1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix

The 1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 7-April 9, 1989 at Phillip Island.

500 cc race report

Green light on the 5-row grid sees Wayne Rainey, Tadahiko Taira and Kevin Schwantz head into the first turn in front of the field, with Wayne Gardner in 4th.

Second lap in 2nd place, Schwantz gets on the throttle while looking behind him and highsides on Turn Four; as he walks away from the Suzuki he looks like he wished he didn’t know the guy who just binned it so foolishly.

Rainey pulls out a lead of more than a second, followed by Kevin Magee, Taira, Gardner, Mick Doohan and Eddie Lawson. Eventually, Gardner gets past Magee at Turn Four, and Pierfrancesco Chili crashes out a second time in 2 races.

Gardner catches Rainey and begins to swap the lead, while Magee, Christian Sarron, Freddie Spencer and Lawson close in. Sarron catches and goes to the front of the leaders, while Magee hangs on in 4th spot. Spencer falls off and DNFs.

Last l

Rainey: “Gardner ran into the back of me twice, and didn’t even notice. He was one of the sloppiest guys I ever raced – he reminded me of a bulldog on a bike. When he was on a good day, he could ride that thing right out of the saddle. He was a bit like Kevin, but more out of control. Not a thinking racer: he rode by the excitement of the crowd. If nobody was there I think he wouldn’t do much.” [Scott, Michael: "Wayne Rainey", page 136. Haynes Publishing, 1997.]

500cc classification

References

MotoGP_race_report
Name_of_race = Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 1989
Previous_race_in_season = 1989 Japanese Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1989 United States Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = None
Next_year's_race = 1990 Australian Grand Prix