500 cc race report
8th pole position for Schwantz, with Lawson behind. Gardner crashes in practice and is unable to make the start.
Despite Schwantz’ poles, more often than not it’s Rainey who gets the start, today being followed by Lawson, Schwantz, Sarron, Chili, Magee.
Schwantz gets past Lawson and Rainey for the lead, while Sarron settles into fourth with a growing gap back to fifth place.
Lawson passes Rainey for second and then gets past Schwantz for the lead. The battle for fifth is split between Haslam, Chili and Magee.
Lawson and Schwantz leave Rainey behind as they start to encounter back-marker traffic. Lawson need only finish just behind Rainey in the remaining two races, but it looks like he wants the win today, staying fast enough to keep Schwantz behind him for a little, until Schwantz overtakes again.
Mackenzie moves up to fifth spot, ahead of Haslam, and Chili.
Making it look easy, Schwantz drops Lawson, who’s fighting for grip a good ways back. Further back, Rainey is caught by Sarron, but team orders prevail as Rainey is allowed to stay in third spot. The podium is Schwantz, Lawson and Rainey, the last now 15.5 points behind Lawson in the standings.
| 1 | K. Schwantz | 48:20.649 |
| 2 | E. Lawson | + 5.977 |
| 3 | W. Rainey | + 26.031 |
| 4 | C. Sarron | + 26.056 |
| 5 | P. Chili | + 51.153 |
| 6 | N. Mackenzie | + 51.158 |
| 7 | K. Magee | + 52.931 |
| 8 | R. Haslam | + 55.071 |
| 9 | T. Taira | + 1:19.178 |
| 10 | A. Morillas | + 1:25.785 |
| 11 | R. Mamola | + 1:28.975 |
| 12 | R. McElnea | + 1:50.777 |
| 13 | A. Rota | + 1 lap |
| 14 | A. Valesi | + 1 lap |
| 15 | P. Linden | + 1 lap |
| 16 | J. Lopez Mella | + 1 lap |
| 17 | E. Laycock | + 1 lap |
| 18 | B. Kneubuhler | + 1 lap |
| 19 | F. Biliotti | + 1 lap |
| 20 | M. Rudroff | + 1 lap |
| 21 | D. Buckmaster | + 1 lap |
| 22 | S. Klabacher | + 1 lap |
| 23 | A. Leuthe | + 1 lap |
| 24 | J. Doppler | + 1 lap |
| 25 | F. Gonzales | + 2 laps |
| 26 | V. Cascino | + 2 laps |
| 27 | R. Zeller | + 2 laps |
| 28 | P. Dekanek | + 2 laps |
| 29 | D. Marchetti | + 2 laps |
| 30 | H. Heutmekers | + 2 laps |
| 31 | M. Kaplam | |
| H. Schutz | ret. | |
| C. Doorakkers | ret. | |
| M. Papa | ret. | |
| M. Troliga | ret. | |
| W. Gardner | ret. | |
| T. Berghammer | ret. | |
| P. Graves | ret. | |
| K. Dauer | ret. | |
| H. Klingebiel | ret. | |
| N. Schmassman | ret. |
1989 500 cc Season review
| Round | Race | Location | Winning rider | Winning team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Japanese Grand Prix
|
Suzuka |  Kevin Schwantz
|
Suzuki | Report |
| 2 |  Australian Grand Prix
|
Phillip Island | Wayne Gardner
|
Honda | Report |
| 3 | United States Grand Prix
|
Laguna Seca | Wayne Rainey
|
Yamaha | Report |
| 4 |  Spanish Grand Prix
|
Jerez | Eddie Lawson
|
Honda | Report |
| 5 |  Nations Grand Prix
|
Misano |  Christian Sarron
|
Yamaha | Report |
| 6 |  West German Grand Prix
|
Hockenheimring | Wayne Rainey
|
Yamaha | Report |
| 7 |  Austrian Grand Prix
|
Salzburgring | Kevin Schwantz
|
Suzuki | Report |
| 8 |  Yugoslavian Grand Prix
|
Rijeka | Kevin Schwantz
|
Suzuki | Report |
| 9 |  Dutch TT
|
Assen | Wayne Rainey
|
Yamaha | Report |
| 10 |  Belgian Grand Prix
|
Spa | Eddie Lawson
|
Honda | Report |
| 11 | French Grand Prix
|
Le Mans | Eddie Lawson
|
Honda | Report |
| 12 |  British Grand Prix
|
Donington | Kevin Schwantz
|
Suzuki | Report |
| 13 |  Swedish Grand Prix
|
Anderstorp | Eddie Lawson
|
Honda | Report |
| 14 |  Czechoslovakian Grand Prix
|
Brno | Kevin Schwantz
|
Suzuki | Report |
| 15 |  Brazilian Grand Prix
|
Goiania | Kevin Schwantz
|
Suzuki | Report |