Kevin Magee and Christian Sarron. Eddie Lawson moves from 6th to 2nd in the first turn. Rainey begins to pull away, with Lawson and Schwantz getting into a scrap that leads Lawson into making a mistake on the entry to the Corkscrew, pushing him back into the group of Gardner, Magee and Sarron.
Gardner crashes out, breaking his leg. Lawson fights his way past Magee on the last lap, making it an all-American podium with Rainey and Schwantz in first and second place.
In the cool-down lap, Bubba Shobert and Kevin Magee collide; Shobert has serious head injuries that end his racing career, and Magee has a broken ankle. With Magee and Gardner both injured, Wayne Rainey’s lead in the standings can be threatened by Lawson getting the Honda set-up properly or Schwantz avoiding DNFs.
[edit] 500cc classification
| Pos | Rider | Manufacturer | Time/Retired | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wayne Rainey |
Yamaha | 58:56.179 | 20 |
| 2 | Kevin Schwantz |
Suzuki | +6.849 | 17 |
| 3 | Eddie Lawson |
Honda | +19.912 | 15 |
| 4 |  Kevin Magee |
Yamaha | +23.732 | 13 |
| 5 |  Niall Mackenzie |
Yamaha | +28.223 | 11 |
| 6 |  Christian Sarron |
Yamaha | +30.595 | 10 |
| 7 |  Pierfrancesco Chili |
Honda | +1:29.901 | 9 |
| 8 | Mick Doohan |
Honda | +1 Lap | 8 |
| 9 | Bubba Shobert |
Honda | +1 Lap | 7 |
| 10 | Dominique Sarron |
Honda | +1 Lap | 6 |
| 11 | Alessandro Valesi |
Yamaha | +2 Laps | 5 |
| 12 |  Marco Gentile |
Fior | +2 Laps | 4 |
| 13 | Damon Buckmaster |
Honda | +2 Laps | 3 |
| 14 | Bruno Kneubuhler |
Honda | +2 Laps | 2 |
| 15 |  Michael Rudroff |
Honda | +3 Laps | 1 |
| 16 |  Francisco Gonzales |
Honda | +4 Laps | |
| 17 | Vincenzo Cascino |
Honda | +4 Laps | |
| Ret | Ron Haslam |
Suzuki | Retirement | |
| Ret |  Tadahiko Taira |
Yamaha | Retirement | |
| Ret | Nicholas Schmassman |
Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret | Freddie Spencer |
Yamaha | Retirement | |
| Ret | Randy Mamola |
Cagiva | Retirement | |
| Ret | David Busby |
Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret | Eugene Brown |
Suzuki | Retirement | |
| Ret | Michael Wild |
Suzuki | Retirement | |
| Ret | Wayne Gardner |
Honda | Retirement |
| Previous race: 1989 Australian Grand Prix |
FIM MotoGP 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 |
