The 1989 Formula TT Season was the 13th in the history of the Formula TT and was the last time the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme organized it as an Official World Championship.
Six races were held at six events. Carl Fogarty gained the 1989 Formula TT Championship Title on a Honda RC30 from Honda Britain.
Scoring System In each race, points were awarded as follows: Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All results counted towards the Championship.
Class-System
In 1989, Formula TT was only contested in the TT-F1 class. This allowed four-stroke engines 600 to 1000 cc and Engine displacements and tow-stroke engines with displacements of 350 to 500 cc.. The race in the Netherlands was held as part of the Dutch TT on the Motorcycle World Championship schedule.
Regulations and calendar changes For the 1989 season, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) implemented a major structural reduction by officially dissolving the Formula II and Formula III classes due to a lack of international manufacturer entries. This left the premier Formula I (TT-F1) category as the sole class contesting the world championship. Following regulatory updates designed to align the series with international endurance trends, the technical rules restricted the category to prototype or production-based four-stroke engines up to 750 cc, alongside two-stroke engines from 350 cc to 500 cc.
The championship calendar reflected increasing commercial and political pressure from the newly established Superbike World Championship, which competed directly for manufacturer-backed development teams. To maintain international spectatorship and secure larger grids, several Formula TT rounds were integrated into existing high-profile motorcycling race weekends. Notably, the third round of the championship was held at the TT Circuit Assen as a support event during the same weekend as the Dutch TT, though it operated entirely outside the official Grand Prix world championship classification for that meeting.
Season summary The championship developed into a season-long internal team duel between two British Honda Britain riders aboard the dominant Honda RC30: the reigning champion Carl Fogarty and Scotland's Steve Hislop. The team's dynamic shifted significantly early in the racing year when their multi-time champion teammate Joey Dunlop suffered severe injuries, including a fractured leg and a badly broken wrist, during a collision at the Brands Hatch Easter meeting on Good Friday (24 March 1989). With Dunlop sidelined for the initial international rounds, Hislop stepped up as the focal point for the squad's championship aspirations alongside Fogarty and Brian Morrison. Journalistic focus shifted dramatically following the pre-season injury of five-time champion Joey Dunlop, with the press closely analyzing how his replacement, Steve Hislop, adapted to the factory Honda Britain squad.
The opening round took place at Sportsland Sugo in Japan, where domestic competitors dominated the field. Australian rider Michael Dowson won the event ahead of Yamaha's Yasutomo Nagai, while the primary championship contenders failed to achieve podium positions. The second round returned to a traditional road racing format at the Isle of Man TT, where Hislop secured a dominant victory on the Snaefell Mountain Course to establish his title credentials. Hislop's history-making performance at the Isle of Man TT—where he broke the 120 mph lap barrier—became a major sporting headline, forcing mainstream outlets to cover the event in detail, complete with technical sector analyses.
At Assen, Fogarty responded by winning the TT-F1 support event ahead of Swiss rider Andreas Hofmann. The fourth round at the Circuito de Vila Real in Portugal was held under high ambient temperatures; Hislop won the race to regain the points advantage, with Fogarty finishing second. At the subsequent round on the Kouvola street circuit in Finland, the venue faced safety criticisms from the riders' paddock due to unyielding barriers and a track width deemed narrow for 750 cc machinery. Fogarty won the race ahead of Hislop, leaving the two teammates separated by a narrow points margin ahead of the final event.
The championship concluded at the Ulster Grand Prix on the Dundrod Circuit in Northern Ireland. Hislop won the race, securing his third victory of the season. Knowing that a podium position would guarantee the title, Fogarty maintained a conservative strategy to finish in second place. This result gave Fogarty a final total of 90 points to Hislop's 82, securing his second consecutive FIM World Championship.
The championship also served as a focal point for intense technical debates within the motorsport press regarding the inclusion of the JPS Norton RCW588 Wankel rotary bike. Magazines like Performance Bikes published comprehensive engineering features questioning the FIM's equivalent displacement regulations, which allowed the rotary-powered machines to compete directly against conventional 750 cc four-stroke machinery, culminating in Steven Cull's podium finish at the final round at Dundrod.
Results Race results 1989 Formula TT CalendarDateRaceCircuit1st Place2nd Place3rd Place114th of MaySugoMichael DowsonYasutomo NagaiYukiya Ōshima23rd of JuneMountain CourseSteve HislopBrian MorrisonNick Jefferies323rd of JuneAssenCarl FogartyAndreas HofmannRoger Burnett42nd of JulyVila RealSteve HislopCarl FogartyBrian Morrison516th of JulyKouvolaCarl FogartySteve HislopJari Suhonen612th of AugustDundrodSteve HislopCarl FogartySteven Cull
Riders' standings + 1989 Formula TT Riders' Championship standings Pos. Rider Bike Pts.1 Carl FogartyHonda902 Steve HislopHonda823 Joey DunlopHonda544 Brian MorrisonHonda425 Charlie CornerHonda306 Jari SuhonenYamaha287 Nick JefferiesYamaha258 Steve WilliamsYamaha259 Jamie WhithamSuzuki2110 Michael DowsonYamaha2011 Dave LeachYamaha1912 Yasutomo NagaiYamaha17 Kawasaki1714 Yukiya ŌshimaSuzuki15 Roger BurnettHonda15 Steven CullNorton1517 Robert HoldenHonda1418 Sam McClementsHonda1419 Rob PhillisKawasaki1320 Ken’ichirō IwahashiHonda11 Graeme McGregorHonda1122 Doug PolenSuzuki10 Yamaha1024 Noboru MiuraHonda9 Mikael LundvallKawasaki926 Phillip McCallenHonda927 Mistuo SaitoYamaha8 Andy McGladderyHonda8 Ian JonesDucati8 Esko KuparinenHonda831 Jun MaedaHonda7 Toni RohrerHonda7 Pedro BatistaHonda7 Suzuki735 Shoji MiyazakiHonda6 Colin GableHonda6 Trevor NationYamaha6 Russell BenneyHonda6 Erkki SiukolaSuzuki6 Dennis IrelandHonda641 Shoichi TsukamotoKawasaki5 Eddie LaycockHonda543 Tony MoranYamaha544 Tadaaki HanamuraYamaha4 Steve WardHonda4 Brent GladwinHonda4 Woolsey CoulterHonda448 Peter RubattoBimota3 Göran ForsslundSuzuki350 Tadashi OhshimaHonda2 Bob JacksonHonda2 Peter SköldHonda253 Tatsuro ArataYamaha1 Peter LindénHonda1 Steve LindsellYamaha1 Source: FIM TT Formula World Championships PDF.
References
Bibliography
FIM Annuaire Officiel 1989 / Official Yearbook 1989. Geneva: FIM Secretariat. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (1989).
External links