1988 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix

  1988 Japanese Grand Prix

Race details
Race 1 of 15 races in the 1988 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	27 March 1988
Location	Suzuka Circuit
Course	Permanent racing facility 5.864 km (3.644 mi)
500 cc
Pole position
Rider	Tadahiko Taira	Yamaha
Fastest lap
Rider	Kevin Schwantz	Suzuki
Podium
First	Kevin Schwantz	Suzuki
Second	Wayne Gardner	Honda
Third	Eddie Lawson	Yamaha
250 cc
Pole position
Rider	Toshihiko Honma	Yamaha
Fastest lap
Rider	Sito Pons	Honda
Podium
First	Anton Mang	Honda
Second	Sito Pons	Honda
Third	Masaru Kobayashi	Honda

The 1988 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix was the first round of the 1988 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 25–27 March 1988 at the Suzuka Circuit.

500 cc race report

Tadahiko Taira was on pole of the 5-column grid (it became 4-columns in 1990). Wayne Rainey got the start and lead through the first turns, with Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner and Christian Sarron behind. Schwantz took the inside of the hairpin, but Rainey dove back under and got him back on the exit; Schwantz succeeded in taking the lead on Spoon.

At the end of the 1st lap, it was Schwantz and Gardner, then a gap to Toshihiko Honma (riding #46) and Sarron. Gardner and Schwantz swapped the lead many times.

Eddie Lawson and Niall Mackenzie moved through the field to 3rd and 4th. Norihiko Fujiwara lowsided at the hairpin.

On the last lap Gardner ran off the track and stayed on, but lost any chance of winning the race.

500 cc classification

Pos	Rider	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Points
1	Kevin Schwantz	Suzuki	50:03.750	20
2	Wayne Gardner	Honda	+8.384	17
3	Eddie Lawson	Yamaha	+12.724	15
4	Niall Mackenzie	Honda	+15.785	13
5	Tadahiko Taira	Yamaha	+36.383	11
6	Wayne Rainey	Yamaha	+42.070	10
7	Kevin Magee	Yamaha	+42.179	9
8	Christian Sarron	Yamaha	+45.186	8
9	Didier de Radiguès	Yamaha	+1:01.213	7
10	Shunji Yatsushiro	Honda	+1:10.228	6
11	Hikaru Miyagi	Honda	+1:16.201	5
12	Ron Haslam	Elf Honda	+1:20.045	4
13	Patrick Igoa	Yamaha	+1:29.535	3
14	Pierfrancesco Chili	Honda	+1:38.989	2
15	Osamu Hiwatashi	Suzuki	+1:42.545	1
16	Takazumi Katayama	Yamaha	+1:43.611
17	Masaru Mizutani	Suzuki	+2:04.446
18	Keiji Kinoshita	Honda	+1 Lap
19	Alessandro Valesi	Honda	+1 Lap
Ret	Raymond Roche	Cagiva	Retirement
Ret	Rob McElnea	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Katunori Shinozaki	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Norihiko Fujiwara	Yamaha	Retirement
Ret	Randy Mamola	Cagiva	Retirement
Ret	Hisashi Yamana	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Marco Gentile	Fior	Retirement
Ret	Manfred Fischer	Honda	Retirement