1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix

  1989 Australian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 2 of 15 races in the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	9 April 1989
Location	Phillip Island
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.445 km (2.762 mi)
500 cc
Pole position
Rider	Kevin Schwantz
Time	1:34.990
Fastest lap
Rider	Pierfrancesco Chili
Time	1:35.280
Podium
First	Wayne Gardner
Second	Wayne Rainey
Third	Christian Sarron
250 cc
Pole position
Rider	Jean-Philippe Ruggia
Time	1:38.830
Fastest lap
Rider	Luca Cadalora
Time	1:38.490
Podium
First	Sito Pons
Second	Jean-Philippe Ruggia
Third	Luca Cadalora
125 cc
Pole position
Rider	Jorge Martínez
Time	1:45.530
Fastest lap
Rider	Jorge Martínez
Time	1:46.530
Podium
First	Àlex Crivillé
Second	Robin Milton
Third	Alan Scott

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 7–9 April 1989 at Phillip Island and was the first ever World Championship Motorcycle Grand Prix to take place in Australia.

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 out of Turn Ten; as he walked away from his Suzuki, he looked like he wished he didn't know the guy who just binned it so foolishly.

Rainey pulled out a lead of more than a second, followed by Kevin Magee, Taira, Gardner, Mick Doohan and Eddie Lawson. Eventually, Gardner got past Magee at Turn Four, and Pierfrancesco Chili crashed out for the second successive race. Gardner caught Rainey and began to swap the lead, while Magee, Christian Sarron, Freddie Spencer and Lawson closed in. Sarron caught and goes to the front, with the leaders, while Magee hung on in 4th spot. Spencer fell off and did not finish.

Last lap: Gardner, Rainey, Sarron and a small gap to Magee. Rainey's early break may have cost him rubber, because he seemed 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]

500 cc 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

References

1. Scott, Michael: "Wayne Rainey", page 136. Haynes Publishing, 1997.