1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 41st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

1989 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Previous: 1988 Next: 1990
1989 World Champions
Eddie Lawson (pictured at Suzuka) became the 500cc world champion
Sito Pons (pictured at Suzuka) became the 250cc world champion

Season summary

Defending champion Eddie Lawson stunned most observers by switching from the Yamaha to Honda in the offseason then proceeded to win the championship, becoming the first man to win two consecutive 500cc championships on two different brands. On why he left Yamaha for Honda: "Giacomo Agostini, the Marlboro Yamaha team manager, started playing games, saying stuff like, 'I don't know if we can pay you the same as we did in 1988.' I'd just won my third title, so that was tough to hear. Also, I found out Ago was talking to Kevin Schwantz. I met with Erv and told him that I needed a change. When Marlboro discovered I was talking with Honda, they doubled their offer, but it was too late. I actually took a pay cut to ride the Honda."[1]

Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz continued to perform impressively while Freddie Spencer made a less than successful comeback attempt with the Marlboro Yamaha team. Australian Wayne Gardner was out for most of the season after breaking his leg at Laguna Seca but not before winning the inaugural Grand Prix in his home country. Another Australian made his Grand Prix debut for the Rothmans Honda team with Mick Doohan scoring a third-place finish at the Hockenheimring. The FIM awarded half points for the rain-drenched Belgian Grand Prix after organisers restarted the race three times contrary to FIM race regulations. The Nations Grand Prix at Misano was boycotted by most of the top riders for safety reasons.

Sito Pons won a second consecutive 250 championship for Honda while Spanish teenager, Àlex Crivillé won the 125 crown on a JJ Cobas. Derbi rider Manuel Herreros had the honor of winning the final 80cc championship as the class would be discontinued after 1989.

1989 Grand Prix season calendar

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1989:[2][3]

Round Date Grand Prix Circuit
1 26 March Grand Prix of Japan Suzuka Circuit
2 9 April Swan Premium Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
3 16 April Dunlop USGP Laguna Seca Raceway
4 30 April Marlboro Gran Premio de España de Motociclismo Circuito Permanente de Jerez
5 14 May G.P. Delle Nazioni Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica
6 28 May Großer Preis von Deutschland für Motorräder Hockenheimring
7 4 June Großer Preis von Österreich Salzburgring
8 11 June Yu Grand Prix Automotodrom Rijeka
9 24 June Dutch TT TT Circuit Assen
10 2 July Belgium Motorcycle Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
11 16 July Grand Prix de France Bugatti Circuit
12 6 August Shell British Motorcycle Grand Prix Donington Park
13 13 August Swedish TT Scandinavian Raceway
14 27 August Grand Prix CSSR-Brno Brno Circuit
15 17 September Brazilian Grand Prix Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna

Calendar changes

Participants

500cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds
Team Rothmans/Kanemoto Honda Honda Honda NSR500 1 Eddie Lawson 1-4, 6-15
Rothmans Honda/HRC Honda Honda NSR500 2 Wayne Gardner 1-3, 9-13, 15
17 Roger Burnett 12
27 Mick Doohan 1-11, 15
Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 3 Wayne Rainey 1-4, 6-15
5 Kevin Magee 1-3, 6-15
Team Roberts Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 49 John Kocinski 10
Team Gauloises Blondes Mobil 1 Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 4 Christian Sarron 1-4, 6-15
Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 6 Niall Mackenzie 1-4, 6, 8-15
19 Freddie Spencer 1-4, 6-11
53 Luca Cadalora 12
25 Alberto Rota 14
Team Elf Honda/ROC Honda Honda NSR500 7 Dominique Sarron 1-4, 6-8, 12, 15
55
56
Adrien Morillas 11, 13-15
Team Pepsi Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki RGV500 8 Ron Haslam 1-4, 6-9, 12-15
34 Kevin Schwantz All
HB Honda Gallina Team Honda Honda NSR500 9 Pierfrancesco Chili All
33
84
Fred Merkel 5, 11-12
Cabin Racing Team Honda Honda NSR500 10 Rob McElnea 6-15
25 Bubba Shobert 1-3
Cagiva Corse Cagiva Cagiva C589 12 Randy Mamola 1-4, 6-11, 14-15
29 Massimo Broccoli 4-6
29 Raymond Roche 11
HRK Motors Honda Honda RS500 14 Michael Rudroff 2-9, 14
54
56
Cees Doorakkers 9-12, 14
Team Iberna Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 15 Alessandro Valesi All
Team Greco - Paton Paton Paton V115 500 16 Marco Papa 4-5, 8-12, 14
Tech-21/Team Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 21 Tadahiko Taira 1-4, 13-14
Yamaha [Tech-21] Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 26 Norihiko Fujiwara 1
5-6
Römer Racing Switzerland Honda Honda RS500 24 Bruno Kneubühler 3-4, 6-14
Marlboro Fior Team Fior Fior C89 32 Marco Gentile 1-12
Racing Team Katayama Honda Honda RS500 35
46
36
Simon Buckmaster All
44 Ian Pratt 4, 12
54 Fabio Biliotti 11-14
?? Honda Honda RS500 35 Josef Doppler 4-7, 9-10, 12, 14
Racing Team Librenti Corse Librenti
Suzuki
??
Suzuki RGV500
36
37
Andy Leuthe 4-5, 8-9, 11-14
?? Honda Honda RS500 40
33
Fernando González 1-8, 10-12, 14-15
Club Moto Cross Pozuelo Honda Honda RS500 41
30
Juan López Mella 4-7, 9, 11-15
?? Honda Honda RS500 56
38
Niggi Schmassman 2-15
Marlboro Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 ?? Michael Dowson 2
HRC Honda Honda NSR500 ?? Shunji Yatsushiro 1
Source: [4]
Key
Regular Rider
Wildcard Rider
Replacement Rider

250cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds
Campsa Honda Team Honda Honda NSR250 1 Sito Pons All
Ducados Yamaha Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 2 Joan Garriga All
Team Lucky Strike Elf Honda Honda NSR250 3 Jacques Cornu All
Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 4 Didier de Radiguès All
18 Iván Palazzese 2-5
Aprilia Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 ?? Marcellino Lucchi 6, 9
HB Römer Team Honda Honda NSR250 5 Reinhold Roth All
Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 6 Luca Cadalora All
Team Gauloises Blondes Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 7 Jean-Philippe Ruggia 1-11
Team Repsol Honda Honda Honda NSR250 8 Carlos Cardús All
Ajinomoto Honda/HRC Honda Honda NSR250 9 Masahiro Shimizu 1-7, 9-15
FMV Honda Honda RS250R 10 Carlos Lavado ??
Team Rudy Project Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 10 Carlos Lavado 9-15
31 Fabio Barchitta 1-6
HB CR1 Racing Team Honda Honda Honda NSR250 13 Loris Reggiani 1-4, 6-12, 15
Team Hein Gericke Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 14 Martin Wimmer 1-13, 15
Yamaha TZ250 55
37
Bernhard Schick ??
Levior Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 15 Manfred Herweh 7, 10, 12-14
Hostettler / SPI Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 16 August Auinger 1-14
HB Rallye Sport Team Honda Honda NSR250 17 Helmut Bradl All
Team Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 19 John Kocinski 1, 3
Team Uvex Aprilia Telefix Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 20 Harald Eckl All
Team Italia Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 21 Fausto Ricci 1-4, 7-14
52
54
Alberto Rota 14
Team Elit Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 22 Renzo Colleoni 4-12, 14-15
SK Vöst Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 23 Andy Preining 1-14
Racing Team Katayama Honda Honda RS250R 24 Andy Leisner ??
RTK Lotus Quartz Honda Honda NSR250 40
49
Daniel Amatriaín 1-14
Venemotos Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 25 Alex Barros 1-3, 5, 7-15
26 Luis Lavado 1-2, 10-11, 14-15
Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 28 Toshihiko Honma 1, 11-13
Team Ducados Yamaha Puig Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 30 Alberto Puig All
Samson Sharp Racing Honda Honda RS250R 32 Wilco Zeelenberg 4-14
Docshop Wevamed Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 33 Garry Cowan All
50
48
Patrick van den Goorbergh 1-2, 4, 8-14
Team Ciampini Honda Honda RS250R 35 Stefano Caracchi 3-6, 8-10, 12-14
St Yrian Motos Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 36 Jean Foray 2-5, 7-8, 11, 13-14
Schwabengarage & Reifenzenter Zürn Honda Honda RS250R 38
41
Jochen Schmid 1-8, 11-15
D Gallacher/Bradgate Containers Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 39 Kevin Mitchell 1, 4, 7-8, 11-12
Motul Forza Shoei Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 41
44
Jean-François Baldé 1-3, 5-9, 12-15
Clermont Ferrand Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 43 Adrien Morillas 11, 13-15
Aprilia France Aprilia-Rotax Aprilia AF1 45 Alain Bronec 4-8, 10-15
Nava Racing Team Seel-Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 46
34
Hans Becker 5-13
AGV Pileri LM Honda Honda RS250R 51
59
45
Paolo Casoli 1-2, 4, 11-15
70
46
48
42
Maurizio Vitali 5-14
Swiss Yamaha Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 56
50
Urs Jücker 5, 8, 14
?? Yamaha Yamaha TZ250 57 Darren Milner 2
Cabin Honda Honda NSR250 58 Tadayuki Okada 1
Gazzaniga Corse Gazzaniga ?? 60
46
Virginio Ferrari 6-7, 14
Edwin Honda Honda NSR250 65 Jim Filice 1, 3
?? Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 ?? Toshinobu Shiomori 1
Source: [5]
Key
Regular Rider
Wildcard Rider
Replacement Rider

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Round Date Race Location 80cc winner 125cc winner 250cc winner 500cc winner Report
1 26 March Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka Ezio Gianola John Kocinski Kevin Schwantz Report
2 9 April Australian Grand Prix Phillip Island Àlex Crivillé Sito Pons Wayne Gardner Report
3 16 April United States Grand Prix Laguna Seca John Kocinski Wayne Rainey Report
4 30 April Spanish Grand Prix Jerez Herri Torrontegui Àlex Crivillé Luca Cadalora Eddie Lawson Report
5 14 May Nations Grand Prix Misano Jorge Martínez Ezio Gianola Sito Pons Pierfrancesco Chili Report
6 28 May German Grand Prix Hockenheim Peter Öttl Àlex Crivillé Sito Pons Wayne Rainey Report
7 4 June Austrian Grand Prix Salzburgring Hans Spaan Sito Pons Kevin Schwantz Report
8 11 June Yugoslavian Grand Prix Automotodrom Rijeka Peter Öttl Sito Pons Kevin Schwantz Report
9 24 June Dutch TT Assen Peter Öttl Hans Spaan Reinhold Roth Wayne Rainey Report
10 2 July Belgian Grand Prix Spa Hans Spaan Jacques Cornu Eddie Lawson Report
11 16 July French Grand Prix Le Mans Jorge Martínez Carlos Cardús Eddie Lawson Report
12 6 August British Grand Prix Donington Hans Spaan Sito Pons Kevin Schwantz Report
13 13 August Swedish Grand Prix Anderstorp Àlex Crivillé Sito Pons Eddie Lawson Report
14 27 August Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Brno Herri Torrontegui Àlex Crivillé Reinhold Roth Kevin Schwantz Report
15 17 September Brazilian Grand Prix Goiânia Luca Cadalora Kevin Schwantz Report

500cc riders' standings

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

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
Pos Rider Bike JPN
AUS
USA
ESP
NAT
GER
AUT
YUG
NED
BEL
FRA
GBR
SWE
CZE
BRA
Pts[6]
1 Eddie LawsonHonda3531Ret2232112122228
2 Wayne RaineyYamaha2212Ret1321333Ret33210.5
3 Christian SarronYamaha7364Ret5453445248165.5
4 Kevin SchwantzSuzuki1Ret2RetRetRet11Ret221Ret11162.5
5 Kevin MageeYamaha5447544756576138.5
6 Pierfrancesco ChiliHondaRetRet761469566975Ret122
7 Niall MackenzieYamaha6Ret53RetRet1281074469103
8 Ron HaslamSuzuki127Ret7RetRet787768586
9 Mick DoohanHondaRet88RetRet386988481
10 Wayne GardnerHonda41Ret6RetRetRet3767
11 Rob McElneaHondaRet10111110119109121252.5
12 Simon BuckmasterHonda12131321413141915141512211443.5
13 Alessandro ValesiYamahaRet111110Ret1312Ret12Ret13Ret11141340
14 Tadahiko TairaYamaha86Ret810939
15 Dominique SarronHonda1810109Ret81010RetRet39
16 Freddie SpencerYamaha14Ret5Ret99Ret139Ret1138.5
17 Marco GentileFior201312124Ret14Ret1412Ret1333
18 Randy MamolaCagiva16RetRetRetRet12Ret7112311111133
19 Adrien MorillasHonda108101026
20 Michael RudroffHonda1515203211915172018
21 Norihiko FujiwaraYamaha9Ret617
22 Bubba ShobertHonda11Ret912
23 Josef DopplerHonda1852216Ret16212411
24 Alois MayerHonda6RetRet2510
25 Romolo BalbiHonda79
26 Fernando Gonzales de NicolasHonda23Ret16Ret8DNQ2219DNQ212422DNQ25168
27 Luca CadaloraYamaha88
28 Massimo BroccoliCagiva11Ret138
29 Niggi SchmassmanHonda14RetRet10Ret2120231921Ret16Ret178
30 Michael DowsonYamaha97
31 Andy LeutheSuzukiRet9DNQRetRetRet20Ret237
32 Shinichi ItoHonda106
33 Fabio BiliottiHonda151413196
34 Bruno KneubühlerHonda1416Ret1515161617171814186
35 John KocinskiYamaha55.5
36 Ernst GschwenderSuzuki115
37 Roger BurnettHonda124
38 Thierry CrineSuzuki124
39 Juan Manuel Lopez MellaHonda14Ret19RetRet18Ret1516154
40 Alberto RotaYamaha133
41 Shunji YatsushiroHonda133
42 Cees DoorakkersHonda151325RetRet2.5
43 Eddie LaycockHonda15Ret1416DNQ172
44 Kunio MachiiYamaha151
45 Peter LindenHonda23RetRet151
46 Hansjoerg ButzHonda160
47 Marco PapaPatonRetRetDNQ172018Ret16Ret0
48 Shinji KatayamaYamaha170
49 Vincenzo CascinoHonda17DNQ26Ret0
50 Claude AlbertSuzuki1719190
51 Rachel NicotteHonda17RetRet0
52 Georg JungHondaRet170
53 Robert HoldenHonda170
54 Timo PaavilainenSuzuki170
55 Vittorio ScatolaHondaRet18RetDNQ0
56 Stefan KlabacherHondaRet241818220
57 Michele ValdoHonda180
58 Katsunori ShinozakiSuzuki190
59 Steve WilliamsYamaha190
60 Peter SchleefHonda20210
61 Karl DauerHondaRet20Ret0
62 Hans KlingebielHonda2625200
63 Jean-Paul LecointeSuzuki200
64 Keiji KinoshitaHonda210
65 Ian PrattHonda21DNQRetDNQ0
66 Rudolf ZellerManhattan2421270
67 Kenmei MatsumotoHonda220
68 Fabian PilloudHonda220
69 Martin TroschHondaRet220
70 Mark PhillipsSuzuki22Ret0
71 Pascal SeguelaHonda220
72 Pavol DekanekHonda23RetRet280
73 Bernard GittonFior230
74 Peter GravesHonda230
75 Felix BeckHonda240
76 Helmut SchutzHonda25DNQRet0
77 Anton BerghammerSuzuki260
78 Dario MarchettiHonda290
79 Harry HeutmekersSuzuki300
80 Michael KaplanHondaRet310
81 Alan CarterHondaRetRet0
82 Freddie MerkelHondaRetRet0
83 Doug PolenSuzukiRet0
84 Hikaru MiyagiHondaRet0
85 Norio IobeHondaRet0
86 Osamu HiwatashiSuzukiRet0
87 Greg DrewPRPRet0
88 James JuddYamahaRet0
89 Malcolm CampbellHondaRet0
90 Eugene BrownSuzukiRet0
91 Larry Moreno VacondioSuzukiDNQRetDNQDNQ0
92 Raymond RocheCagivaRetRet0
93 Roland BuschHondaRet0
94 Karl TruchsessHondaRet0
95 Stephane MertensHondaRet0
96 Bernard AndraultHondaRet0
97 Patrick LerusteFiorRet0
98 Patrick SallesFiorRet0
99 David CramptonSuzukiRet0
100 John MosseySuzukiRet0
101 Torbjorn BastiansenSuzukiRet0

250cc standings

Place Rider Number Country Team Machine Points Wins
1 Sito Pons 1 Spain Campsa-Honda NSR250 262 7
2 Reinhold Roth 5 Germany HB Römer-Honda NSR250 190 2
3 Jacques Cornu 3 Switzerland Lucky Strike Elf-Honda NSR250 187 1
4 Carlos Cardús 9 Spain Repsol-Honda NSR250 162 1
5 Luca Cadalora 6 Italy Marlboro Yamaha-Agostini YZR250 127 2
6 Masahiro Shimizu 10 Japan Ajinomoto-Honda NSR250 116 0
7 Jean-Philippe Ruggia 7 France Gauloises Blondes-Yamaha YZR250 110 0
8 Juan Garriga 2 Spain Ducados-Yamaha YZR250 98 0
9 Helmut Bradl 17 Germany HB Rallye Sport-Honda NSR250 88 0
10 Martin Wimmer 14 Germany Hein Gericke-Aprilia RS250 62 0
11 Loris Reggiani 52
12 Didier de Radiguès 51
13 Wilco Zeelenberg 41
14 John Kocinski 40
15 Toshihiko Honma 36
16 Jochen Schmid 36
17 Carlos Lavado 31
18 Alex Barros 30
19 Garry Cowan 25
20 Jim Filice 22
21 Renzo Colleoni 21
22 Ivan Palazzese 19
23 Alberto Puig 18
24 Harald Eckl 18
25 Marcellino Lucchi 17
26 Daniel Amatriain 14
27 Alain Bronec 11
28 Tadayuki Okada 10
29 Toshinobu Shiomori 9
30 Jose Morillas 9
31 Stefano Caracchi 9
32 Fausto Ricci 8
33 Alberto Rota 6
34 Hans Spaan 6
35 Daryl Beattie 4
36 Kevin Mitchell 4
37 Paolo Casoli 4
38 Andy Preining 4
39 Maurizio Vitali 2
40 Luis Lavado 2
41 Junya Arai 1
41 Harald Becker 1
41 Manfred Herweh 1
41 August Auinger 1

[7][8]

125cc standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Àlex Crivillé 28 Spain JJ Cobas 166 5
2 Hans Spaan 3 Netherlands Honda 152 4
3 Ezio Gianola 2 Italy Honda 138 2
4 Hisashi Unemoto 11 Japan Honda 104
5 Fausto Gresini 22 Italy Aprilia 102
6 Koji Takada 18 Japan Honda 99
7 Stefan Prein 8 West Germany Honda 92
8 Julián Miralles 4 Spain Derbi 90
9 Jorge Martínez 1 Spain Derbi 72 1
10 Alan Scott 12 United States Honda 54
11 Adi Stadler 53
12 Robin Milton 46
13 Luis Miguel Reyes 35
14 Domenico Brigaglia 34
15 Dirk Raudies 29
16 Alfred Waibel 25
17 Taru Rinne 23
18 Lucio Pietroniro 22
19 Bruno Casanova 20
20 Doriano Romboni 20
21 Flemming Kistrup 18
22 Robin Appleyard 18
23 Thierry Feuz 15
24 Masayuki Hirose 13
25 Herri Torrontegui 13
26 Kenichi Yoshida 11
27 Jean Claude Selini 11
28 Masato Shima 10
29 Corrado Catalano 10
30 Johnny Wickstroem 10
31 Yutaka Fujihara 9
32 Kazuaki Yamashita 8
33 Hubert Abold 8
34 Shinichi Fujiyama 7
35 Kazuya Yamada 6
36 Gerhard Waibel 6
37 Mike Leitner 4
38 Gabriele Debbia 3
39 Jean Pierre Jeandat 3
40 Stuart Edwards 3
42 Bady Hassaine 2
42 Josef Fischer 2
44 Alex Bedford 1
44 Heinz Lüthi 1
44 Herve Duffard 1

80cc standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Manuel Herreros 4 Spain Derbi 92
2 Stefan Dörflinger 3 Switzerland Krauser 80
3 Peter Öttl 5 West Germany Krauser 75 3
4 Herri Torrontegui Spain Krauser 75 2
5 Gabriele Gnani 10 Italy Gnani 45
6 Paolo Priori Italy Krauser 41
7 Bogdan Nikolov 6 Bulgaria Krauser 40
8 Jorge Martínez Spain Derbi 35 1
9 Jaime Mariano Spain Casal 33
10 Jörg Seel West Germany Seel 32
11 Andres Sanchez 30
12 Julián Miralles 26
13 Hans Koopman 23
14 Ralf Waldmann 23
15 Josè Saez 20
16 Bernd Völkel 13
17 Jos Van Dongen 13
18 Bert Smit 12
19 Stefan Kurfiss 12
20 Luis Alvaro 10
21 Giuseppe Ascareggi 9
22 Roberto Sassone 7
23 Janos Szabo 6
24 Zdravko Matulja 5
25 Jacques Bernard 5
26 Janez Pintar 4
27 Stefan Brägger 4
28 Thomas Engl 3
29 Günter Schrinhofer 3
30 René Dünki 3
31 Mathias Ehinger 2
32 Heinz Paschen 1
33 Xavier Arumi 1

References

  • Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
  • "The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  1. Ienatsch, Nick (December 2009). "Eddie Lawson: 20 Years Later". CycleWorld.com. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  2. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1989". Archive.li. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  3. "1989 World Motorcycle Championship". 12 June 2017.
  4. The points for the Belgian round were halved because of too many restarts.
  5. "motogp.com · 250cc World Standing 1989". www.motogp.com.
  6. "250cc Grand Prix entry list for 1989".
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