1990 United States motorcycle Grand Prix
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The 1990 United States motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1990 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 6th-8th April, 1990 at Laguna Seca.
[edit] 500 cc race report
Eddie Lawson's season goes from bad to worse: during practice his brakes fail at speed, and he hits the straw bales hard, shattering his right ankle. He'll be sidelined until round 8 at Assen.
Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz both get away together at the start; Rainey's front wheel lifts, and maybe because of that, he and Schwantz touch as they head toward the hairpin. The order as they make their way to the Corkscrew is Rainey, Schwantz, Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and Kevin Magee. Magee soon crashes out of the race, which gets red-flagged because an ambulance needs to get on the track, Magee suffering severe head injuries and ending his season. He recovers, but never races at the same level.
At the new start, Schwantz gets to the hairpin first, followed by Sito Pons and Rainey. Rainey soon passes Pons and a gap forms to the fight for third, between Gardner, Pons and Doohan. On the uphill approach to the Corkscrew, Gardner highsides up and out.
Rainey passes on Turn 11, and is able to keep Schwantz behind him for a lap. As they go through Turn 11 to start the last lap, Schwantz highsides, and injures his wrist too much to continue, which is later discovered to be a fracture.
[edit] 500cc classification
| Pos | Rider | Manufacturer | Time/Retired | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wayne Rainey |
Yamaha | 50:55.379 | 20 |
| 2 |  Mick Doohan |
Honda | +30.386 | 17 |
| 3 |  Pierfrancesco Chili |
Honda | +59.233 | 15 |
| 4 |  Christian Sarron |
Yamaha | +1:13.006 | 13 |
| 5 | Jean Philippe Ruggia |
Yamaha | +1:22.592 | 11 |
| 6 |  Juan Garriga |
Yamaha | +1 Lap | 10 |
| 7 | Randy Mamola |
Cagiva | +1 Lap | 9 |
| 8 |  Alex Barros |
Cagiva | +1 Lap | 8 |
| 9 |  Peter Linden |
Honda | +3 Laps | 7 |
| 10 |  Nicholas Schmassman |
Honda | +3 Laps | 6 |
| Ret | Kevin Magee |
Suzuki | Retirement | |
| Ret |  Tadahiko Taira |
Yamaha | Retirement | |
| Ret | Kevin Schwantz |
Suzuki | Retirement | |
| Ret | Wayne Gardner |
Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret |  Ron Haslam |
Cagiva | Retirement | |
| Ret | Sito Pons |
Honda | Retirement | |
| Ret | Eddie Lawson |
Yamaha | Retirement |
| Previous race: 1990 Japanese Grand Prix |
FIM MotoGP World Championship 1990 season |
Next race: 1990 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1989 United States Grand Prix |
United States Grand Prix | Next race: 1991 United States Grand Prix |
