1989 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix

  1989 Nations Grand Prix

Race details
Race 5 of 15 races in the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	14 May 1989
Location	Misano
Course	Permanent racing facility 3.488 km (2.167 mi)
500 cc
Pole position
Rider	Kevin Schwantz
Time	1:17.420
Fastest lap
Rider	Eddie Lawson
Time	1:19.160
Podium
First	Pierfrancesco Chili
Second	Simon Buckmaster
Third	Michael Rudroff
250 cc
Pole position
Rider	Luca Cadalora
Time	1:19.750
Fastest lap
Rider	Juan Garriga
Time	1:20.340
Podium
First	Sito Pons
Second	Jean-Philippe Ruggia
Third	Jacques Cornu
125 cc
Pole position
Rider	Hans Spaan
Time	1:25.530
Fastest lap
Rider	Àlex Crivillé
Time	1:25.760
Podium
First	Ezio Gianola
Second	Hans Spaan
Third	Fausto Gresini
80 cc
Pole position
Rider	Stefan Dörflinger
Time	1:29.616
Fastest lap
Rider	Unknown
Podium
First	Jorge Martínez
Second	Gabriele Gnani
Third	Herri Torrontegui

The 1989 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifth race of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 12–14 May 1989 at the Misano circuit.

500 cc race report

Before the race, riders were concerned about the track surface, considering it too slippery, and should it rain, even dangerous.

Dry track and dark clouds for the green light with Kevin Schwantz on pole. Pierfrancesco Chili got a good start and led briefly, then Schwantz, Wayne Rainey and Christian Sarron settled into the lead. Short afterwards, the rain started and Schwantz raised his hand to stop the race.

The top riders had a meeting and decided they wanted a practice session before restarting in the wet, but the request was refused by the race organizers and the riders decided to boycott the race. Eddie Lawson says, "This place is unique in that the track surface is very, very slippery, and when it has water on it you can’t ride on it. All the top riders felt it was too dangerous, and it is, and so we didn’t ride. It’s as simple as that. … We go to plenty of racetracks where we test all week, in the sunshine, and then it starts to rain; well, we put rain tires on and we race. This place, you can’t do that. Regardless of not testing or anything else, you just can’t ride in the wet, it’s just too dangerous. It was unfortunate."^[1]

A notable dissenter is Chili, who wants to race, along with other riders. Chili manages to stay upright in the downpour and wins the race, with Lawson sarcastically cheering from the stands and Sarron blowing a kiss.

500 cc classification

Pos	Rider	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Points
1	Pierfrancesco Chili	Honda	59:21.035	20
2	Simon Buckmaster	Honda	+32.271	17
3	Michael Rudroff	Honda	+32.599	15
4	Marco Gentile	Fior	+1:32.451	13
5	Josef Doppler	Honda	+1:51.120	11
6	Alois Meyer	Honda	+1 Lap	10
7	Romolo Balbi	Honda	+1 Lap	9
8	Francisco Gonzales	Honda	+1 Lap	8
9	Andreas Leuthe	Suzuki	+2 Laps	7
10	Nicholas Schmassman	Honda	+2 Laps	6
Ret	Christian Sarron	Yamaha	Retirement
Ret	Raymond Roche	Cagiva	Retirement
Ret	Alessandro Valesi	Yamaha	Retirement
Ret	Norihiko Fujiwara	Yamaha	Retirement
Ret	Freddie Spencer	Yamaha	Retirement
Ret	Ron Haslam	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Eddie Lawson	Honda	Retirement
Ret	Wayne Rainey	Yamaha	Retirement
Ret	Juan Lopez Mella	Honda	Retirement
Ret	Massimo Broccoli	Cagiva	Retirement
Ret	Kevin Schwantz	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Rob McElnea	Honda	Retirement
Ret	Stefan Klabacher	Honda	Retirement
Ret	Dominique Sarron	Honda	Retirement
Ret	Vittorio Scatola	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Moreno Vacondio	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Bruno Kneubuhler	Honda	Retirement
Ret	Fred Merkel	Honda	Retirement
Ret	Niall Mackenzie	Yamaha	Retirement
Ret	Claude Albert	Suzuki	Retirement
Ret	Marco Papa	Paton	Retirement
Ret	Randy Mamola	Cagiva	Retirement
Ret	Mick Doohan	Honda	Retirement

References

1. Duke Video: "Bike GP 500 Review". Videocassette.