The 1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second of 15 races in the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of April 7–9, 1989, at Phillip Island, and was the first-ever World Championship Motorcycle Grand Prix to be held in Australia.
500 cc race report
Into the first corner of the race, Wayne Rainey, Tadahiko Taira, and Kevin Schwantz were at the front of the field, with Wayne Gardner in 4th. On the second lap whilst running in second place, Schwantz crashed out at Turn Ten; as he walked away from his Suzuki, he appeared visibly annoyed.
Rainey pulled out a lead of more than a second, followed by Kevin Magee, Taira, Gardner, Mick Doohan, and Eddie Lawson. Gardner eventually overtook 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 on the leaders. Sarron caught up and went to the front with the leaders, while Magee held 4th spot. Spencer fell off and did not finish the race.
On the last lap, Gardner led, with Rainey and Sarron behind, and a further small gap to Magee. Rainey's depleted tyres meant he was unable to pass Gardner, and Gardner won the race, followed by Rainey and Sarron.
During the race, Wayne Rainey and Wayne Gardner had some close encounters on the track.Scott, Michael: "Wayne Rainey", page 136. Haynes Publishing, 1997.
500 cc classification Pos. Rider Team ManufacturerLaps Time/RetiredGrid Points 1 Wayne Gardner Rothmans Honda Team Honda30 48:15.9403 20 2 Wayne Rainey Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha30 +0.3502 17 3 Christian Sarron Sonauto Gauloises Blondes Yamaha Mobil 1 Yamaha30 +0.4705 15 4 Kevin Magee Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha30 +1.5106 13 5 Eddie Lawson Rothmans Kanemoto Honda Honda30 +10.9707 11 6 Tadahiko Taira Yamaha Motor Company Yamaha30 +12.5704 10 7 Ron Haslam Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki30 +32.46011 9 8 Mick Doohan Rothmans Honda Team Honda30 +47.66012 8 9 Michael Dowson Yamaha30 +1:27.82016 7 10 Dominique Sarron Team ROC Elf Honda Honda29 +1 Lap17 6 11 Alessandro Valesi Team Iberia Yamaha29 +1 Lap19 5 12 Simon Buckmaster Racing Team Katayama Honda29 +1 Lap20 4 13 Marco Gentile Fior Marlboro Fior29 +1 Lap18 3 14 Nicholas Schmassman FMS Honda27 +3 Laps22 2 15 Michael Rudroff HRK Motors Honda27 +3 Laps21 1 Ret Greg Drew PRP Retirement23 Ret Freddie Spencer Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha Retirement8 Ret Randy Mamola Cagiva Corse Cagiva Retirement14 Ret Malcolm Campbell Honda Retirement15 Ret Kevin Schwantz Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki Retirement1 Ret Bubba Shobert Cabin Racing Team Honda Retirement13 Ret Francisco Gonzales Club Motocross Pozuelo Honda Retirement24 Ret Niall Mackenzie Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha Retirement9 Ret James Judd Yamaha Retirement25 Ret Pierfrancesco Chili HB Honda Gallina Team Honda Retirement10 DNS Craig Harwood Yamaha Did not start Sources:
References