The 1989 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 August 1989 at Donington Park.
500 cc race report Luca Cadalora is brought in to replace Freddie Spencer, who's been released by team manager Giacomo Agostini.
In the first lap Wayne Rainey’s in front of a group of 4 riders, with Kevin Schwantz, Christian Sarron and Eddie Lawson. Rainey and Schwantz trade the lead, while Niall Mackenzie comes up from behind. Mackenzie is having a good day, as he passes Lawson and Rainey to move into second behind Schwantz. Mackenzie takes the lead for half a lap, but Schwantz gets it back at the chicane, and soon Lawson passes him as well. Wayne Gardner retires with a mechanical.
Rainey passes Mackenzie, but Schwantz and Lawson have gotten far ahead. Schwantz takes the win from Lawson by a few bike lengths, and Rainey comes in third. With 3 rounds to go, Lawson is less than 7 points away from Rainey with 60 points still to be decided.
500 cc classification Pos. Rider Team ManufacturerLaps Time/RetiredGrid Points 1 Kevin Schwantz Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki30 47:45.6701 20 2 Eddie Lawson Rothmans Kanemoto Honda Honda30 +0.9702 17 3 Wayne Rainey Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha30 +8.6003 15 4 Niall Mackenzie Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha30 +10.9406 13 5 Christian Sarron Sonauto Gauloises Blondes Yamaha Mobil 1 Yamaha30 +28.3104 11 6 Kevin Magee Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha30 +38.4908 10 7 Ron Haslam Suzuki Pepsi Cola Suzuki30 +47.3609 9 8 Luca Cadalora Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha30 +51.7705 8 9 Pierfrancesco Chili HB Honda Gallina Team Honda30 +1:27.7107 7 10 Rob McElnea Cabin Racing Team Honda29 +1 Lap11 6 11 Fred Merkel HB Honda Gallina Team Honda29 +1 Lap14 5 12 Roger Burnett Rothmans Honda Team Honda29 +1 Lap13 4 13 Marco Gentile Fior Marlboro Fior29 +1 Lap15 3 14 Fabio Biliotti Racing Team Katayama Honda29 +1 Lap20 2 15 Simon Buckmaster Racing Team Katayama Honda29 +1 Lap17 1 16 Marco Papa Team Greco Paton28 +2 Laps23 17 Robert Holden Honda28 +2 Laps26 18 Bruno Kneubühler Romer Racing Suisse Honda28 +2 Laps27 19 Claude Albert Suzuki28 +2 Laps22 20 Andreas Leuthe Librenti Corse Suzuki28 +2 Laps30 21 Josef Doppler Honda28 +2 Laps29 22 Francisco Gonzales Club Motocross Pozuelo Honda28 +2 Laps31 23 Peter Graves Honda28 +2 Laps36 Ret Ian Pratt Racing Team Katayama Suzuki Retirement33 Ret Wayne Gardner Rothmans Honda Team Honda Retirement10 Ret Mark Phillips Suzuki Retirement32 Ret Dominique Sarron Team ROC Elf Honda Honda Retirement12 Ret Nicholas Schmassman FMS Honda Retirement25 Ret Rachel Nicotte Chevallier Yamaha Retirement16 Ret Juan Lopez Mella Club Motocross Pozuelo Honda Retirement24 Ret Cees Doorakkers HRK Motors Honda Retirement19 Ret John Mossey Suzuki Retirement34 Ret David Crampton Suzuki Retirement35 Ret Alessandro Valesi Team Iberia Yamaha Retirement21 Ret Alan Carter Honda Retirement18 DNS Andy McGladdery Honda Did not start28 DNQ Larry Moreno Vacondio Honda Did not qualify DNQ Eddie Laycock Honda Did not qualify Sources:
References