The 1993 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1993 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 18 April 1993, at the Suzuka Circuit.
500 cc race report
This race was most notable for the three-way battle for the win between Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Daryl Beattie, Rainey's fightback after a bad start for the win and Schwantz' last lap recovery drive from fourth to almost win the race.
After three rounds, last year's world champion Wayne Rainey leads the title hunt with 45 points. Kevin Schwantz is a close second with 41 points.
On Saturday, Kevin Schwantz grabbed pole position with a time of 2:09.239 - his third straight pole position of the year so far. In second place is home hero Shinichi Ito, in third place is Wayne Rainey and fourth is Mick Doohan. Freddie Spencer does not participate in the race due to an injury he sustained during qualifying.
For this round, Doohan's bike has an extra lever on the left side for the rear brake.
All riders take off and do their usual warm-up lap before lining up in their respective grid slots. As the lights go out, it is Schwantz who has a good getaway and retains his lead going into the First Corner (Turn 1). Right behind him is teammate Alex Barros who also had a great start from fifth on the grid to get into second position. Manages to outgun Rainey and hold off Doohan and Daryl Beattie to slot in behind the Team Lucky Strike Suzuki riders in third. In fourth is Japanese wildcard rider Norihiko Fujiwara. Fifth is Àlex Crivillé after a fantastic start from way back, with another wildcard rider - Toshihiko Honma - completing the top six after he also had a good start from the back. Rainey had a relatively bad start and is now only in ninth place on the opening lap. Exiting the Anti-Banked Curve (Turn 6), a group of three starts to form, consisting of Schwantz, Barros and Ito. Fujiwara then also opens up a small gap back to Crivillé himself. Ito then loses out a bit entering Degner (Turn 8), immediately being hounded by fellow Japanese Fujiwara. At the Hairpin (Turn 11), Honma tries a move on the inside of Crivillé but thinks better of it and stays behind. Further back at the same corner, two riders have crashed out of contention: Michael Rudroff and Jeremy McWilliams. Rudroff is seen pulling his bike off of the circuit with the help of a marshall, McWilliams is pulling his own bike from the ground with the help of another marshall and two other marshalls are cleaning up the circuit of the debris, McWilliams also pointing out that there's some oil on the middle of the circuit. At the Backstretch, Beattie has passed Honma and is now sixth. Barros has by now overtaken Schwantz for the lead, with the American trying a lunge up his inside coming up to the Casio Triangle (Turn 15), not being able to execute the move and having to stay behind for the time being. Fujiwara also has a look up Ito's inside but only manages to get closer and stays behind him for now.
On lap two, the top six is as follows: Barros, Schwantz, Ito, Fujiwara, Crivillé and Beattie. Crivillé passes Fujiwara for fourth at the start/finish straight entering the First Corner, Rainey doing likewise on Honma for seventh position. The marshalls have by now put some concrete dust on the oil to prevent riders from crashing out. At Dunlop (Turn 7), Ito closes up on Schwantz, with Beattie doing likewise on Crivillé. At the Hairpin, Rainey has gone up the inside of Beattie and has snatched sixth position away from him. Crivillé then tries to pass Ito around the outside of 200R (Turn 12) for third but isn't able to and stays in fourth place. At the Backstretch, Schwantz looks to be taking the lead from Barros but instead it is Ito who has taken first place from both riders, making good use of his superior Honda power to blast past before approaching the fast 130R (Turn 14). Behind them, Rainey has also taken Fujiwara for fifth spot. Schwantz then passes Ito by outbraking him at the Casio Triangle, with Beattie trying to pass Fujiwara around the outside for sixth position, failing and having to stay behind for the time being.
Lap three and Beattie manages to past Fujiwara, this time taking sixth position. At Snake (Turn 3), Rainey has caught up to Crivillé and is shadowing him for now. Exiting Dunlop, it is clear that Barros is now starting to struggle, losing ground to teammate Schwantz and with Crivillé and Rainey catching up to him quickly. Schwantz is now very close to Ito, making his move and passing him for the lead at Spoon Curve (Turn 13), going up his inside and outbraking him as a result. Exiting Spoon Curve however, it is Ito who has the upper hand and retakes the position on power. Schwantz tries to outbrake Ito entering the Casio Triangle but the Japanese has opened up enough of a gap to stay ahead for now.
On lap four, Ito has now opened up a small gap back to Schwantz, himself being caught up by Barros and Crivillé. Juan Lopez Mella has crashed out of contention on the exit of the Casio Triangle (Turn 16) on the previous lap, highsiding out of contention and his bike lying in the middle of the track on a dangerous position. One of the marshalls tries to recover the bike, risking his own life in the process. Entering Spoon Curve, Schwantz catches up a bit to Ito as Barros has now opened up a significant gap back to Rainey, who has passed Crivillé and is now fourth. At the Backstretch, Beattie has also passed Crivillé, promoting him up to fifth position. Rainey has also set pursuit to catch the top three.
Lap five and the top six is as follows: Ito, Schwantz, Barros, Rainey, Beattie and Crivillé. Entering Spoon Curve, Rainey has caught up to Barros who has lost ground to his teammate. At the exit of Degner (Turn 9), Lucio Pedercini has gone down. Two marshalls frantically signal that the rider has crashed, him lying motionless next to his destroyed bike. One of the marshalls picks up his bike to remove it from the circuit, Pedercini not moving an inch still.
On lap six, Schwantz has opened up a big gap to his teammate Barros, who himself is now coming under pressure of both Rainey and Beattie. Crivillé has lost a lot of ground and is now pretty far down in sixth. Exiting the First Corner (Turn 2), Schwantz has a look behind him to see how far back Barros is. Rainey has by now fully caught up to Barros and almost directly makes a move, going up his inside at Snake (Turn 5) and pushing the Brazilian slightly wide to get the perfect line exiting the corner. This now promotes him to third place. At the exit of Degner, the medical car has parked next to the track to assist Pedercini. Wainey has now opened up a slight gap to Barros, closing up to Schwantz in the process.
Lap seven and the front is stable for now. Rainey is slowly catching up to Schwantz. Exiting the Hairpin, yellow flags are waved for the medical car that is riding on the right side of the circuit, carrying a wounded Pedercini to the medical centre. Schwantz has also closed up to Ito again. Beattie has passed Barros for fourth by now.
On lap eight, Rainey is now right behind Schwantz. At Snake, he dives down his inside and takes away second position from him, then immediately opening up a small gap in pursuit of Ito. He closes up in under half a lap, already right behind Ito entering Spoon Curve. He tries a move at the second part of the corner but just falls short, allowing Ito some breathing room coming onto the Backstretch.
Lap nine and fourth place Beattie is now closing the gap to Schwantz. The top six is as follows: Ito, Rainey, Schwantz, Beattie, Barros and Crivillé. At the Casio Triangle on the previous lap, John Reynolds has crashed out, losing the front entering the chicane and beaching his bike in the gravel at low speed. He tries to pull it back up as the marshalls help him out, but to no avail. By now, Rainey has caught up to Ito again, Schwantz meanwhile losing terrain to the Marlboro Team Roberts rider. Exiting the Hairpin, the Japanese looks behind him to see how far back Rainey is. Exiting the 200R (Turn 12) and coming up to Spoon Curve, he goes around the outside to line up a pass going up the inside of the next corner, making the pass and taking over the lead of the race. However, Ito blasts past Rainey and retakes first place, making good use of his superior Honda power.
On lap ten, the fight is now between two men: Ito and Rainey, with Schwantz and Beattie a bit further behind. At Dunlop, Rainey closes up again as Ito has a slight twitch, Rainey then trying a move around the outside but not being able to pass for now. Entering the Hairpin, Rainey takes a wider line so that he can have a tighter exit line, setting himself up for a pass at the 200R. At said corner, he goes around the outside, making good use of the superior corning of the Yamaha to go past Ito and take the lead, almost going on the grass in the process. At the Backstretch though, Ito once again manages to pass Rainey thanks to his superior Honda top speed. At the Casio Triangle, Rainey tries another move around the outside, going side-by-side with Ito but being pushed wide upon entry.
Lap eleven and Schwantz has closed up to the fighting duo now. At Snake, Rainey has a look up the inside but isn't quite able to pass. At the exit of Dunlop, Rainey once again goes a bit wider to try and overtake Ito, the American still not being able to do so. Schwantz has now fully caught up to the duo. At the Hairpin, Rainey has a very deep lunge and passes Ito, only to run wide and lose the position to Ito upon exit, almost losing the place to third place Schwantz as well. Exiting the 200R, Rainey has another look but opts to stay behind Ito for now. Exiting Spoon Curve, Ito has a slight moment which allows Rainey and Doohan to stay close behind the Japanese. At the end of the Backstretch and entering 130R, Schwantz then makes a move and goes up the inside of Rainey, taking second position away from him. At the Casio Triangle, he then lunges up the inside of Ito and immediately takes the lead upon exit.
On lap twelve, Ito blasts past Schwantz' Suzuki to retake the lead entering the First Corner. All the fighting has allowed Beattie to close up to the trio, making this a four-way fight for victory. At Snake, Schwantz has a look up Ito's inside but stays behind for the time being. Beattie loses a bit of ground to Rainey as Schwantz is still harassing Ito for the lead. At the Hairpin, Schwantz dives down the inside and passes Ito for the lead of the race. During the turning, Ito has another slight moment that unsettles him, allowing Schwantz some vital breathing room at the 200R. Rziney also has a look around the outside of the fast right-hander but thinks better of it. Exiting the Spoon Curve, Rainey has a slight moment as well. Ito then effortlessly repasses Schwantz at the Backstretch, with Beattie catching up and passing Rainey for third right before the 130R as well, making this a full-on four-way battle for the win. At the Casio Triangle, Schwantz then takes a different line and goes up the inside of Ito, outbraking him and overtaking him for first.