# 1989 United States motorcycle Grand Prix

The 1989 United States Motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It occurred from April 14 to April 16, 1989, at Laguna Seca.

## 500 cc race report

Leading the pack are Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner, Kevin Magee, and Christian Sarron. Eddie Lawson swiftly moves from 6th to 2nd position in the first turn. Rainey begins to widen the gap, while Lawson and Schwantz engage in a close battle. However, Lawson makes a mistake while entering the Corkscrew, causing him to fall back into the group of Gardner, Magee, and Sarron.
Gardner crashes, fracturing his leg. Lawson capitalizes on fuel-delivery issues with Magee's Yamaha YZR 500 on the final lap, securing an all-American podium with Rainey taking first place and Schwantz in second.
During the cooldown lap, Magee, frustrated, initiates a burnout just after turn five. Bubba Shobert, conversing with Eddie Lawson at a low cruising speed, fails to notice Magee and accidentally collides with his right side, resulting in a forceful impact with the pavement. Shobert sustains severe head injuries that mark the end of his racing career, while Magee suffers a broken ankle. With both Magee and Gardner injured, Wayne Rainey's lead in the standings becomes vulnerable, depending on Lawson's ability to optimize the Honda setup or Schwantz's consistency in finishing races.

## 500 cc classification

| Pos. | Rider | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | Wayne Rainey | Team Lucky Strike Roberts | Yamaha | 40 | 58:56.179 | 1 | 20 |
| 2 | Kevin Schwantz | Suzuki Pepsi Cola | Suzuki | 40 | +6.849 | 2 | 17 |
| 3 | Eddie Lawson | Rothmans Kanemoto Honda | Honda | 40 | +19.912 | 6 | 15 |
| 4 | Kevin Magee | Team Lucky Strike Roberts | Yamaha | 40 | +23.732 | 4 | 13 |
| 5 | Niall Mackenzie | Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini | Yamaha | 40 | +28.223 | 7 | 11 |
| 6 | Christian Sarron | Sonauto Gauloises Blondes Yamaha Mobil 1 | Yamaha | 40 | +30.595 | 5 | 10 |
| 7 | Pierfrancesco Chili | HB Honda Gallina Team | Honda | 40 | +1:29.901 | 11 | 9 |
| 8 | Mick Doohan | Rothmans Honda Team | Honda | 39 | +1 Lap | 12 | 8 |
| 9 | Bubba Shobert | Cabin Racing Team | Honda | 39 | +1 Lap | 13 | 7 |
| 10 | Dominique Sarron | Team ROC Elf Honda | Honda | 39 | +1 Lap | 15 | 6 |
| 11 | Alessandro Valesi | Team Iberia | Yamaha | 38 | +2 Laps | 16 | 5 |
| 12 | Marco Gentile | Fior Marlboro | Fior | 38 | +2 Laps | 17 | 4 |
| 13 | Simon Buckmaster | Racing Team Katayama | Honda | 38 | +2 Laps | 18 | 3 |
| 14 | Bruno Kneubuhler | Romer Racing Suisse | Honda | 38 | +2 Laps | 19 | 2 |
| 15 | Michael Rudroff | HRK Motors | Honda | 38 | +3 Laps | 21 | 1 |
| 16 | Francisco Gonzales | Club Motocross Pozuelo | Honda | 37 | +4 Laps | 23 | |
| 17 | Vincenzo Cascino | | Honda | 37 | +4 Laps | 22 | |
| Ret | Ron Haslam | Suzuki Pepsi Cola | Suzuki | | Retirement | 10 | |
| Ret | Tadahiko Taira | Yamaha Motor Company | Yamaha | | Retirement | 8 | |
| Ret | Nicholas Schmassman | FMS | Honda | | Retirement | 20 | |
| Ret | Randy Mamola | Cagiva Corse | Cagiva | | Retirement | 14 | |
| Ret | Eugene Brown | | Suzuki | | Retirement | 24 | |
| Ret | Wayne Gardner | Rothmans Honda Team | Honda | | Retirement | 3 | |
| DNS | Freddie Spencer | Marlboro Yamaha Team Agostini | Yamaha | | Did not Start | 9 | |
| DNQ | David Busby | | Honda | | Did not Qualify | | |
| DNQ | Michael Wild | | Suzuki | | Did not Qualify | | |
| Sources: ||||||||