# 1991 Vitesse du Mans motorcycle Grand Prix

The 1991 Vitesse du Mans motorcycle Grand Prix was a one-off race and the penultimate round of the 1991 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 6–8 September 1991 at the Bugatti Circuit located in Le Mans. France.
Originally meant to be held in Brazil, that race was cancelled for safety reasons, so the FIM decided to add a second French round. It is the only time in FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing history two rounds were held in France during a season. The race's name was used for this race only, after the European Grand Prix moniker had been used for a race in Jarama that replaced the Yugoslavian race.

## 500 cc race report

John Kocinski on pole. Kevin Schwantz gets the start from Kocinski, Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner and Wayne Rainey.
Schwantz and Doohan battle for 1st, but at ten laps to go, Rainey just needs to stay in 3rd place to win the championship.
Rainey speculates that Kocinski let him take 3rd so he could win the championship, though he told team manager Kenny Roberts he didn't want Kocinski's help.
Kenny Roberts: "There were a lot of races where we shouldn't have won, and we really wouldn't have won if it wasn't for Wayne. There's a lot of races where had we had anyone else, it wouldn't have happened. Wayne was very, very determined to win it this year. Some years you can say the bikes were definitely better or our engineering was better, but this year Wayne was definitely better."

## 500cc classification

| Pos. | Rider | Team | Manufacturer | Time/Retired | Points |
| 1 | Kevin Schwantz | Lucky Strike Suzuki | Suzuki | 47:37.764 | 20 |
| 2 | Mick Doohan | Rothmans Honda Team | Honda | +0.148 | 17 |
| 3 | Wayne Rainey | Marlboro Team Roberts | Yamaha | +3.468 | 15 |
| 4 | John Kocinski | Marlboro Team Roberts | Yamaha | +3.700 | 13 |
| 5 | Wayne Gardner | Rothmans Honda Team | Honda | +3.966 | 11 |
| 6 | Juan Garriga | Ducados Yamaha | Yamaha | +37.852 | 10 |
| 7 | Doug Chandler | Roberts B Team | Yamaha | +38.342 | 9 |
| 8 | Didier de Radiguès | Lucky Strike Suzuki | Suzuki | +39.290 | 8 |
| 9 | Sito Pons | Campsa Honda Team | Honda | +1:30.554 | 7 |
| 10 | Adrien Morillas | Sonauto Yamaha Mobil 1 | Yamaha | +1:45.040 | 6 |
| 11 | Eddie Laycock | Millar Racing | Yamaha | +1 Lap | 5 |
| 12 | Niall Mackenzie | Roberts B Team | Yamaha | +1 Lap | 4 |
| 13 | Marco Papa | Team Marco Papa | Honda | +2 Laps | 3 |
| 14 | Andreas Leuthe | Librenti Corse | Suzuki | +2 Laps | 2 |
| 15 | Damon Buckmaster | Padgett's Racing Team | Suzuki | +5 Laps | 1 |
| Ret | Cees Doorakkers | HEK-Baumachines | Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret | Jean Philippe Ruggia | Sonauto Yamaha Mobil 1 | Yamaha | Retirement | |
| Ret | Michael Rudroff | Rallye Sport | Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret | Hans Becker | Team Romero Racing | Yamaha | Retirement | |
| DNS | Eddie Lawson | Cagiva Corse | Cagiva | Did not start | |
| DNQ | Nicholas Schmassman | Schmassman Technotron | Honda | Did not qualify | |
| DNQ | Helmut Schutz | Rallye Sport | Honda | Did not qualify | |
| DNQ | Martin Trösch | MT Racing | Honda | Did not qualify | |
| DNQ | Josef Doppler | Doppler Racing | Yamaha | Did not qualify | |
| Sources: ||||||